MENDOCINO Co., 2/10/22 — The Mendocino County government consists of nine elected officials, and seven of them are up for re-election this summer in the June 7 statewide primary. Sheriff Matthew Kendall and District Attorney David Eyster are running for re-election as incumbents this summer, as is the elected official responsible for overseeing Mendocino County’s elections — Assessor-Clerk-Recorder Katrina Bartolomie.
All of them are thus far running unopposed, except Superintendent of Schools Michelle Hutchins, who is being challenged by Nicole Glentzer, an educator currently working as Superintendent of Human Resources for the Ukiah Unified School District. Hutchins has maintained an active re-election campaign on Facebook. Glentzer has set up a campaign website but as of the time of publication her campaign has not publicly identified any specific issues on which she intends to challenge Hutchins’ leadership. She did, however, say the superintendent “should provide better support to our schools” when announcing her candidacy in an editorial for the Mendocino Beacon on Nov. 21, 2021.
Supervisors Ted Williams and John Haschak, who are in their first terms representing District 5 and District 3 respectively, will both be on the ballot. Mendocino resident John Redding, who currently sits on the board of the Mendocino Coast Health Care District, has announced his intent to run against Williams. A brief look at his social media presence reflects numerous posts expressing skepticism about public health measures related to the pandemic. Willits resident Clay Romero has also pulled papers to run against Haschak. Romero ran for the same office in 2014, penning an editorial for The Willits News that highlighted his background as conservative Christian who is “passionate about gun rights and homeschooling.”
Acting Auditor-Controller Chamise Cubbison has announced her intention to run for the newly created position of Auditor-Controller\Treasurer-Tax Collector. Shari Schapmire, Mendocino County’s current Treasurer-Tax Collector, does not appear to be running — but that race is likely to get interesting if anyone runs against her. Cubbison was named as the recommended successor by outgoing Auditor-Controller Lloyd Weer when he retired in August. District Attorney David Eyster went on the offensive, however, citing Cubbison’s record of rigorous financial oversight as good cause to block her appointment. Supervisor Ted Williams also opposed Cubbison’s appointment to an elected office mid-term, and the board ultimately moved to combine the Auditor-Controller’s office with the Treasurer-Tax Collector. She wrote an op-ed calling that consolidation “misguided” in the Anderson Valley Advertiser, but now that it’s done she intends to run for that office.
In the Mendocino County Superior Court, Presiding Judge Ann Moorman, Judge Keith Faulder, Judge Victoria Shanahan and Judge Cindy Mayfield are all up for re-election to another six-year term, but all four are running unopposed. The filing period closed Wednesday, Feb. 9.
At the state and national levels, Congressman Jared Huffman, state Senator Mike McGuire and Assemblyman Jim Wood are up for re-election as well. Beth Hampson has announced her intention to challenge Huffman for California’s Second Congressional District. Other legislative candidates are likely to come forward as the 2022 election season progresses.
The filing period for local candidates participating in the June 7 gubernatorial primary runs from Feb. 14 to March 11. To find out more, such as qualifications for local office or to obtain a copy of the candidate information packet go to the Election and Candidate Information page on Mendocino County’s website.
Skepticism by an elected official is a good thing, right?