MENDOCINO Co., 5/20/22 — There are three major contested seats in Mendocino County’s primary elections this June, including the District 3 and District 5 supervisors seats, and the Superintendent of Schools. For the last several weeks, candidates have been facing off in a number of public forums, and on May 15, they met at the Little Lake Grange in Willits to answer questions from local community events and the audience, ranging from the cannabis industry, to mental health services, improving local school scores, and the local economy.
We recorded the forum so you can watch it from home, one video for the District 3 supervisors candidates, and one for the Superintendent of Schools. The latter position will be on all county ballots, along with a number of otherwise uncontested countywide offices such as District Attorney and Sheriff, whereas only the residents of District 3 and District 5 will get to vote for supervisor this election.
On May 15, community organizations had invited Mendocino County Sheriff Matthew Kendall, who is running unopposed, to speak to the group before the other candidates took the stage, but Kendall did not show up at the grange last Sunday. Instead, organizers read a list of questions that they had intended to pose to Kendall to the crowd, including questions about the sheriff’s plans to recruit and retain new staff and strategies for addressing cannabis cultivation, that went instead unanswered.
The rest of the event included incumbent Superintendent of Schools Michelle Hutchins and candidate Nicole Glentzer sharing their competing visions for the future of county schools, followed by incumbent 3 District Supervisor John Haschak and candidate Clay Romero discussing their plans for the supervisor role.
For more information about the coming election, you can find all of our 2022 election coverage here, including videos of additional candidates forums, more information about ballots and polling places, and more.
Debate between incumbent Superintendent of Schools Michelle Hutchins and candidate Nicole Glentzer:
Debate between incumbent 3 District Supervisor John Haschak and candidate Clay Romero: