MENDOCINO CO., 5/21/26 — Mendocino’s 5th District Supervisor Ted Williams is up for election for the third time, as he tries to tack another four-year term onto his already two-term tenure.
If reelected, Williams will be the longest serving supervisor on the board of five. He says he is running again so he can be the voice of experience for the board.
“Knowledge gained over eight years has value,” Williams said.
County supervisor since 2019, Williams has seen District 5 through COVID-19 and a changing economic and cultural landscape, as the region increasingly relies on its tourism industry while continuing to figure out its cannabis policy.
Before Williams first ran for Supervisor in 2018, he was an Albion fire chief. In a 2018 “meet the candidate” interview with the Mendocino Voice, he said that he was running for office to prioritize affordable housing and to bring broadband internet access to the county and the coast.
Since taking office, internet access has increased in Mendocino County thanks to public projects and technological strides in satellite internet. In 2022, Mendocino received $57 million through Senate Bill 156 for last-mile broadband internet infrastructure. Williams helped negotiate more money from the state, but ultimately disagreed with the state’s decision to distribute a large portion of the funds to Fort Bragg and Ukiah.
“I kind of shake my head—the cities already had broadband, and now we’re coming in with another option. But there’s people in the unincorporated areas that have nothing. I think it was a peculiar way to allocate funds, especially because the state was calling it equity,” he said.
As for affordable housing, the topic still remains a major concern for his District 5 constituents. Williams has identified housing as the top issue across Mendocino County as a whole, not just for residents but for the county’s purse.
“The county, in real terms, essentially has declining revenue. We’re living off property tax. Property tax increases are capped below the rate of inflation. And so effectively, there’s less to work with every year,” said Williams.
To increase housing stock, Williams believes the county must focus on updating its general plan and consider rezoning.
One strategy he hopes to employ involves increasing the amount of houses allowed on parcels whose zoning only allows for two.
He also believes installing more foundational infrastructure will allow houses to be built at lower price points. At an April 14 candidate forum, he referred to the recent Mendocino City County Service Departments water project as an example of new infrastructure that could provide the basework for future construction opportunities.
Despite ideas for housing solutions, Williams admits that actual progress has been slow.
“I think part of the learning lesson is to make change in the county, it takes continuing those same discussions—same arguments, and it’s frustrating. Some of the topics that I care about have taken years,” referencing lack of housing and attempts to pass rezoning initiatives.
“I think the board has more awareness of what the problems are. I think staff is being realistic about what the problems are. There’s more unity,” he added as consolation.
During his supervisorship, Williams also helped bring more money into emergency services. Williams supported Mendocino County Measure P in 2022, which increased the county’s sales tax by 0.25% for 10 years. He also helped to pass Resolution 22-159, which set aside all the funds Measure P collects for fire protection and fire prevention services.
“During my two terms, there’s been more funding for local fire departments than I think in all state history, 1855 up to 2019 combined,” he said during a May 11 candidate forum.
This year, other top concerns for District 5 voters include vacation rental regulation and road maintenance.
In terms of short-term rental regulation, Williams has expressed the need for a balanced approach that protects core housing supply while allowing for owner-occupied rentals.
“There’s a real difference between a local resident renting part of their home and a large-scale commercial operator. We’ve tried to draw those lines, but the Coastal Act and courts limit how much we can differentiate, especially in the coastal areas. So this becomes a careful balancing act: how to protect neighborhoods and housing supply while also recognizing tourism as part of our economy,” he said in an April 14 candidate forum.
As for better road maintenance, Williams wants to demand state funding.
“We need to continue pushing on the state that we need fair reimbursement when they detour state highway traffic onto our county roads,” he said on May 11.
Williams has also pointed out that an increase in sales tax might provide the money the county is looking for, and voted yes in March to put a one-cent sales tax on the November ballot for road repair funding around unincorporated parts of the county.
Supervisor Williams’ decisions have at times been subject to public disapproval. Many identify him as a leading figure behind the suspension of Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector Chamise Cubbison after she was accused of misappropriating funds and suspended without pay. Cubbison’s criminal charges were dropped in February 2025, she was reinstated, and she is pursuing a civil lawsuit regarding being suspended without a hearing and not receiving back pay.
Williams claims he was operating on the best information available to him at the time.
“Imagine you’re in a position where you’re told… the only county employee who has access essentially to the county checkbook that can write checks is involved in a financial crime charged by the DA, and it’s felony level. That’s all you have to work with. Do you leave that person with a checkbook?” said Williams of the decision.
Williams also supported the consolidation of the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office with the Auditor-Controller’s Office in 2022, a move that contributed to disorganized finances and high staff turnover rate. Following criticism and financial management problems, the board of supervisors walked back the merger in 2025.
Williams points out that he had inherited that plan from the 2007 board. “It may have been the wrong solution, but it was motivated to solve an actual problem,” he said.
He defended his yes vote, saying the board was working on outdated information because the auditor-controller’s office had failed to produce up-to-date financial reports.
The state of the county’s finances remains a hot-button issue. A 2025 state audit revealed that Mendocino suffers from long-standing budget deficits and insufficient spending oversight as well as millions in uncollected taxes. The state made departmental recommendations as part of the audit process.
As supervisor, Williams has advocated for more audits to reveal where Mendocino County can improve.
“I don’t think ‘audit’ is inherently bad. I think it’s very appropriate, and it’s a way to build public trust. And the problems that were identified, most of them are not under the Board of Supervisors. They’re under other elected officers that we have no control of. The state providing that audit is some motivation for those other offices to make the necessary changes,” said Williams.
By Williams’ own admission, “It’s going to take time to learn the patterns of past failures.” One lesson he feels he has learned already is the power of the long game.
He considers his 2021 resolution for a scientific review of Jackson Demonstration State Forest proof that patience pays off. The review eventually led to Assembly Bill 2494, which proposes to shift the focus of demonstration forests from logging to research, recreation and restoration.
“It [AB 2494] made it through committees. And that long-term effort that I was talking about almost eight years ago while campaigning— that we are missing a huge opportunity to bolster our local economy with recreation— it seems like it’s just beginning to come to fruition. And I’ve started to appreciate a lot of the changes that will have the most impact take years in the making,” said Williams.