Lea este artículo en español aquí.
Federal, state and local candidates in the 2026 Primary Election discussed an array of issues at BenitoLink’s 2026 Your Voice- Your Vote election forum held April 2 at the Granada Theater in Hollister.
The two-hour event, which included seven races and a recall petition, was held 32 days before the San Benito County Elections Office begins mailing ballots.
18th District Congressional and Assembly 29th District candidates’ answers centered on supporting local government while local candidates discussed challenges in education, infrastructure and housing.
Among the candidates was Auditor-Controller Joe Paul Gonzalez, who blamed management in various county departments in the $360,000 embezzlement scheme at the library and the $700,000 attempted scam at the Resource Management Agency. The funds related to the scam were later recovered by the county.
“Our job is to make sure that we make payments on behalf of the departments,” he said. “The departments are not supervised by the auditor-controller. We cannot tell them what to do or what to bring forward as in their invoices. That’s the job of the CEO and the Board of Supervisors.”
Laura Garcilazo, who is running against Gonzalez, said she could not attend the forum because of a schedule conflict.
The two candidates for the San Benito County Superintendent of Schools seat acknowledged the biggest challenge in education is that a large group of students are not meeting state standards in reading and mathematics.
Gwen Baquiran said her goal, if elected, is to continue the partnerships with local districts and create new ones with local organizations and businesses in order to expose students to career pathways.
“In that way, our students at a very young age will be open to opportunities in which they see themselves in the future,” she said.
Jennifer Logue also said the county office of education is facing a budget shortfall because of grants and COVID funding are going away.
“We’ll have to learn how to maximize our funds and work together,” she said.
Candidates for the Board of Supervisor District 3 Peter Hernandez and Mindy Sotelo differed on what their top focus would be if they were to serve a second term.
Hernandez, who previously served a term in the District 3 seat from 2018-22, said his priority is economic development.
“I started with a short-term plan when it came down to tourism and implemented a longer, broader strategy when it comes down to bringing in business, talking about addressing our zoning laws, and talking about creating shovel-ready projects,” he said.
Sotelo said a recent survey of her constituents revealed that their highest concern was infrastructure and roads.
“I believe we’ve got to focus on those arterial roads coming in and out,” she said. “Union Road is starting and so I do believe that we have made great strides.”
Community members also asked various candidates about health care, their position on the Second Amendment, supporting LGBTQ students, and whether they supported a proposed solar farm and battery storage project in the county.
The forum was attended by about 150 community members and was recorded. The videos of each race will be released at a later date.
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.