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The cause of the fire in the county building is still under investigation, interim Fire Chief Rodney Dover said Nov. 6.
On Sept. 6, the building used as the county elections and clerks offices was damaged in a fire. The Hollister Fire Department is currently investigating the fire and the cause is considered undetermined, but there is not enough evidence to determine arson, Dover said.
He added that if anyone considers the fire arson, it’s “a personal opinion.”
San Benito County County Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters Francisco Diaz speculated that the fire was intentionally started based on what he saw in the building.
“I saw broken glass, broken windows” in the elections office, Diaz said. “I made an assumption.”
Diaz said he did not know if the fire was directed towards the Elections Office.
In a Nov. 8 email, San Benito County Sheriff Eric Taylor said the Sheriff’s Department is working alongside the fire department on “the criminal side of the case if a crime is found to have been committed.”
“Our detectives have information and evidence to suggest a person of interest was in the area of the fire prior to it starting,” Taylor said.
“The nature of the fire also looks suspicious to us, but we are not the fire experts,” Taylor said. “The Hollister Fire Department will make a determination if, in fact, this was an arson.”
Taylor could not comment on why he believed the fire may have been arson, but believed the fire was suspicious and would “lean more toward arson than accidental.”
On Oct. 10, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors authorized contracts in excess of $50,000 to replace equipment and inventory for the offices of the County Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters, Assessor, Tax Collector-Treasurer and Public Administrator.
Additionally, the supervisors approved budget transfers or adjustments to use the county’s insurance funds above $50,000 for any expenses related to the fire.
According to a letter from Ana De Castro Maquiz, the county’s chief deputy clerk-recorder-elections, to the California Secretary of State, voting technology and ballot stock were damaged in the fire. Other damaged equipment included:
- 65 ICX, 65 ICX printers
- Eight MBP printers with laptops
- 60 Tenex pollbooks, including printers
- Three central scanning kits
- Two EMS servers
- Two adjudication workstations
- A Runbeck Agilis Duo Election Mail Processing System
As of Nov. 9, the Elections Office has spent over $1 million to replace damaged equipment, Diaz said. Diaz expects the department will spend another $200,000 to $400,000 for this purpose.
The county’s insurance is covering most of the costs, Diaz said.
“Everyone at the county administration has been really helpful to the election department,” Diaz said, “We couldn’t do it without their support.”
The county announced temporary locations for the affected offices. County residents can reach the offices at (831) 636-4000.
San Benito County Assessor’s office: sbcassr@cosb.us.
- 1131 San Felipe Road
San Benito County Tax Collector’s office: propertytaxes@cosb.us.
- 1131 San Felipe Road
San Benito County Clerks and Recorder’s office: cclerk@cosb.us.
- San Benito County Administration: 481 4th Street, Hollister, CA 95023
San Benito County Elections office is at: sbcvote@cosb.us.
- San Benito County Administration: 481 4th Street, Hollister, CA 95023
Property tax payments are accepted online, in person at 1131 San Felipe Road or by mail.
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