HSD Board Member Rob Bernosky announces candidacy for Supervisor Dist. 4

Hollister School District board member Rob Bernosky has announced his candidacy for San Benito county supervisor, District 4.  

“I am running for County Supervisor for just a few reasons, I was asked to run by some members of the community that saw what I have been able to do as a board member of the Hollister School District, and wanted that for the County,” he wrote in an email to BenitoLink. “The largest issue the Hollister School District has, is performance. I am hindered in my role as a board member of the Hollister School District to drive performance higher because our top notch staff is distracted by dealing with significant issues that came from the County, including accounting, developer fees and related issues. However, I believe that I have been instrumental in bringing about some positive changes for the school district, including solving some noteworthy personnel issues and initiating the investigations into our financial and accounting relationship with the County. 

“One of the keys to success of any school is parental involvement. If parents cannot get to and from their jobs outside the County because our roads are clogged, in poor condition, and we have no rail service, they cannot come to parent-teacher conferences, sports games, back-to-school night, and open houses. I want to fix this,” he added. 

Bernosky was elected on the HSD school board in the November 2016 election.  

Cannabis is another reason Bernosky says he wants to run. “Cannabis is here. If the County does not carefully think out all the aspects of embracing the marijuana industry, our quality of life and schools will degrade significantly. I am no longer fighting cannabis, but I do want to be on the right side of regulating it correctly so that we are not negatively impacted. My sense is that the industry is taking advantage of our small size and will run circles around us,” he says.

He says law enforcement is another reason for his decision to run for the position. 

“We need more law enforcement in this county. Our deputies are at substantially more risk than other typical law enforcement officers because we do not have enough of them on duty,” he said.

Bernosky’s bio states that he is the chief financial officer of a successful technology-services company in Silicon Valley, is the principal in a special situations corporate advisory firm that has turned several companies around, and is the secretary to the Pacheco Pass Water District.   

He also serves as the regional chair for the California Republican party,  

He formally served as a board member of the San Benito County Heritage Foundation, County Committee on School District Organization, the North County Joint Union School District, and president of the Rancho San Joaquin Mutual Water Company.  

Bernosky says his top goals are solving “transportation issues so that commuters and vehicles related to commerce can get in and out of the County,” increasing law enforcement personnel “so that our deputies can protect us while keeping themselves safe,” as well as “increasing the district attorney’s staff so that crimes can be quickly dealt with in the courts.” 

He also wants to “manage development smartly so that when new homes and businesses are built, we have the schools and roads to accommodate them.” 

Jerry Muenzer is the current Supervisor for District 4 and intends to run again. Hollister councilman Jim Gillio, cannabis consultant Elia Salinas and Sandy Swint who works at Technique Mirage, an image projection company in Moss Landing have also announced their intent to run. The final day for Declaration of Candidacy is March 9 and end of Extension for Nomination is March 15 for incumbents.

The 4th Supervisorial District of San Benito County encompasses the majority of South County as well as; Southeast Hollister, Tres Pinos, Cielo Vista, Stone Gate, Ridgemark, Paicines, Panoche, Pinnacles, Bitterwater, San Benito Lateral, and New Idria.