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During a special June 30 meeting, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors formally accepted the certified statement of primary election results from the Registrar of Voters, then voted unanimously to set a special election for Nov. 3 to replace former Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez, who was ousted in the first successful recall in the county’s history.
The special election, which will be consolidated with the general election, will determine who fills the District 5 seat through the end of Velazquez’s term in 2028.
Supervisor Angela Curro asked County Counsel Gregory Priamos if the county needed to notify the governor of the vacancy and special election.
Priamos said the board should consider a number of actions regarding the vacancy and that he would deliver a report to the board on Aug. 11 for the board to act upon. He told Curro there was no minimum time frame for notifying the governor’s appointment secretary of the District 5 vacancy.
During the presentation concerning the election results, County Clerk-Recorder Francisco Diaz told the supervisors there were two necessary non-discretionary actions the board must take.
First, he asked them to accept the filing of a certified statement of election results and the canvas, and to officially declare the winning candidates elected or nominated, the results of the local measures, and to enter the final results into the county’s record.
“To reach this point, the county election staff conducted a recognized, thorough official canvas, which successfully concluded and publicly posted on June 26, in compliance with California Elections Code,” he said. “Our team completed all these verification processes, including reconciling all signatures, rosters against cast ballots, auditing all provisional and vote by mail ballots, and conducted a mandatory public 1% manual tally to verify the votes in obsolete precision and automated tabulation systems.”
Diaz went on to say that the certified results have been published and are downloadable on the county website, and that under California law, the Registrar of Voter Certification is final and legally binding.
Celeste Toledo-Bocanegra, a former county planning commissioner, who has been one of the central organizers of multiple recall efforts targeting Velazquez, read a prepared statement. It included comments from others involved in the latest recall efforts. She was also involved in the campaign to recall Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki.
Toledo-Bocanegra said the recall organizers were mainly concerned about public safety and not politics. With a final tally of 1,312 votes to 1,279, she said the victory belongs to the voters of District 5.
“Residents stood up for the public’s safety, transparency, and accountability, accountable leadership,” said Toledo-Bocanegra, quoting organizer Stacy McGrady.
“They rejected the politics of fear, division and personal attacks,” McGrady said in the statement. “Most importantly, they made clear that elected officials work for the people. Not the other way.”
“Throughout the campaign, voters repeatedly raised concerns about fire protection, emergency response, fiscal priorities, growth policy, and trust in local government,” Toledo-Bocanegra said, before reading a quote from businesswoman Kelly Lomanto Dominguez, who said, “This recall was never about politics as usual. It was about the fundamentals, keeping families safe, respecting and listening to the public, funding critical services and restoring civility and trust in county government.”
Esther Perez, co-chair of the New California State chapter in San Benito County, did not agree with the outcome of the recall campaign.
“The voting rolls are not clean,” she said. “There are phantom voters in District 4.”
None of the supervisors commented and they voted unanimously to pass the resolution. Diaz continued with the next resolution for the Nov. 3 election to fill Velazquez’s seat.
“Pursuant to government code section 25061, the supervisorial vacancy must be filled by the voters at the next general election,” he said. “Consolidating this race is critically important. It allows us to leverage our existing, fully funded general election infrastructure that includes both centers, equipment, and poll workers.”
For prospective candidates, he said the statutory timelines are already moving and petitions are now available. The formal window to file a declaration of candidacy and nomination papers opens July 13, and will close Aug. 7.
“Our office will publish a comprehensive candidate handbook on our website by the end of this week,” Diaz said, “and staff recommends that the board adopt resolution number 202687 to ensure that we remain strict compliance with state law by calling and consolidating the vacancy with the November 3 election and also to safeguard and protect taxpayers’ dollars.”
“The governor is authorized to fill the vacancy, but the office of supervisor must be placed on the next statewide general election, which is this November,” Priamos told BenitoLink later. “The person elected in November will take office on Jan. 5. The governor may or may not make the appointment, given the short period of time before the election.”
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