SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY VOTERS will decide several local races in the June 2 primary, including two contested seats on the Board of Supervisors and a countywide challenge for assessor-recorder-county clerk.
In District 2, incumbent Supervisor Paul Canepa faces challenger Lauren Cardinalli. In District 4, Supervisor Steve Ding is being challenged by Travis Castle. Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk Steve Bestolarides is running against Zachary Avelar.
The races are nonpartisan and appear on the statewide direct ballot for Tuesday’s primary election. The Nov. 3 general election is scheduled for races not resolved in the primary, according to San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters election materials. To skip the general election, a candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote. Since each county contest consists of just two candidates, there will be overall winners Tuesday.
The county candidate list identifies Canepa as an incumbent; Cardinalli as a mother, salesperson and coach; Ding as a restaurateur and county supervisor; Castle as a rancher, paramedic and businessman; Bestolarides as the sitting assessor-recorder-county clerk; and Avelar as a United States Marine.
While county races often draw less attention than state or federal contests, the offices oversee parts of government residents may encounter directly. The Board of Supervisors approves the county’s annual budget, including a $3 billion spending plan for the 2025-26 fiscal year that county officials said prioritizes public safety and homelessness.
The Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk’s Office handles property assessment rolls, public records, real property documents, notary public oaths, marriage licenses, vital statistics and other public documents, according to county materials.
Board of Supervisors, District 2
Paul Canepa
In supervisor District 2, Canepa is asking voters for another term by pointing to experience and projects already underway, including the county’s Be Well campus in French Camp. Canepa described the campus as one of his strongest accomplishments, saying the project is intended to divert people experiencing mental health, drug or alcohol crises from emergency rooms and connect them with services.
“I think as far as what we can do and how we can do it, that’s huge,” Canepa said.
Canepa also pointed to county investments in behavioral health housing, a new morgue facility, the district attorney’s planned move to new offices, and county support for local institutions such as Pioneer Village and the San Joaquin County Historical Society. He also cited the county’s purchase of 400 E. Main St. in downtown Stockton, a $50 million acquisition of a 245,551-square-foot office building approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2023 and finalized in October.
The building is expected to house several county departments, including the Human Services Agency, Department of Child Support Services, Sheriff’s Office Civil Division, District Attorney Family Justice Center and General Services Department. County officials said rental income from two noncounty tenants is projected to recoup the investment in about 17 years.
He said his background on the Lincoln Unified School District board, Stockton City Council during bankruptcy and the Board of Supervisors gives him the relationships and experience to “connect the dots” and move projects forward.
Lauren Cardinalli
Cardinalli, who defined herself as a lifelong Stocktonian, said she is running after years of trying to work with county leaders and because she wants local decisions to remain local. She said District 2 needs more attention to storm drain and sewer issues, citing flooding that affected the family business where she works.
“Updating the sanitary and storm drain sewer system is one of my main talking points,” Cardinalli said.
Cardinalli said she would bring more transparency and responsiveness to the board, and argued the district needs someone more receptive to public concerns. She also said homelessness should be addressed through local programs that restore shelter, employment and hope for people living on the streets.
“I just think that we need to have a person who’s more driven to be receptive to the voice of the public,” she said.
Board of Supervisors, District 4
Steve Ding
Ding is seeking reelection against Castle in a race that has centered on homelessness, rural services, agriculture and growth.
Ding, who was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2022, said he has delivered on the issues he first campaigned on, including safer communities, road improvements, and a stronger county response to homelessness, addiction and mental health. He said the county has paved and treated more than 160 miles of roads in the district and worked with the SJ County Sheriff’s Office to change the hiring process by moving two human resources directors directly into the department, which he said cut months off the process.
“I don’t talk, I get things done,” Ding said.
Travis Castle
Castle said he is running because he believes the county has spent too much money on homelessness without enough results. He criticized what he described as “taxpayer waste” and said shelters and access centers should be more directly tied to job training, mental health care and substance abuse treatment. Castle said his experience as a paramedic and volunteer firefighter has shaped his view that people in mental health crises are often taken to emergency rooms without a long-term path to care.
“How are you going to elevate yourself out of poverty without a job?” Castle said.
The candidates also differ on rural services, agriculture and growth. Ding said District 4 communities outside Lodi rely heavily on county government because many do not have their own city governments. He pointed to district-funded projects such as basketball courts in Thornton, cemetery cleanups in Clements and Woodbridge, and youth baseball, while also citing his opposition to the Delta tunnel project as part of his record on water and agriculture.
“I am not a Republican. I am not a Democrat when I wear that hat,” Ding said. “It’s valley first.”
Castle said the county needs to protect farmland, be cautious about water-intensive development, such as data centers and build housing on already-approved land, while speeding up permits and adding inspectors. He said new development should also account for public safety staffing and include housing set aside for first responders, nurses, hospital workers and teachers.
“Small towns matter,” Castle said. “And we really need to think about small towns before we just put something large in there.”
Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk
Steve Bestolarides
Steve Bestolarides is running for reelection against Zachary Avelar, whose ballot designation lists him as a United States Marine. Bestolarides, who has held the office since 2015, said his strongest accomplishment has been modernizing the department after a grand jury report recommended upgrades before his tenure.
He said the office digitized its archives, expanded public access to records, created a mobile-friendly website and added satellite services in Lathrop, with plans tied to a county-acquired building in Lodi.
“Experience matters,” Bestolarides said.
Zachary Avelar
Avelar said in a written statement that, if elected, he would use the office as a “fiscal watchdog” and the “people’s eyes and ears in County Government.” He said he would examine the impact of local taxes on property owners, oppose unnecessary tax burdens, support Proposition 13 — the 1978 California law that limits property tax rates and caps most annual increases in assessed value — and improve customer service in departments including vital records and passport services.
Bestolarides said the assessor’s duties are “clearly defined by law” and that taxpayer accountability means treating people fairly while operating within legal limits.
Both candidates also bring political records beyond the current race. Avelar previously served on the Stockton Unified School District Board and was mentioned in a 2023 Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team audit that found “sufficient evidence” of fraud, misappropriation of funds or other illegal fiscal practices at the district. The audit said Avelar reportedly attended a 2020 gathering involving representatives of IAQ Distribution before he joined the board; he later voted as part of the board majority to approve the company’s contract.
Bestolarides has also faced scrutiny while in office. San Joaquin County paid $375,000 in 2023 to settle a disability discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by a former employee, with the county admitting no wrongdoing. In 2016, the Fair Political Practices Commission fined Bestolarides, former Supervisor Carlos Villapudua and a political committee $26,000 over advertisement disclosures tied to a 2012 county term-limits measure
Election information
The San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters began sending out vote-by-mail ballots to registered voters for the June 2 statewide primary on April 30. Voters can return ballots by mail, drop box or vote in person on Election Day. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
This story originally appeared in Stocktonia.
