Close call: San Mateo County schools chief candidates just a few hundred votes apart

by Alise Maripuu, Bay City News June 4, 2026June 3, 2026

San Mateo County Board of Education trustee Chelsea Bonini (left) and Hector Camacho, the executive director of equity, social justice and inclusion for the San Mateo County Office of Education, are in a close race to become the county's next superintendent of schools. (San Mateo County Office of Education via Bay City News)

Only a few hundred votes separated the two candidates vying to be the next San Mateo County superintendent of schools after early results came in Tuesday night.

Chelsea Bonini, a trustee on the San Mateo County Board of Education, is leading the race with about 50.5% of the votes so far. Her opponent, Hector Camacho, has 49.5%.

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Alise Maripuu, Bay City News

Alise is a general assignment reporter with a focus on covering government, elections, housing, crime, courts and entertainment in San Francisco and on the Peninsula. Alise is a Bay Area native from San Carlos. She studied history at University of California, Santa Cruz and first started journalism at Skyline College’s school newspaper in San Bruno. She has interned for Bay City News and for Eesti Rahvusringhääling, or Estonian Public Broadcasting. She has covered everything from the removal of former San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus to the divisive battle over the Great Highway on San Francisco’s west side. Please send her any tips.

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