A controlling majority of seats on the Board of Supervisors in Napa County are up for grabs in next week’s primary election.
Voters will decide on three supervisor seats in the March 5 election. Voters in parts of the county may also see any of three initiatives on their local ballot.
Seats in Districts 2, 4 and 5 are up for election, but only District 5 has an incumbent in the race. Only two candidates are competing in each race, so the March 5 election will declare a winner outright, since one candidate will receive more than 50 percent of the vote, according to the Napa County Registrar of Voters.
Supervisor Ryan Gregory, who represents District 2, and Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza, who represents District 4, separately announced in 2023 that they would not seek reelection.
District 5 supervisor
District 5 incumbent Supervisor Belia Ramos will compete against a sole challenger, Mariam Aboudamous. The district covers the southeast corner of the county and includes the city of American Canyon, the county’s industrial area, and Coombsville.
Aboudamous is an American Canyon city councilmember. She has the endorsement of the Napa County Chamber of Commerce and the Napa County Farm Bureau.
Some of Aboudamous’ priorities mentioned at a recent candidate forum and highlighted on her campaign website are addressing traffic congestion, investing in affordable housing, and building climate resiliency.
Ramos first took office in 2017 and is running for her third term. She touts accomplishments in her time on the board such as advocating for funding for improvements to state Highway 29, secured funding for a county workforce development program and creating a forgivable loan program for property owners trying to build accessory dwelling units on their property.
District 2 supervisor
The race for District 2 features a current Napa city councilmember, Liz Alessio, and former Napa City Councilmember and teacher Doris Gentry.
The district includes the western portion of the city of Napa, Mt. Veeder and the western Carneros area.
Alessio lists several endorsements on her campaign website that include U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, and Napa County Sheriff Oscar Ortiz.
Her priorities include building more affordable housing and shelter space, improving access to mental health and substance abuse services, and investing in transportation infrastructure, according to her candidate statement.
Gentry lists her priorities as supporting the Sheriff’s Office through enhanced training, investing in the local tourism industry, and she champions the county’s land trust to preserve open space.
District 4 supervisor
The race for District 4 will see Amber Manfree take on Pete Mott. The district includes the middle area of the eastern part of the county and includes Lake Berryessa, parts of the city of Napa and Monticello Park.
Manfree is a science writer with expertise in transportation sustainability and geographic information systems, according to her campaign website. She has been endorsed by the Napa County Democratic Central Committee, the Sierra Club, and local chapters of the Service Employees International Union.
Manfree’s top policy goals include addressing housing needs through the county’s Housing Element and protecting the county’s Ag Preserve and Ag Watershed, which together set aside about 474,000 acres for land preservation in the county and fall under the jurisdiction of the Board of Supervisors.
Mott, a Napa city councilmember, would make fire preparedness, affordable housing and infrastructure improvements some of his top priorities as a supervisor. He has been endorsed by the Napa County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, Planned Parenthood Northern California Action Fund, and the Cal Fire Local 2881 union.
Ballot measures
Residents in the town of Yountville will also decide whether to increase the town’s annual expenditures of existing revenue (Measure U), while voters in the Howell Mountain Elementary School District will vote on whether to issue $9 million in bonds for school improvements (Measure D).
Residents who live in the Lake Berryessa Resort Improvement District will decide on whether to cap the special district’s annual appropriations at $510,000 through fiscal year 2027-28 (Measure U).
Early, in-person voting began this past Saturday for next week’s election.