Ballots are out, it’s time to vote.
San Joaquin County residents will be voting on Tuesday, March 5, during the primary for the board of supervisors for districts 1, 3, and 5.
Those seats are currently filled by Miguel Villapudua in District 1, Tom Patti in District 3, and Robert Rickman in District 5 who is running for re-election. The rest of the seats on the board of supervisors will not be up for re-election until 2026. Their term ends Jan. 2027.
“The board of supervisors functions as the county’s primary legislative and policy-making body. Most county boards also control county land usage, oversee environmental issues, and possess executive powers, meaning they have the authority to appoint or remove departmental heads,” the website Ballotpedia states regarding the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors. “In San Joaquin County, there are five supervisors who are elected by district to four-year terms.”
2024 San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors Candidates
Mario Santiago Gardea
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District: 1
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Occupation: City of Stockton Firefighter
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Campaign platform: Gardea’s priorities as highlighted in a Facebook post are “building a vibrant and #inclusivecommunity” and taking “measures that prioritize the safety of our children.”
Lilliana Udang
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District: 1
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Occupation: Senate District Director
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Campaign platform: Udang’s priorities are “homelessness, workforce and economic development, thriving families, water resources, environmental protections, government accessibility, accountability, and transparency.”
Terence West
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District: 1
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Occupation: County Services Director
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Campaign platform: On his campaign website, West points to community concerns surrounding homelessness, affordable housing and food scarcity affecting seniors.
Mark L. Stebbins
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District: 1
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Occupation: Electrical contractor and Businessman
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Campaign platform: Stebbins’s priorities are unclear. However, at a primary election candidate forum, he mentioned “economic relief”, to reinstate visiting nurses across Stockton homes and “agricultural university and center for the nation.”
Chris Rouppet
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District: 1
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Occupation: San Joaquin County Supervisor’s Chief
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Campaign platform: Rouppet’s priorities are keeping neighborhoods safe, homelessness, and housing costs.
Angel Sepulveda
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District: 3
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Occupation: Small business owner
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Campaign platform: Sepulveda’s priorities are “a working economy, protecting our delta, safer neighborhoods, real solutions for our homeless.”
Sonny Dhaliwal
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District: 3
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Occupation: City of Lathrop Mayor
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Campaign platform: Dhaliwal priorities are keeping the community healthy and safe, promoting economic opportunities, modernizing the infrastructure, and balancing budgets.
Steve Debrum
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District: 3
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Occupation: Farmer and Businessman
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Campaign platform: Debrum’s priorities are “to keep neighborhoods safe, build our economy to create more better-paying jobs, and reduce the impact homeless camps have on our communities.”
Wes Huffman
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District: 5
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Occupation: Retired school teacher
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Campaign platform: Huffman’s priorities are unclear. In 2022, The Tracy Press reported that Huffman was a candidate running for Tracy City Council; “He said the citizen’s job, in turn, is to hold the council accountable to its promises.”
Nancy D. Young
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District: 5
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Occupation: City of Tracy Mayor
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Campaign platform: Young’s are jobs and the economy, public safety, housing, and homelessness.
Robert Rickman
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District: 5
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Occupation: City of Tracy Mayor
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Campaign platform: Rickman’s priorities are “boosting local jobs and the economy, improving regional traffic and transportation options, equipping first responders, supporting law enforcement, working to reduce homelessness, helping farmers, and protecting our water and environment.”
If you want to hear more from the candidates attend one of the Primary election forums happening in Stockton now through February.
For more information on elections visit stocktonca.gov.
The Record will publish voter guides for the following local elections: Stockton City Council, Stockton Mayor, San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors and San Joaquin County Board of Education over the next four days.
Record reporter Angelaydet Rocha covers community news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @AngelaydetRocha. To support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: board of supervisors candidates Stockton