All deadlines have officially passed to run for the June 2026 election, and a mostly contested ballot will give San Mateo County voters much to consider in the coming months.
Wednesday evening marked the end of the extended filing period, which allowed people to enter a race in which an incumbent opted out of running for reelection. In this election, those races were the county superintendent of schools and assessor-county clerk-recorder and chief elections officer.
Running for the top educational job in San Mateo County is Chelsea Bonini and Hector Camacho. The position is currently held by Marco Chávez, who was appointed by the Board of Education in February following the early retirement of Nancy Magee.
Bonini is a member of the county’s Board of Education, the governing body that oversees the superintendent and the Office of Education. Camacho currently serves as the executive director of Equity, Social Justice and Inclusion for the Office of Education.
Another critical race will be for assessor-county clerk-recorder and chief elections officer, which is being sought by insider Jim Irizarry, who is currently second in command of the office, and Supervisor David Canepa, who would exit his position on the board two years early should he win.
While Canepa could leave the Board of Supervisors early, his colleague Ray Mueller is looking to keep his seat representing District 3.
Mueller, the incumbent, is in the race against Joaquin Jimenez, a former member of the Half Moon Bay City Council. Jimenez may be recognized more recently as a loyal defender of former Sheriff Christina Corpus. Mueller was a critical leader in having her removed.
Also up for reelection is Supervisor Noelia Corzo, who is running unopposed to continue representing District 2. County Coroner Robert Foucrault, County Controller Juan Raigoza and Treasurer/Tax Collector Sandie Arnott are also running unopposed.
In the state Assembly, both District 21 and District 23 represent parts of San Mateo County and incumbents are looking to keep their seats against Republican opponents.
Recommended for you
In District 21, Assemblymember Diane Papan, D-San Mateo, is hoping to continue representing what includes most of the Bayside of San Mateo County. Papan is in the race against Republican Jabra Muhawieh, who ran for Hillsborough City Council in 2024 and received approximately 6.5% of the vote.
In District 23, Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, currently represents the coastside and southern parts of San Mateo County and parts of Santa Clara County. He’s defending his seat against Republican Rick Giorgetti.
The race for U.S. Congress is far more crowded.
U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, is looking to maintain his seat representing California’s 15th congressional district. He is defending his spot against fellow Democrats Mantosh Kumar, a strategic business advisor, and Anthony Van Dang, a policy analyst. Others in the race are Republican Charles Hoelter, a retired training supervisor, and Jim Garrity, a nonpartisan retired police inspector.
U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-San Jose, is also defending his seat to represent California’s 16th congressional district against nonpartisan opponents Kevin Johnson and Jotham Stein.
The State Board of Equalization District 2 position is also on the ballot, an elected officer representing nearly the entire coastline of California. The Board of Equalization oversees the state’s property tax system, audits county assessors and directs tax policies.
Incumbent Sally Lieber was elected to the position in 2022, and recently ran for a Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors seat but lost to Margaret Abe-Koga. She is defending her seat on the Board of Equalization against John Pimentel, a current trustee for the San Mateo County Community College District. William Shireman is also in the race.
The Redwood City School District is also seeking voter approval of a parcel tax that would levy 17.5 cents per building square foot, or a $175 tax for a 1,000-square-foot property. The parcel tax would generate $12.2 million annually for the school district, and needs two-thirds of voter approval to pass.
This list of candidates is based on the published roster by the San Mateo County Elections Office as of 4:30 p.m. March 11. The final certified statewide ballot will be posted by the Secretary of State’s Office the morning of March 27. The election is Tuesday, June 2. Go to smcacre.gov/elections/june-2-2026-statewide-direct-primary-election for more information.
(1) comment
Oh boy! On your mark, get set, go! Be ready for the multitude of letters supporting and conversely, slamming, candidates. I’d remind folks to ignore letters about a candidate’s personality and instead, focus on what candidates have accomplished, if anything, or what they’ve failed to do to support Americans. As for any taxes, parcel or sales or transportation, just vote NO. Don’t worry, if you have voter remorse, the same tax proposals will show up again and again and you can decide at a later time whether you want to transfer your hard-earned money to union labor salaries, pensions, and benefits.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.