Hopefuls vying for three seats on MID board of directors

MERCED -- The Merced Irrigation District has three seats open on its board of directors, which will be decided in November's election.

Positions will open up in three of the five divisions in the county. Terms are for four years.

There are two candidates running for Division 2, which includes parts of the city of Merced and El Nido: Incumbent Gino Pedretti, longtime El Nido farmer, will be up against Scott Koehn, a sales manager and cattleman from Merced.

In Division 4, which includes the cities of Livingston, Cressey, Winton and parts of Atwater, there are two candidates: Kevin Gonzalves, a farmer and business owner, will face off against board Chairwoman Suzy Hultgren. Both candidates are from Winton.

Division 5, which includes part of Atwater and the area southwest of the city, will see another incumbent challenged: Almond farmer Wil Hunter, the incumbent, faces off against Billy Pementel, who also farms in the area.

The races will appear on local ballots during the November election, respective of location.

Reporter Joshua Emerson Smith can be reached at (209)385-2486 or jsmith@mercedsunstar.com.