O’Banion noncommittal on future re-election bid

Jerry O’Banion, Merced County supervisor for District 5, dodged questions this week about whether he will run for re-election in 2018 after three new supervisors won seats this year.

If O’Banion decides against running, the Merced County Board of Supervisors will have turnover for each seat in the past four years.

When asked about his re-election bid by the Sun-Star on Wednesday, O’Banion said, “We’ll find out.”

“There’s another year at least until I have to make that determination,” O’Banion said.

O’Banion is currently in the middle of his seventh term in the District 5 seat. He first was elected in 1990, unseating Anthony Whitehurst. O’Banion was the longest-serving supervisor on the outgoing board and will remain so when three new supervisors are sworn in next week.

“I’ve enjoyed my time on the board,” he said. “I wouldn’t stay around if I didn’t enjoy it.”

O’Banion, 70, said he’s worked with 14 other supervisors during his 26 years on the board. When the new supervisors are sworn in, that number will rise to 17.

Supervisor-elect Rodrigo Espinoza beat incumbent John Pedrozo for the District 1 seat in the June election. Supervisor-elect Lee Lor beat incumbent Hub Walsh for the District 2 seat in a runoff election in November. Lloyd Pareira won election for the District 4 seat in November after incumbent Deidre Kelsey announced she would not seek a sixth term.

When O’Banion’s term comes to an end in 2018, he will have served 28 years. Only one other county supervisor – Harry P Schmidt in District 4 – has served that long since the inception of the board in 1855, according to county records.

O’Banion’s father, Emory, also served a long stint as the District 5 supervisor. He served from 1955 to 1973, county records show.

O’Banion served as the mayor of Dos Palos, where he still lives, before he was elected to the Board of Supervisors.

This story was originally published December 29, 2016 at 5:13 PM with the headline "O’Banion noncommittal on future re-election bid."