Merced County supervisors filings close this week

The filing deadline to run for a Merced County Board of Supervisors seat is Friday, and a newcomer has joined the list of people vying for one of the three seats up in June.

Alex McCabe, 33, a Livingston city councilman, pulled papers last week for District 1. He said he hasn’t made a final decision on whether he will compete for the seat, but is weighing his options while meeting with consultants.

“At this point, I’m just trying to see where I’ll make the biggest impact in Merced County,” he said.

Candidates have until Friday to officially file their declarations with the county. In order to qualify, candidates must collect at least 20 signatures of registered voters and have resided in the district they wish to represent for at least 30 days prior to filing. There is a filing fee of $1,000.58, which candidates can reduce with additional signatures.

Supervisors serve four-year terms. Three of the county’s five district seats are up for vote in the June 7 election: District 1, which stretches from Le Grand and Planada to Livingston, encompassing parts of South Merced along the way; District 2, made up mostly of north and central Merced; and District 4, which stretches from Snelling to Gustine.

So far, the incumbent for District 1, Merced County Supervisor John Pedrozo, is the only candidate to qualify to be on the ballot. The 58-year-old first elected in 2004 raised $12,077 in campaign contributions last year, according to Merced County Registrar of Voters records.

In District 2, incumbent Hub Walsh could face two challengers: Lee Lor and Casey Steed.

Walsh, who was elected in District 2 in 2008, collected $1,788 in 2015 contributions, according to records.

Lor, 34, launched her campaign in February. She is the executive director of the Merced County Education Fund, an effort of the Merced County Office of Education to help families who can’t afford extracurricular activities for their children.

Steed, 53, who is an electrical contractor, challenged Walsh before in 2012. He may be better known as co-host of the weekly talk radio show on KYOS called “Citizens Watch.”

The race in District 4 is the most crowded with six contenders. Deidre Kelsey, who has served the district for two decades, announced in July she would not seek re-election. Assuming she does not change her mind and file by Friday, the deadline in that race will be extended to March 16, according to the Registrar of Voters office.

Potential District 4 candidates who are circulating petitions include: Fidel Cervantes, 23, Delhi; Paul Dunn, 62, Snelling; Rich Ford, 57, Gustine; Jack Mobley, 58, Merced; Lloyd Pareira, 53, Merced; and Ramon Prado, 29, Delhi.

Cervantes, a UC Merced graduate, has served on the Delhi Unified School District board of trustees since 2011. He collected $2,743 in contributions last year, records show.

There was little information available about Dunn, who did not have a phone number listed publicly.

The owner of Ford’s Farm Supply, Ford was on the Gustine City Council for 24 years. He was most recently the mayor before walking away from city government in 2010.

Mobley is president of ServiceMaster Commercial Cleaning Services, a janitorial company. He’s run unsuccessful campaigns for the state’s 21st Assembly District more than once.

A trustee for the Merced River School District board, Pareira runs his family’s dairy, called Oak Valley Dairy.

Prado is on Delhi’s Municipal Advisory Committee, what is similar to a city council in unincorporated cities. He also attends Merced College.

No other candidates have filed campaign contributions.

This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Merced County supervisors filings close this week."