10 candidates vying for 3 Merced County Board of Supervisors seats

Three seats on the Merced County Board of Supervisors are up for election this year, attracting 10 candidates.

The five-member board governs the county, with each member representing the district where he or she resides. Members serve four-year terms.

On June 7, voters will elect representatives for Districts 1, 2 and 4.

Sun-Star reporters interviewed each of the candidates about the top issues affecting Merced County, including their positions on public safety, priorities for county spending, economic development, high-speed rail, medical marijuana and water. Below are brief summaries of each. The candidates’ Q&A profiles appeared in the Sun-Star on April 28 and 29. Longer versions can be found online through the links attached to their names below. Video statements are available through the links, except for the two District 1 candidates, which can be found here: John Pedrozo and Rodrigo Espinoza.

District 1 - John Pedrozo

John Pedrozo, the incumbent supervisor for District 1 in his bid for a fourth term, hopes to enact policies that will reduce the crime rates in Merced County and support the Sheriff’s Office.

The 58-year-old Merced farmer is a graduate of Merced High School and attended Merced College.

“My three main priorities are: public safety, continuing to work on protecting agricultural land and water, and early childhood development,” Pedrozo said.

Pedrozo touted his experience and effectiveness on the Board of Supervisors and desire to continue shaping the county’s economic path forward as the reasons to be on the June 7 ballot.

District 1 - Rodrigo Espinoza

Livingston Mayor Rodrigo Espinoza said residents of Merced County District 1 have been telling him they are frustrated with the Board of Supervisors and want better representation.

“My district hasn’t been represented correctly,” Espinoza said. “There has to be a better fit for the entire county, not just a few areas of it.”

The 48-year-old peach and almond farmer is a graduate of Livingston High School and holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from California State University, Stanislaus.

Espinoza said he is on the June 7 ballot because he wants to bring more projects and county-level opportunities to Livingston and other areas of District 1.

District 2 - Hub Walsh

The Merced County District 2 incumbent said he was part of the effort to guide the area out of the Great Recession and hopes voters agree to keep him on.

Hub Walsh was elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012. Walsh, 65, first came to Merced as a senior in high school, when his father was stationed at Castle Air Force Base.

He started his college career at UC Berkeley before he was drafted into the Army near the end of 1972 through the end of 1974, around the time the Vietnam War was winding down.

He holds two master’s degrees, one in social science and the other in business administration. He’s worked in child welfare, job training and a number of other positions in Merced County’s Human Services Agency.

After taking a job as the director of human services in Madera County, he also was twice elected as a Merced city councilman and twice as the mayor.

“I would hope that the community feels I’ve done a good enough job to continue to serve them,” he said.

District 2 - Lee Lor

Voters who are unsatisfied with Merced County’s economic standing, crime rate and general outlook have an opportunity to make over the Board of Supervisors this year, and one candidate says she’s the best selection for legitimate change.

Lee Lor, 34, was born in Connecticut, but came to Merced at a young age and, after several moves, has been here since 1999. This is her first run at the District 2 supervisor’s seat.

She’s 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.

Lor said she has held leadership roles in the Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Merced and Merced Lao Family Community. She was recently reappointed to the Merced County Fair Board and has worked with Valley Crisis Center and the Merced County Probation Department.

She earned a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Stanislaus, and a master’s in business administration from California State University, Fresno.

“I want people to really consider where they want to be in four years,” she said. “This is our opportunity to create our future.”

District 2 - Casey Steed

Recommitting to making Merced County a safe place to have a family and open a business should be the focus of this election, according to a familiar challenger for the District 2 seat.

This election cycle is Casey Steed’s third go at the District 2 supervisor’s seat. The 53-year-old is a native of Merced, but lived a number of years in San Diego before coming back to his hometown.

Steed is an electrical contractor, and is also co-host of the weekly talk radio show on KYOS called “Citizens Watch.”

He’s been critical of the sitting Board of Supervisors, saying the county’s ills can be attributed to a “lack of leadership.” He pointed to Merced County’s unemployment rate, which is consistently twice the state average, and the county’s high level of violence.

“I think things have gotten worse in the last four years, and that’s why I’m running,” he said. “I’m not running because there’s an election. I’m running because there’s a need in this community.”

District 4 - Fidel Cervantes

A trustee on the Delhi school board, Fidel Cervantes said running for supervisor is an “extension” of his public service focused on youths.

Cervantes, 24, has lived his whole life in Delhi and attended local schools. He graduated from UC Merced in 2014 with a degree in political science and economics and works as an employment specialist at the International Rescue Committee in Stanislaus County. In 2011, Cervantes was appointed to the Delhi Unified School District governing board. He was re-elected in 2012 and is the president of the board.

Cervantes said the decision to run for District 4 supervisor was a “personal decision.” During his time on the school board, he began to understand how many residents in the unincorporated portions of the county heavily rely on county services. “There’s so much left to do to improve the quality of life,” he said.

Disrict 4 - Rich Ford

Rich Ford of Gustine says his experience in local government combined with his knowledge as a business owner make him a fit candidate for supervisor.

Ford, 57, was born in La Grange and has lived in Gustine most of his life. He owns and operates his family’s farm equipment business, Ford’s Farm Supply.

In the early 1980s, Ford began participating in public service through the Gustine Recreation Commission. From there, he served on the Merced County Parks and Recreation Commission. In 1986, he was elected to the Gustine City Council. He was appointed mayor for the first time in the early ’90s, then elected twice in 2006 and 2008. Ford currently serves on the Merced County Planning Commission.

“I’m always interested in public service,” Ford said. “I think my ideas and the experience and background I have are beneficial to the decisions for the county.”

District 4 - Jack Mobley

Jack Mobley is concerned about the state of California and doing business here, so he’s hoping to concentrate his efforts locally to make a positive impact in Merced County.

Mobley, 58, grew up in Tennessee, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Tennessee. He came to Merced County in 1982 while he was in the Air Force and stationed at Castle Air Force Base. He moved back to Merced County permanently in 1989 and lives in Merced.

While attending First Baptist Church of Merced, he met many southeast Asian refugees, prompting a business idea aimed at helping the refugees. Mobley bought ServiceMaster Commercial Cleaning, a janitorial service, employing more than 2,000 people over 26 years.

Mobley ran for California’s 21st Assembly District four times. He believes he’ll have a greater impact locally as supervisor.

“I can have more of a hands-on (approach) and make a bigger impact here than if I was one of 80 in Sacramento,” he said.

District 4 - Lloyd Pareira

Lloyd Pareira considers Merced County a “hidden jewel” and is hopeful he can help the county realize its full potential by winning a seat on the Board of Supervisors.

“We’re the Gateway to Yosemite. We’re right by the ocean, yet we’re a farming community,” he said. “People travel from all over the world to come to Yosemite or the Bay Area, and here we are right in the middle of it.”

Pareira, 53, has lived on his family’s farm off Highway 59 near the Merced River nearly his whole life. He earned his bachelor’s degree in dairy science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Pareira owned his own dairy in Turlock after college before taking over his family’s farm. He works as a salesman for APG Solar. The Pareiras are active at Yosemite Church, and Lloyd also serves as a trustee on the Merced River school board. In the past, he served as a board member for the Merced County Farm Bureau and a delegate for the Western United Dairymen.

District 4 - Ramon Prado

As a survivor of gang violence, Ramon Prado says he is making it his mission to improve his community and the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.

Prado has lived in Merced County his whole life. When he was a teen, Prado was shot in a drive-by shooting and almost didn’t live. Growing up, he said, he knew of neighbors on his street who cooked meth.

He left Delhi after high school for work, but returned before his father died. After that, Prado, 30, began working for the after-school programs in Delhi. He now works with special needs students in Turlock. Prado was appointed to the county’s Delhi Municipal Advisory Council in 2011 and is involved in other community organizations.

Prado hopes to bring equal representation for Latinos to the Board of Supervisors and to promote drug and gang prevention programs for youths.

“Other candidates say they are tired of hearing Merced is the worst of this and that,” Prado said. “I’m tired of living it. I want the county to represent its citizens.”

This story was originally published May 27, 2016 at 5:17 PM with the headline "10 candidates vying for 3 Merced County Board of Supervisors seats."