Election 2022: The Merced Sun-Star Editorial Board’s recommendations for local races

Below is a summary of the Merced Sun-Star Editorial Board’s recommendations for the June 7 primary election. Recommendations, like editorials, represent the collective opinion of the Editorial Board. Recommendations are not always unanimous and do not necessarily reflect the individual opinions of board members.

The Sun-Star’s opinion section operates independently from the news section. Reporters do not participate in Editorial Board deliberations or weigh in on its decisions. They may observe candidate interviews. The board is led by Opinion Editor Tad Weber.

Federal offices

U.S. Representative, California’s Congressional District 13

The Sun-Star’s choice: Adam Gray

Here’s why: “If you want a member of Congress who has no record, no experience and doesn’t even live in the district, then vote for any of my opponents, because they all fit that description,” Gray said in The Modesto Bee’s forum. He has represented Merced and Stanislaus counties well for 10 years in the state Assembly and is jointly endorsed by The Bees in Modesto and Fresno as well as The Merced Sun-Star.

State office:

Assembly, District 27

The Sun-Star’s choice: Esmeralda Soria

Here’s why: The Fresno City Councilmember has become a housing expert in her time serving the state’s fifth largest city. Housing is in critical need in Merced, where classes at UC Merced had to be delayed last fall when 1,000 students had not yet found places to live. While in Fresno Soria has done more than any other council member to develop affordable units; this background led to her being appointed to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s homeless task force in 2019. She was one of seven elected officials and the only person from the San Joaquin Valley. Soria is also a pro-choice Catholic who wants a woman’s right to choose written into the state Constitution, and supports completing high-speed rail.

County offices:

District attorney

The Sun-Star’s choice: Nicole Silveira

Here’s why: The Editorial Board recommends voters choose Nicole Silveira, a lifelong county resident and a top prosecutor in the DA’s office. Silveira has prosecuted eight homicide cases among the more than 30 jury trials she has handled. Among her responsibilities was taking gang members to trial. She was the first woman to be promoted to the position of supervising deputy district attorney. She graduated from Atwater High School before attending Merced College and transferring to California State University, San Diego. Among her endorsements, Silveira is backed by Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke.

County superintendent of schools

The Sun-Star’s choice: Steve M. Tietjen

Here’s why: Steve Tietjen has been the county schools supintendent since 2017, and thanks to his steady leadership, should get the chance to keep the post for another four years. Among his accomplishments, Tietjen helped guide the 20 districts in Merced County through the COVID pandemic. The districts reopened for classes in the spring of 2021, Tietjen believing that children learned best in the regular classroom setting. In another COVID response, Tietjen directed emergency preschool placements for the children of essential workers in the summer of 2020. And all Merced County Head Start centers now offer full-day programs.

Statewide Offices

Here are the recommendations of The Sacramento Bee on statewide races:

California Attorney General

The Bee’s choices: Rob Bonta and Anne Marie Schubert

Here’s why: The attorney general’s race provides a forum for meaningful discussions on these issues, and the public would be best served if Bonta and Schubert are the two candidates debating them until November.

California Controller

The Bee’s choice: Steve Glazer

Here’s why: Glazer has consistently demonstrated the capacity to go against the party on principle, an indispensable quality for the office he seeks.

California Insurance Commissioner

The Bee’s choice: Marc Levine

Here’s why: Levine has been a strikingly different sort of politician, which is the least this office needs.

Key voting info

All registered voters have received ballots in the mail. They can be mailed back in the sealed envelope provided; they must be postmarked no later than Tuesday, June 7. Ballots can also be dropped in any of Merced County’s drop boxes. Voting can also be done at any of the county’s voting centers. Voting on Election Day can be done from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information on mailing ballots, drop boxes or voting in person, go online to www.countyofmerced.com.