Skip to main content

County · Statewide General Election

Inyo County Board of Supervisors, District 3

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

This person is one of five supervisors governing Inyo County: the budget, county health and social services, and unincorporated-area land use. A 4-year term.

Inyo County's Board of Supervisors, District 3 seat heads to a November 3, 2026 runoff: incumbent Scott Marcellin against challenger Steven Orihuela. Neither cleared a majority in the June 2 primary, which also included a third candidate, Ted Carleton -- early returns had Marcellin at 39.73%, Orihuela at 37.33%, and Carleton, eliminated, at 22.93%.

The winner serves a 4-year term as one of five supervisors governing Inyo County: setting the county budget, overseeing county health and social-service departments, and deciding land use in unincorporated areas. District 3 itself is small and urbanized by Inyo County standards -- about 3.1 square miles covering several West Bishop neighborhoods just outside Bishop city limits, including the Bishop Paiute Reservation, Early Pond, Sunrise, Sunset, South Barlow, and the Manor Market area, per the county's own district page. That's a sliver of a county whose total area (10,227 square miles, nearly half of it inside Death Valley National Park) makes it one of California's largest by land.

The choice pits an incumbent tradesman-turned-supervisor against a tribal-government and economic-development professional. Marcellin, first elected in 2022 after defeating two other challengers, is a lifelong Inyo County resident and third-generation owner of a local electrical contracting business; Orihuela, a Bishop Paiute Tribal Council member and former Tribal Chairman, has spent about a decade in tribal economic development and holds an MBA. Their June primary margin was close -- Marcellin led by only about two and a half points -- with nearly a quarter of the primary electorate voting for the eliminated third candidate.

Scott Marcellin

Scott Marcellin is the District 3 incumbent, first elected in 2022 and now seeking a second term. A lifelong Inyo County resident, he is the third generation to own Rollins Electric, an electrical contracting business his mother's father started in 1952, and worked for years as an IBEW journeyman electrician before that. He led the June 2 primary field but fell short of a majority.

Strengths

One term of incumbency and a first-place primary finish, per the county's June 2 results. A pre-Board civic record: volunteer/reserve firefighter, fire-district board member, decades in local clubs.

Trade-offs

He did not clear a majority against two challengers in June, and roughly 60% of the primary electorate voted for someone other than him.

Keep in mind

The county's own bio page says he "plans to sell the business and retire by the end of 2025" -- written before this pass, not independently confirmed. No 2026 finance filing was found for him.

Steven Orihuela

Steven Orihuela is a Bishop Paiute Tribal Council member and former Tribal Chairman challenging the incumbent for the District 3 seat. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Arizona and has spent about a decade in tribal economic development -- including work on the tribe's gas stations, casino, and a hotel opening in summer 2026 -- per a National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development press release honoring him as a 2026 "Native American 40 Under 40" leader. He finished second in the June 2 primary, about two and a half points behind Marcellin.

Strengths

About a decade of tribal economic-development leadership and an MBA, plus a clear second-place finish setting up a direct matchup with the incumbent. Newsom appointed him to the Tri-County Fair Board.

Trade-offs

No prior elected county-government office. His public profile rests on one third-party press release marking his own award, not campaign-focused local news coverage.

Keep in mind

That press release, his fullest source here, is promotional -- it quotes a supporter calling him "a strong and trusted candidate." Its facts are used here, not its framing. No 2026 finance filing was found.

Source review: Mixed (78/100) · 8 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context; advocacy or endorsement sources are treated as attributed perspective.

Review note: Sierra Wave (Press Release, National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development) -- "Orihuela Honored for Outstanding Leadership...": a third-party press release naming Steven Orihuela a 2026 "Native American 40 Under 40" honoree; promotional in tone (includes a supporter calling him "a strong and trusted candidate for County Supervisor"), used here only for its biographical facts (MBA, tribal offices held, water-commission role, gubernatorial board appointment), not its characterizations of his candidacy may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

  • elections.inyocounty.us (opens in a new tab)Inyo County -- "Current Election" (official elections page): classifies Board of Supervisors District 3 under "Local Nonpartisan Offices -- Runoff contests," the top two from a June primary where no candidate cleared 50%.
  • drive.google.com (opens in a new tab)Inyo County -- county-hosted "Candidate Log" PDF (linked from the county's Current Election page as "List of Candidates"): lists exactly two November filers for Board of Supervisors, District 3 -- Scott Marcellin* (incumbent) and Steven Orihuela.
  • inyocounty.us (opens in a new tab)Inyo County -- official Board of Supervisors "District 3" page: Scott Marcellin's own official biography, took-office date, prior offices held, and the district's boundary description (3.1 square miles of West Bishop).
  • sierrawave.net (opens in a new tab)Sierra Wave (Press Release) -- "District 3 Inyo County Supervisor's Candidate Forum": names all three June primary candidates -- Scott Marcellin, Steven Orihuela, and Ted Carleton -- as confirmed attendees ahead of the primary.
  • sierrawave.net (opens in a new tab)Sierra Wave (News Staff) -- "1st Election Report Local Offices Only in Readable Format": reproduces the county's own Semi-Official Results, 1st Report, June 2, 2026 primary -- County Supervisor 3rd District: Marcellin 149 votes (39.73%), Orihuela 140 votes (37.33%), Carleton 86 votes (22.93%).
  • sierrawave.net (opens in a new tab)Sierra Wave (Press Release, National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development) -- "Orihuela Honored for Outstanding Leadership...": names Steven Orihuela a 2026 "Native American 40 Under 40" honoree; promotional in tone, used only for its biographical facts (MBA, tribal offices held, water-commission role, gubernatorial board appointment), not its characterizations of his candidacy.
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)State campaign-finance index (Cal-Access): blocked by Incapsula bot protection on a direct fetch; no local Inyo County campaign-finance disclosure portal found -- a documented negative result for both candidates, not a claim about their actual finances.
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia, "Inyo County, California": used narrowly for county-scale background (total area 10,227 sq mi, 2020 Census population 19,016) to contextualize District 3's small size; not used for any officeholder or election claim.

Last updated September 2, 2026.