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County · Statewide General Election

Mariposa County Board of Supervisors, District 1

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 Mariposa County: the county budget, land use in the county's mostly unincorporated communities -- including the Yosemite National Park gateway towns in District 1 -- and county health and social-service departments. A 4-year term.

Mariposa County's Board of Supervisors has an open seat on the November 3, 2026 ballot: District 1 -- which runs from Midpines into Yosemite Valley, taking in El Portal, Fish Camp, Jerseydale, and Yosemite West -- pits former California Teachers Association staffer Lisa Edelheit against semi-retired educator and youth pastor Stanley Bissmeyer. Sitting Supervisor Rosemarie Smallcombe is not seeking re-election. The Mariposa Gazette reports this is the only contested local race on the county's entire November ballot.

The winner serves a 4-year term as one of five supervisors governing Mariposa County: setting the county budget, deciding land use across the county's mostly unincorporated communities -- including the Yosemite gateway towns in this district -- and overseeing county health and social-service departments.

Neither candidate reached a majority in the June 2 primary, per the county's own certified canvass -- Edelheit led with 42.45% (540 votes) to Bissmeyer's 32.78% (417), with a third candidate, Adam McLane, taking 24.76% (315) and being eliminated. Both remaining candidates have deep roots in the county but different kinds of experience: Bissmeyer's is decades of hands-on local civic service (poll supervisor, county Grand Jury) and blue-collar/public-safety work; Edelheit's is a career representing teachers' unions across several Central Valley school districts, work that regularly involved reviewing school district budgets and contracts.

Lisa Edelheit

Lisa Edelheit is a 40-year resident of Midpines who spent more than a decade as a California Teachers Association staff representative, working directly with local teachers' union chapters across the Central Valley -- including the Visalia Unified Teachers Association, the Madera County Office of Education Teachers Association, an El Nido/Fresno-area chapter, and the Yosemite Unified Teachers Association. Three former chapter presidents who worked with her, writing separately to the Mariposa Gazette, each describe a multi-year working relationship and her advocacy on teachers' behalf; one letter states her CTA work included analyzing school district budgets and reviewing contracts. No campaign website could be found for her this pass.

Strengths

Sustained experience with school district budgets and contract negotiation, plus advocacy work described consistently by several people who worked with her directly.

Trade-offs

No campaign site or detailed platform statement was found; no prior elected or county-government experience.

Keep in mind

Beyond one Gazette news line, her profile comes from endorsement letters, not independent reporting. One letter's "$500 million budgets" claim is that letter's figure alone, unverified.

Stanley Bissmeyer

Stanley Bissmeyer moved to Mariposa in 1970 and graduated from Mariposa High School; he and his wife Debbie have raised two sons in the county over five decades there. His career spans a seasonal California Department of Forestry firefighter, logging/construction and road building (including owning a licensed logging-and-sawmill operation), youth pastor and counselor work starting in 1982, a certified group supervisor and youth counselor role at the Mt. Bullion Youth Conservation Camp and the N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility (California Youth Authority), and K-12 private-school teaching from 2006 to 2011. He has served as a county poll supervisor for more than 18 years and sat on the County Grand Jury in 2005-2006. His platform, "Make Mariposa Thrive for Everyone," centers on forest protection and land use, fiscal accountability, and public safety.

Strengths

Long local civic service -- 18-plus years as poll supervisor, a Grand Jury term, years of youth-corrections/pastoral counseling -- corroborated across his site, announcement, and Gazette reporting.

Trade-offs

No county-budget, land-use, or elected-office experience; stated priorities are general themes, not detailed positions.

Keep in mind

Most of his biography comes from his own campaign materials, not independent reporting, though its specific, checkable facts are consistent across sources.

June 2 primary — how they advanced

Stanley Bissmeyer32.78% · 417 votes
Lisa Edelheit42.45% · 540 votes
Source review: Mixed (75/100) · 11 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: Mariposa Gazette -- "Edelheit would help county" (letter to the editor, published 2026-04-23), signed by Darryl Burton, chapter president of the Madera County Office of Education Teachers Association: describes a multi-year working relationship with Lisa Edelheit in her capacity as their CTA staff contact., Mariposa Gazette -- "County needs Lisa Edelheit" (letter to the editor, published 2026-04-23), signed by the then-president of the Yosemite Unified Teachers Association: describes working with Edelheit over multiple years in her CTA staff capacity and "witness[ing] firsthand her dedication to the students and schools.", Mariposa Gazette -- "Has to be Edelheit" (letter to the editor, published 2026-04-23): states Lisa Edelheit is a 40-year resident of Midpines who spent "more than 10 years" with the Visalia Unified Teachers Association as California Teachers Association staff, during which she "analyzed $500 million budgets" and reviewed complicated contracts., Sierra Sun Times/goldrushcam.com -- "Stanley Bissmeyer Announces Candidacy for Mariposa County District 1 Supervisor" (published 2026-01-06): a candidate-submitted announcement published verbatim by the outlet -- moved to Mariposa in 1970, Mariposa High School class of 1974; seasonal CDF firefighter; logging/construction/road-building and a licensed logging-and-sawmill operation; youth pastor/counselor at New Life Calvary Chapel (Bootjack) from 1982; certified group supervisor/youth counselor at the Mt. Bullion Youth Conservation Camp and the N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility; an A.S. in Computer Graphics and Design (2000); K-12 private-school teaching, 2006-2011; 18+ years as a county poll supervisor; 2005-2006 County Grand Jury., and Stanley Bissmeyer -- his own campaign site (votestanb.com): a Mariposa High School graduate who has spent most of his life in the county; career in firefighting, logging/construction/sawmill ownership, youth counseling and pastoral work, and K-12 teaching; 18+ years as a county poll supervisor and a term on the County Grand Jury; states "Make Mariposa Thrive for Everyone," naming forest protection/land use, fiscal accountability, public safety, and nonpartisan leadership as priorities. may have more bias because they are advocacy or endorsement sources compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

  • mariposacounty.gov (opens in a new tab)Mariposa County -- own "Final Results Report," June 2, 2026 Statewide Primary (scanned canvass, data refreshed 6/25/2026, 8 of 8 precincts reporting): County Supervisor District 1 -- Lisa Edelheit 540 (42.45%), Stanley Bissmeyer 417 (32.78%), Adam McLane 315 (24.76%), no majority -- Edelheit and Bissmeyer advance to November. Every other county-section office (Superintendent of Schools, Supervisor District 3, Assessor/Recorder, Auditor, Treasurer/Tax Collector/County Clerk, Superior Court Judge) was decided outright in June, unopposed or by majority. A scanned/image PDF -- pypdf/WebFetch could not OCR it, so this was read directly via the Read tool.
  • mariposagazette.com (opens in a new tab)Mariposa Gazette -- "A lonely November ballot" (published 2026-08-13): confirms District 1 Mariposa County Supervisor (Lisa Edelheit vs. Stanley Bissmeyer) is the only contested local election on the county's November ballot.
  • mariposagazette.com (opens in a new tab)Mariposa Gazette -- "Local primary takes shape" (published 2026-03-12): names the three June filers for District 1 Supervisor -- Lisa Edelheit ("former organizer for the California Teachers Association"), Adam McLane (owner of The Farm at Worman Mill), and Stanley Bissmeyer ("semi-retired educator and youth pastor" who "worked for the California Youth Authority") -- and states that sitting Supervisor Rosemarie Smallcombe is not seeking re-election.
  • mariposagazette.com (opens in a new tab)Mariposa Gazette -- "Edelheit, Bissmeyer, Guenthart lead in early returns" (published 2026-06-02): early, roughly-46%-counted election-night returns for District 1 Supervisor -- Edelheit ~39% (367 votes), Bissmeyer ~35% (337), McLane 26% (252) -- reports neither of the top two reached a majority. An early count, not the final canvass; no primaryVotes/primaryPercent figures are taken from this source (the certified canvass is used instead).
  • mariposagazette.com (opens in a new tab)Mariposa Gazette -- "Dems to host supervisor forum" (published 2026-05-07): announces a Mariposa Democratic Club candidate forum for District 1 Supervisor candidates at Midpines Hall; independently names the district's communities -- El Portal, Fish Camp, Jerseydale, Midpines, Yosemite Valley, and Yosemite West.
  • votestanb.com (opens in a new tab)Stanley Bissmeyer -- his own campaign site (votestanb.com): a Mariposa High School graduate who has spent most of his life in the county; career in firefighting, logging/construction/sawmill ownership, youth counseling and pastoral work, and K-12 teaching; civic record includes 18+ years as a county poll supervisor and a term on the County Grand Jury; states "Make Mariposa Thrive for Everyone," naming forest protection/land use, fiscal accountability, public safety, and nonpartisan leadership as priorities. Candidate-published material, not independent reporting.
  • goldrushcam.com (opens in a new tab)Sierra Sun Times/goldrushcam.com -- "Stanley Bissmeyer Announces Candidacy for Mariposa County District 1 Supervisor" (published 2026-01-06): a candidate-submitted announcement published verbatim by the outlet, giving a detailed personal and career history -- moved to Mariposa in 1970, Mariposa High School class of 1974, married Debbie in 1977; seasonal CDF firefighter; logging/construction/road-building and a licensed logging-and-sawmill operation; youth pastor/counselor at New Life Calvary Chapel (Bootjack) from 1982; certified group supervisor/youth counselor at the Mt. Bullion Youth Conservation Camp and the N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility; an A.S. in Computer Graphics and Design (2000); K-12 private-school teaching, 2006-2011; 18+ years as a county poll supervisor; 2005-2006 County Grand Jury. Not independent reporting, but the outlet's own choice to run it verbatim under a byline-free "local news" section, and its facts match his campaign site and the Gazette's independent summary.
  • mariposagazette.com (opens in a new tab)Mariposa Gazette -- "Edelheit would help county" (letter to the editor, published 2026-04-23), signed by Darryl Burton, chapter president of the Madera County Office of Education Teachers Association (MCOETA): describes a multi-year working relationship with Lisa Edelheit in her capacity as their CTA staff contact. An endorsement letter, not independent reporting -- used only for the corroborated, factual shape of her CTA tenure.
  • mariposagazette.com (opens in a new tab)Mariposa Gazette -- "Has to be Edelheit" (letter to the editor, published 2026-04-23): states Lisa Edelheit is a 40-year resident of Midpines who spent "more than 10 years" with the Visalia Unified Teachers Association as California Teachers Association staff, during which she "analyzed $500 million budgets" and reviewed complicated contracts. An endorsement letter, not independent reporting -- the specific dollar figure is attributed to this single letter, not stated as independently verified fact.
  • mariposagazette.com (opens in a new tab)Mariposa Gazette -- "County needs Lisa Edelheit" (letter to the editor, published 2026-04-23), signed by the then-president of the Yosemite Unified Teachers Association: describes working with Edelheit over multiple years in her CTA staff capacity and "witness[ing] firsthand her dedication to the students and schools." An endorsement letter, not independent reporting -- used only for the corroborated, factual shape of her CTA tenure.
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS -- filer searches attempted for both Mariposa County District 1 Supervisor candidates (Lisa Edelheit, Stanley Bissmeyer): every query returned only a blank/challenge response, not usable results, the same recurring access-block pattern documented elsewhere in this dataset (e.g. Madera, Chowchilla). No Mariposa County-run local campaign-finance disclosure portal was found.

Last updated September 2, 2026.