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County · Statewide General Election

San Benito County Board of Supervisors, District 5 (Short Term)

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On the ballot

This person would serve on the San Benito County Board of Supervisors representing District 5 -- one of five seats setting county budget, land use, and public-safety policy for unincorporated San Benito County and countywide services -- but only for a SHORT TERM: the balance of a term running through December 2028, not a fresh 4-year term. The seat is open because sitting Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez was recalled by District 5 voters on June 26, 2026, by a 33-vote margin (1,312-1,279).

San Benito County's District 5 Board of Supervisors seat is on the ballot as a short-term special election: sitting Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez was recalled by District 5 voters on June 26, 2026, and three candidates now seek the remainder of his term -- John Williams, Rodney Bianchi, and Velazquez himself, running to reclaim the seat he was just voted out of.

The winner takes office as soon as the results are certified and serves only until December 2028 -- the balance of Velazquez's original term, not a fresh 4-year term -- as one of five supervisors setting San Benito County's budget, land-use policy for unincorporated areas, and countywide public-safety and social-services priorities.

The recall was close: Velazquez lost by 33 votes, 1,279 to 1,312, out of roughly 2,600 cast. The recall committee, "Public Safety First" (co-chairs Stacie McGrady and Kelly Lomanto Dominguez), campaigned on the county's handling of fire-service negotiations, public-safety funding, and what it called a pattern of dismissing public input; McGrady said after the result, "We couldn't be more satisfied." Velazquez told BenitoLink he believed the recall was "spearheaded by special interest groups that did not want him to stop developers" -- a claim the outlet reported without independent corroboration.

Velazquez filed to run again on July 22, 2026 -- less than a month after his recall -- arguing the county elections office had wronged him: "They violated my First Amendment rights to run for office. What they did was wrong." San Benito County's Clerk-Recorder-Elections office did not bar his candidacy, saying "the decision should ultimately rest with the voters," and the county's own certified list confirms he did qualify. This dataset did not find a definitive statement from the state Attorney General or Secretary of State on whether a just-recalled official may immediately seek the same seat -- a real legal ambiguity, left open here rather than resolved one way or the other.

Ignacio Velazquez

Ignacio Velazquez was Hollister's first-ever directly elected Mayor, elected in 2012, before winning San Benito County's District 5 Supervisor seat. District 5 voters recalled him on June 26, 2026 by a 33-vote margin, after a recall campaign centered on fire-service negotiations and public-safety funding; he disputes that framing and says developers he opposed were really behind it. He filed to reclaim the seat less than a month later.

Strengths

Direct, recent experience in the seat -- a documented record as the sitting supervisor up until his recall, plus a longer track record as Hollister's first directly elected Mayor.

Trade-offs

Voters removed him from this seat five months earlier by a narrow margin; the recall's public-safety concerns are on record from named local organizers, not anonymous critics.

Keep in mind

The legal question of whether a recalled official can immediately run for the same seat was still open as of this pass's research -- his county elections office did not bar him, but no definitive statewide legal ruling on the question was found.

John Williams

John Williams is president of the Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, per BenitoLink's own July 2026 preview of the race and the county's own certified candidate list, which lists his ballot designation as "Retired Refrigeration Manager." No further biographical detail, campaign platform, or independent news coverage of his candidacy was found this pass.

Strengths

A real, named civic role -- leading the hospital auxiliary at San Benito County's own hospital -- independently reported by BenitoLink, not just self-claimed.

Trade-offs

No campaign website, public platform statement, or news coverage beyond that one dated mention was found this pass.

Keep in mind

Beyond his name, ballot designation, hospital-auxiliary role, and filing date, this dataset found no independent information about his priorities for the seat -- an absence, not a judgment.

Rodney Bianchi

Rodney Bianchi is a sitting member of the San Benito County Board of Education, representing District 1 -- independently confirmed by the County Office of Education's own current board roster, which lists him as board president with a term running through 2028. He is running for the Supervisor seat while still serving out that current term. His ballot designation is "Business Owner." No campaign platform or independent news coverage of his supervisor candidacy was found this pass.

Strengths

Currently serving in elected county office, confirmed by the County Office of Education's own roster -- direct, verified experience with county governance, unlike a first-time candidate.

Trade-offs

No campaign website, public platform statement, or news coverage of his supervisor bid specifically was found this pass -- only his existing board role.

Keep in mind

Running for Supervisor while still a sitting Board of Education trustee means, if elected, a second vacancy (his own BOE seat) would need to be filled separately -- a structural fact, not a criticism.

Source review: Very strong (91/100) · 8 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context.

  • sanbenitocounty-ca-cre.gov (opens in a new tab)San Benito County Department of Elections -- "Final Qualified Candidate List" for the November 3, 2026 General Election (all 75 qualified candidates countywide; retrieved via a real browser session since the county site 403s non-browser clients): source for the County Supervisor District 5 (Short Term) and Board of Education District 4 rosters and Board of Education District 3's 'On Ballot: No' status.
  • benitolink.com (opens in a new tab)BenitoLink -- "Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez ousted in historic recall" (by Noe Magaña): the certified June 26, 2026 recall result (1,279-1,312, a 33-vote margin), recall organizer Stacie McGrady's public-safety framing, and Velazquez's own uncorroborated developer-interest claim.
  • benitolink.com (opens in a new tab)BenitoLink -- "San Benito County voters recall Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez": names the recall committee ("Public Safety First"), its co-chairs and treasurer, and its stated campaign focus on fire-service negotiations, public-safety funding, and dismissed public input.
  • benitolink.com (opens in a new tab)BenitoLink -- "Two prospective candidates begin pursuit of District 5 county supervisor seat" (by Noe Magaña): names and describes John Williams (Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital Auxiliary president) and Rodney Bianchi (sitting County Board of Education trustee) ahead of the Aug. 7, 2026 filing deadline, and states the short-term seat runs through December 2028.
  • benitolink.com (opens in a new tab)BenitoLink -- "Former county supervisor will make bid to reclaim seat after recall" (by Noe Magaña): Velazquez's July 22, 2026 nomination filing, his on-the-record First Amendment claim, and the County Clerk's on-the-record response that the eligibility question should rest with voters.
  • sbcoe.org (opens in a new tab)San Benito County Office of Education -- "Board of Education" (sbcoe.org/about-us/board-of-education): the office's own current five-trustee roster by district and term-expiration year (independently confirming Rodney Bianchi's District 1 presidency and Reb Monaco's District 4 incumbency), plus the board's stated functions.
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia, "San Benito County, California": used narrowly for the 2020 Census population (64,209) and the county's stated five-member, 4-year-term Board of Supervisors structure; its current-officeholder listing is stale (still shows Velazquez as a sitting Vice Chair) and is not used for any current-officeholder claim.
  • netfile.com (opens in a new tab)A documented negative result across three independent methods: San Benito County's own election/campaign-finance pages return HTTP 403 to this session's fetch tools; NetFile's own public agency directory lists no San Benito County-level agency distinct from the City of Hollister's own separate 'HOL' portal; and the state's Cal-Access filer search returned no extractable content.

Last updated September 2, 2026.