Three county incumbents announce re-election bids
County District 5 Supervisor Raymond Castillo and District 1 Supervisor Jesus Eduardo Escobar have both said they intend to seek re-election in 2022.
The primary will be June 7 and several major state and local races will be on the ballot.
The districts will have boundaries newly drawn based upon population counts from the 2020 U.S. Census.
“Yes, I am. There’s a lot of projects I want to see through,” Castillo, 73, said when asked if he would seek a fourth term.
“Lithium mining, battery manufacturing. The Cal Ethanol should start next year. The sugar cane to ethanol should be 200 to 300 permanent jobs,” he said.
Energy Source, which operates a geothermal plant near Calipatria, has plans to build a plant to extract lithium from the high-temperature groundwater used to power the plant. The lithium is used in batteries for many items, including electric vehicles, and there are hopes those batteries could be made locally.
Castillo, whose district includes Holtville and parts of Brawley, El Centro and Calexico, was first elected in 2010.
Escobar, 50, who works in the customs brokerage industry, is in his first term. His district includes much of Calexico.
When asked if he is running, he replied, “Absolutely,” but said he would defer further comment until a making a formal announcement.
Meanwhile, county District Attorney Gilbert Otero said he will make an announcement soon on whether he will seek an eighth term.
County Deputy Public Defender George Marquez sent an email Thursday stating he will challenge Otero and that he will make a formal announcement Friday.
For sheriff, incumbent Raymond Loera has said he will not seek a fifth term. Undersheriff Fred Miramontes has announced he will seek the office as has retired Sheriff ’s Office deputy and community activist Hilton Smith.
Smith said he would seek to implement measures to improve the effectiveness and accountability of Sheriff ’s Office deputies.
“One change is higher visibility in protecting farm equipment,” Smith, 68, said, noting he has 38 years of experience with the Sheriff ’s Office. “Another is a citizen’s review board to determine if allegations of misconduct against officers are warranted. It’s to ensure public trust and also protect the officers.”
In announcing his candidacy in August, Miramontes stated, “My past experience and my current time in service with the Imperial County Sheriff ’s Office make me a candidate with a unique background, understanding and experience to take the Sheriff ’s Office to the next level of service within our communities.”
At the Imperial Irrigation District, Division 1 Director Alex Cardenas confirmed he will seek a second term.
Noting he has formed a campaign committee, Cardenas said is running again because, “we have a tremendous amount of capital projects that’s going to improve our (electric power) reliability and help with our current rate structure.”
He added he would continue “to advocate for our ratepayers and water users and make sure policies are in the best interests of our community.”
Cardenas, 50, is executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates in El Centro, an organization in which volunteers speak for abused and neglected children in court.
Division 3 Director James Hanks and Division 5 Director Norma Sierra Galindo did not immediately reply to requests for comment on whether they will run again. Galindo would be seeking a third term and Hanks a fifth.
Other county officials whose terms are up in 2022 include county Superintendent of Schools J. Todd Finnell, Assessor Robert Menvielle, Clerk/ Recorder Chuck Storey, Treasurer/Tax Collector Karen Vogel and Auditor/Controller Josue Mercado.
Mercado in November was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of willful disobedience of a court order for using the county payroll system to alter his spousal support order. While still holding the office, the county Board of Supervisors has also removed him from his duties for failing to fulfill them.
If no local candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, the top two finishers in that race will face off in a Nov. 8, 2022 run off.
For candidat e s ,
petition-in-lieu of filing fee forms may be obtained from the county Elections Department from Jan. 3-Feb. 9. Candidates may obtain and file a declaration of candidacy from Feb. 14 to March 11. If an incumbent does not file during that time there will be a filing extension for that office for non-incumbents until March 16.