There are 48 days until the Nov. 5 general election, with races of import to local voters — ranging from President of the United States to TID board members.
Here’s a rundown of everything that’s coming up in seven weeks.
On the national level, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris — perhaps you’ve heard — are vying for the nation’s top job. Also, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and former baseball star Steve Garvey are running for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by the late Dianne Feinstein.
Stanislaus County voters will also decide on a pair of House races that couldn’t be more disparate.
In District 13, former Assemblymember Adam Gray (D-Merced) will attempt to unseat Rep. John Duarte (R-Modesto), who defeated Gray by a mere 564 votes in 2022.
In the 5th congressional district, incumbent Rep. Tom McClintock (R-El Dorado Hills) is aiming to fend off a challenge from Democrat Mike Barkley, who lost to McClintock in 2022.
On the state level, Assemblymember Juan Alanis (R-Modesto) is seeking a second term serving the 22nd District. He’s taking on Democrat Jessica Self in a rematch from 2022.
In the city of Turlock, two council seats are up for grabs. District 2 incumbent Rebecka Monez will try to fend off a challenge from retired businessman Milt Trieweiler, while two newcomers — business owners Erika Phillips and Kamlesh Kaur — are battling for the District 4 seat formerly held by Pam Franco, who is seeking to become the city’s treasurer. She’s running against professional investment manager Michael Abram, husband of District 3 councilmember Cassandra Abram.
Three seats on the Turlock Unified School District board are up for grabs. Incumbent Paola Maldonado-Padilla and Anna Ramirez are vying for the Area 3 seat, while incumbent Daniel Benedict looks to hold off a challenge from Debbie Martinez in Area 5. In District 6, appointed incumbent Joe Souza is facing a challenge from Patrick Shields.
In the Turlock Irrigation District incumbent Michael Frantz and former Turlock city councilmember and school board member Mary Jackson are squaring off for the Division 1 seat.
In Denair, five candidates are seeking three seats on the Denair Unified School Board. They are incumbents Ray Prock Jr., Kathi Dunham-Filson and Carmen Wilson, along with challengers Jason Christopher De Euro and Andrea Bennett.
Six local measures are on that ballot that are of interest to Journal readers:
· Measure B — Regards improvements to within the Hughson Unified School District and seeks to authorize $46 million in bonds at legal rates, with levies averaging $60 per $100,000 assessed value while bonds are outstanding (approximately $2.9 million annually).
· Measure C — Would require online travel companies to collect hotel tax from visitors staying at hotels in the city of Turlock and allowing the Turlock City Council to increase the rate of the hotel tax to up to 14 percent of the rent paid for lodging, with tax proceeds for general government use, raising approximately $1.1 million annually.
· Measure H — Seeks to maintain necessary fire protection and emergency response services by issuing $7 million in bonds, levying $29 per $100,000 of assessed valuation on average, generating $485,000 annually.
· Measure P — Regards a cannabis business tax in unincorporated areas of the county of up to 4 percent of gross receipts, 8 percent retail gross receipts, the greater of 4 percent cultivation gross receipts or $8 per canopy square foot. Expected to generate approximately $1.7 million annually
· Measure U — Deals with the passage of $8.5 million in bonds for improvements within the Keyes Union School District. Expected to generate about $515,000 annually while bonds are outstanding, at rates of approximately $29 per $100,000 in assessed value.
· Measure Z — Deals with the issuance of $34.3 million in bonds for repairs and upgrades to local schools within the Denair Unified School District. Would levy up to $60/$100,000 assessed value without exceeding current tax rates ($2.39 million annually).
Any person who is 18 on or before election day, and is registered, is eligible to vote. You can register to vote either in person or online until Oct. 21. Sixteen- and 17-year-olds can pre-register and will be automatically registered when they turn 18. For those who miss the deadline, they can still register by filling out a special form at the polls in person — even on Election Day — by using a yellow envelope provided by the county.
Mail-in ballots will be sent out by the Stanislaus County Registrar of Voter’s office on Oct. 7 and should arrive in mailboxes a couple days after that.