Buddy Mendes’ big lead grows in race for Fresno County supervisor seat
Buddy Mendes’ captured over 52% of the vote in Tuesday night’s primary election and appeared poised to narrowly avoid a November run-off to preserve his seat on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
Mendes collected 52.2% of the vote, or 5,605 votes, while José Ramirez, a former city manager in Orange Cove, Firebaugh, and Livingston, has 2,702 votes, or 25.2%. Danny Parra was third, with 22.5%.
Mendes, who owns and operates a family farm and has served 20-plus years on a variety of boards and committees, including the Riverdale Unified School District’s Board of Trustees, has served as the District Four supervisor since 2015. As of late May, Mendes had raised nearly $370,000 in campaign finances, primarily from business and development sources, according to data gathered from the Fresno County Campaign Statement Portal.
Ramirez, who was celebrating the news at the Fresno County Democratic Party event at downtown Fresno’s Full Circle Brewery, reacted to the news on Tuesday night in an interview with The Bee.
“First of all, I just want to tell all my supporters and my family that I did all of the possible and I’m leaving the impossible to the guy upstairs,” he said.
“I’m ready for November — I’m ready to continue to work really hard and that I’m really dedicated to be a public servant in this new capacity, and if given the opportunity, I’ll give it my all.”
In a survey candidate survey conducted by FresnoBee/Fresnoland, Ramirez said his top three priorities if elected would be: housing affordability and homelessness, poverty and economic development, and municipal and other services like affordable drinking water and internet access, and he said he thinks he’s the best for the job thanks to his years of experience as a city manager.
“I’ve been in the trenches here in the Valley,” said Ramirez. “I think I have quite a bit to offer.”
If successful, Ramirez, the son of immigrant farmworkers near Raisin City, would become the first Latino living outside the city of Fresno to serve on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
Ramirez raised over $187,000 in campaign contributions as of late May, primarily from business and individual donors, according to data gathered from the Fresno County Campaign Statement Portal.
Parra previously ran against Mendes in 2014, where he secured 21.1% of the vote and Mendes reached 49.9% of the vote - just shy of the majority-vote threshold by 243 votes. Parra couldn’t be reached for immediate comment on Tuesday night.
District 1 Supervisor Brian Pacheco, who ran uncontested, received 7,212 votes, or 99.5%. There were 35 write-ins that made up the remaining 0.5% of the votes.
Madera County race results
Preliminary results for Madera County Supervisors in Districts 1, District 2, and District 5 also came in on Tuesday night.
Results show that Andy Wheeler leading in District 1, with 37.2% of the votes, followed by Jordan L. Wamhoff, with 34.6%. They were followed by Michele Stephens, who ended with 28.1%, or 679 votes.
In District 2, David B. Rogers carried 51.2% of the votes. He was followed by Tim Farrell, who collected 25.7%, or 571 total votes. John Chavez was third with 23% votes.
In District 5, Robert “Bobby” Macaulay was ahead with 47.3% of the votes. He is followed by Mark Reed, who has 40.3%. Reed made headlines last week due to his campaign mailer that called an opponent’s supporters “witches and warlocks.” Edward E. “Beau” Campbell, Jr. trailed in third place, with 12.4% votes.
South Valley county races
In Kings County, District 1 incumbent Joe Neves led with 47.7% of the votes, or 782. He’s followed by Martin Chavez, who had 29.7%, or 487, of the votes and then Eddie Neal, who has 22.6%, or 371, of the votes.
District 3 incumbent Doug Verboon was unchallenged.
Meanwhile, in Kings County’s District 4, a new candidate will replace incumbent Craig Pedersen, who announced in March that he would not seek reelection. Rusty C. Robinson had 59.5% of the votes, or 1,129, while Alicia Ramirez collected 769, or 40.5%.
In Tulare County, incumbent Eddie Valero led in District 4, with 43.4%, or 1,422 votes. Valero is followed by Scott Harness, who has 856, or 27.3% of the votes, Kelly Culver, who collected 568, or 18.1% of the votes, and Melvin K. Gong, who has 287, or 9.2% of the votes.
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 9:22 PM.
