Your guide to Madera County supervisor races. Three seats draw multiple candidates
Three seats on the Madera County Board of Supervisors will be on the ballot in the primary election, including two incumbent races.
Benjamin Martin, a former real estate broker, has mounted a challenge against District 1 supervisor Jordan Wamhoff’s re-election bid.
Chowchilla Councilman John Chavez, a former mayor, is set to challenge the District 2 incumbent David Rogers.
Robert Macaulay, the current District 5 supervisor, is not seeking reelection. Four candidates are running for the seat: Yosemite Unified School District Trustee Charles “Brook” Allen, Assemblyman Frank Bigelow, small businessman and rancher Mark Reed, and Navy veteran Melanie Barker.
The election will take place June 2. Registered voters can expect to begin receiving their vote-by-mail ballots in early May.
District 1
Wamhoff was sworn into office in January 2023 after winning 57.59% of the vote in the 2022 election. He has also worked as a Fresno police officer for the past 15 years and is the cofounder of SolarQuote Installation and Maintenance, a Fresno-based solar energy company.
Wamhoff has raised just over $19,500 between January 1 and April 18 filing period, according to campaign finance disclosure forms filed by candidates’ campaign committees on the Madera County website. He has $174,000 in his war chest.
Martin was a real estate broker for 20 years, and now farms gourmet mushrooms and sells them to local restaurants. He was convicted and later pardoned by President Donald Trump for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Martin has not filed campaign paperwork listing contributions to his campaign. Candidates are required to file paperwork if they raise or spend more than $2,000 in their run for office, not including county filing fees.
The district is located in the southeastern part of the county, bordering Fresno County along the Highway 41 corridor, and covers includes Madera Ranchos, Tesoro Viejo, Riverstone and Madera Acres.
Of the 19,088 registered voters in the district, 5,771 are registered Democrats and 7,807 are registered Republicans, according to Madera County Data. Another 3,940 voters have no party preference listed.
District 2
District 2 incumbent Rogers first took office in 2011, serving each term since. He previously served two terms as councilmember and two terms as mayor of Chowchilla before he was elected as Madera County supervisor.
He received $85,000 in contributions through 2025 and had roughly $68,500 cash on hand at the end of 2025.
Chavez serves on the Chowchilla City Council. A former mayor, he also runs Cornaggia’s Bakery, a family business, which has been a part of Chowchilla since 1925.
Like Martin, Chavez has not filed campaign paperwork listing contributions to his campaign for this campaign cycle.
The district covers a primarily agricultural and rural area of Madera County, including Chowchilla, Fairmead, La Viña, Ripperdan, and West County
Of the 14,6766 registered voters in the district, 4,415 are registered Democrats and 5,925 are registered Republicans, according to Madera County data. Another 3,190 voters have no party preference listed.
District 5
Four candidates are vying for the District 5 seat that has been held by Robert Macaulay since 2023, who is not seeking reelection.
Allen was elected to the Yosemite Unified School District Board of Trustees in 2022 and is the co-owner of The Rusty Piston automotive repair shop in Oakhurst and Lepley Trees, a tree service company. The Bee recently reported on Allen’s 25-year history which includes a criminal conviction, a domestic violence restraining order and ongoing legal disputes tied to his businesses.
Allen has raised $12,835 in campaign contributions between January 1 and the April 18 filing period, according to campaign finance disclosure forms, which list $17,584 in expenditures.
Bigelow has made a bid to serve as the district’s representative for a second time. He previously held the seat for four terms before his election to the California State Assembly in 2012. Bigelow also manages his family’s multi-generation cattle ranch.
Bigelow raised $6,723 in the last filing period and has $37,482 in the bank, according to campaign finance disclosure forms.
Barker is a Navy veteran and co-owner of Summit Real Estate.
She raised $33,292 in campaign contributions through the last filing period and has $27,884 cash on hand.
Reed, an actor, small businessman and rancher, has not filed campaign paperwork listing contributions to his campaign.
The district represents a sprawling portion of eastern Madera County, including Tesoro Viejo, Oakhurst, Coarsegold and other foothill communities.
Of the 23,101 registered voters in the district, 5,618 are registered Democrats and 11,491 are registered Republicans, according to Madera County data. Another 3,715 voters have no party preference listed.