Dick Spotswood: June ballot will be packed with Marin races

The June 2 primary election is approaching fast. Potential candidates need to know that filing for Marin County offices, state and federal legislative posts opens Monday. Filing remains open until March 6. One exception is for races in which an incumbent doesn’t file by March 6, filing continues until March 11.

The public’s attention will focus on elections for California’s governor and state constitutional offices. Two past Marin mayors, both Democrats, are competing for statewide office. Novato’s Josh Fryday and Sausalito’s Janelle Kellman are campaigning for lieutenant governor.

Running for reelection in congressional District 2 (now representing the North Bay, the North Coast and northeastern California) is San Rafael’s Jared Huffman. He’ll be opposed by Rose Penelope Yee from Redding in Shasta County. Yee, who is a Democrat like Huffman, is an ally of Sen. Bernie Sanders. She is running to the political “left” of Huffman.

The North Bay-North Coast state Senate District 2 seat will be an open race. Incumbent Mike McGuire of Geyserville is leaving to campaign for the House of Representatives District 1 seat, which now runs from Santa Rosa east to the Sacramento Valley.

Assemblymember Damon Connolly, representing Marin and southern Sonoma County, has an excellent chance to succeed McGuire. A formable opponent, Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore withdrew his candidacy late last year. That leaves Novato’s Tief Gibbs Jensen, a Republican who supports President Donald Trump, as Connolly’s challenger. She was an unsuccessful candidate for Novato Unified School District’s Board of Trustees in 2022.

The election to succeed Connolly for the Assembly District 12 seat is a barnburner. In the June 2 primary, the top two candidates regardless of party will face each other in a November runoff.

Four North Bay elected Democrats are running. Marin County Supervisor Eric Lucan is joined by three sitting municipal council members: Corte Madera’s Eli Beckman, Rohnert Park’s Jackie Elward and Tiburon’s Holli Thier. They’ll be joined by Republican Eryn Cervantes, a San Quentin correctional officer who previously ran against Connolly in the overwhelmingly Democratic district.

Don’t ignore the Republican candidates in elections for these partition posts. The dominant issue for North Bay voters is the Trump regime’s conduct, particularly regarding the deadly “Battle of Minneapolis.” Without Republican sparring partners, the campaign would fail to address the central controversy of the decade.

In nonpartisan local races, the marquee election is for the Board of Supervisors in Novato-centered District 5. Since Lucan, the incumbent, is running for the Assembly, filing will remain open until March 11. Candidates include master chef and television personality Curtis Aikens; Andy Podshadley, proprietor of Novato’s Trek Winery and event venue; Magali Limeta, president of the Novato Unified School District; and housing contractor Chris Carpiniello, a past Novato City Council candidate.

So far, first-term Supervisor Mary Sackett, the incumbent in the San Rafael-centered District 1, is without an opponent.

There’ll be elections for council seats in all 11 of Marin incorporated cities and towns: two seats in Belvedere, three in Corte Madera, two in Fairfax, three in Larkspur, two in Mill Valley, two in Novato, two in Ross, two in San Anselmo, two in San Rafael, two in Sausalito and two in Tiburon.

On June’s Marin ballot are offices whose incumbents are running for reelection. They include county Superintendent of Education John Carroll, District Attorney Lori Frugoli, Sheriff Jamie Scardina and Assessor Shelly Scott. Voters will decide two seats on the Marin County Board of Education and three on Marin Municipal Water District’s governing board. They are held by San Rafael’s Matt Samson, Ranjiv Khush of San Anselmo and Mill Valley’s Jed Smith. Veteran North Marin Water District director Rick Freitas’ term is expiring.

Add to this laundry list almost 50 governing board seats in fire, school and sewage districts. It’s a full ballot. If readers want to become part of the solution by serving in local nonpartisan office, now is the time to get organized, line up supporters and file. Serving is an occasionally frustrating, always challenging and ultimately rewarding experience.

Columnist Dick Spotswood of Mill Valley writes on local issues Sundays and Wednesdays. Email him at spotswood@comcast.net.