What’s at stake in this race

The five county supervisors are some of the most powerful people in Orange County, deciding nearly $11 billion in spending each year on key government services, including law enforcement, infrastructure, public health and mental health. They also oversee much of the county’s social safety net, including operating county shelters and funding permanent supportive housing.

If you live in an unincorporated part of Orange County, such as North Tustin or El Modena, the Board of Supervisors works essentially as your city council. That means the supervisors control local laws and oversee services like roads, police services, trash pickup and development.

You can find a map of all the unincorporated communities here.

What does the Orange County Board of Supervisors do?

• It serves as the de-facto city council of unincorporated areas of the county.
• It adopts an annual county budget.
• It creates local laws, known as ordinances.
• It supervises county departments.
• It determines policy for jails, juvenile halls, foster care and the Sheriff's Department.
• Supervisors sit on the board of the Orange County Transportation Authority.
• Two supervisors sit on the board of CalOptima, the county’s Medi-Cal insurer.

You might know them from

The O.C. Board of Supervisors came under intense scrutiny after LAist uncovered that former Supervisor Andrew Do was funneling millions in taxpayer dollars to family members and close associates. While Do serves time in federal prison, the county is pursuing a civil lawsuit against Do and his associates.

Meanwhile, the Board of Supervisors has ordered audits to find out if the abuse went further and implemented reforms to try to prevent abuse of taxpayer funds in the future. Some have also questioned whether those reforms go far enough.

The county is also in the middle of a tense legal battle with Mind OC, once its main mental health partner. The county wants to break its lease with Mind OC to operate the Be Well Orange mental health campus, accusing the organization of squandering $60 million in public funds. Meanwhile, Mind OC has launched a public relations offensive that paints the county as standing in the way of residents’ access to top-quality mental health care.

The county has had to pay out millions in damages to victims of the 2024 Airport Fire, which was started by county Public Works employees. There still are outstanding claims. Last year, the county added approximately $400 million to its insurance fund to cover potential new payouts to fire victims.

The county is facing a $32 million lawsuit from the state wildlands firefighting agency, CalFire, which seeks to recover its costs for fighting the Airport Fire.

The county also is in the midst of settling claims of sexual harassment and retaliation in the District Attorney’s Office filed by former prosecutors and investigators.

Here are some things the Board of Supervisors doesn't do

The supervisors have limited power in the 34 incorporated cities in Orange County, where city councils run the show. The Board of Supervisors has little say over housing and development decisions within city limits.

Fast facts about the Orange County Board of Supervisors

• Supervisors are elected to four-year terms and can serve for up to two terms consecutively. They can run for a third term if they have a gap in time on the board. 
• Technically, the Board of Supervisors is a nonpartisan body. It is currently made up of three registered Democrats and two registered Republicans. Sometimes board members align themselves by party, but that’s not always the case.  
• The current district boundaries went into effect in early 2022.

What’s on the agenda for next term

Mental health care: Be Well Irvine, which is supposed to be the county’s signature mental health campus, is essentially ready, but its future is uncertain because of the legal battle between the county and Mind OC. Some supervisors want the county Health Care Agency, which the board oversees, to take over all campus operations.

Budget: The county’s budget has been weakened by payouts to victims of the Airport Fire and sexual harassment and retaliation claims in the District Attorney’s Office. Plus, the county has to contend with major cuts by the Trump administration to healthcare, social services and housing support. Nearly 40% of Orange County’s most recent budget came from state and federal funds.

What it takes to win

A candidate could win outright June 2 with more than 50% of votes cast. If no candidate crosses that threshold, the top two finishers will compete in a runoff in the November general election.

The candidates for Board of Supervisors, District 2

Four candidates are in the running to be the Orange County supervisor for District 2, including incumbent Vicente Sarmiento.

District 2 encompasses the urban heart of Orange County and is centered in Santa Ana, the county seat. The district also includes portions of Anaheim, Garden Grove, Orange and Tustin.

Vicente Sarmiento, incumbent

Vicente Sarmiento

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Courtesy Vicente Sarmiento

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Vicente Sarmiento won his seat on the Board of Supervisors in 2022. He served on the Santa Ana City Council from 2007 to 2020 and as mayor of Santa Ana from 2020 to 2022.

Sarmiento is widely seen as the most progressive member of the Board of Supervisors. He has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics, which have heavily affected District 2. And he helped launch a public-private partnership to provide legal resources to the county’s large immigrant and refugee population.

Sarmiento was also the first supervisor to call for an investigation after LAist reported in 2023 that Andrew Do had awarded millions in taxpayer dollars to a nonprofit linked to Do’s adult daughter, Rhiannon Do. And he proposed an outside audit of contracts approved under Do, which is underway.

Adjacent to his supervisor duties, Sarmiento chairs the board of CalOptima, the county’s low-income health insurer. In that role, he has promised to focus on helping CalOptima members keep their benefits following the Trump administration’s implementation of new restrictions and regulations, which include requiring people to prove their eligibility twice a year rather than once.

“We’re going to be paying for this care anyway,” Sarmiento told LAist, noting that uninsured people often end up needing care at public hospitals. “We might as well pay up front with prevention.”

In his own words

Sarmiento told LAist he would continue to work to increase affordable housing, including by developing county-owned parcels primarily with affordable units. “I don’t think we should be building market rate [housing] right now,” he said.

Sarmiento said he would also work to decrease other major costs for families, such as childcare. He touted his support for a childcare incubator earlier this year.

Sarmiento told LAist he would like the county to expand its role in economic development “to speak on behalf of all 34 cities and sell our county better.” The county’s current Workforce & Economic Development Division focuses primarily on job training and job placement. Sarmiento said he’d like to see an added focus on “bring[ing] in investment and good paying jobs for people” on a countywide basis, akin to San Diego County’s Economic Development Department.

More voter resources:

• Website: https://www.sarmientoforsupervisor.com/
• Endorsements: Democratic Party of Orange County, Orange County Employees Association, Orange County Labor Federation
• Full endorsement list here.

James Wallace, commercial decorator

James Wallace is relatively new to the political scene. In 2022, he ran unsuccessfully to represent state Assembly District 68.

Wallace has criticized the Democratic members of the Board of Supervisors for not doing enough to address election integrity after it came to light that a Costa Mesa woman successfully registered her dog to vote — and voted for the dog in two elections. He is advocating a return to paper ballots and voting on Election Day only, with identification required to cast a ballot.

Wallace has criticized those who do not support the Sheriff’s Department practice of notifying federal immigration authorities when prisoners with immigration holds are released.

In his own words

Wallace did not respond to LAist’s requests to respond to a candidate survey.

More voter resources:

• Website: https://www.wallace4oc.com/
• Endorsement: California Republican Assembly
• Full endorsement list here.

Nelida Mendoza, former Santa Ana City Council member/retired county paralegal

Nelida Mendoza

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Courtesy Nelida Mendoza

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Nelida Mendoza has held several local offices. She won a seat on the Santa Ana City Council in May 2020 in a special election to replace a councilmember who was recalled. She then lost her seat in the 2022 general election.

Mendoza also served on the Rancho Santiago Community College District Board of Trustees from 2012 to 2020. She ran again for a trustee seat in 2024 and lost.

Mendoza promised to focus on ensuring safe neighborhoods, making essential needs like housing and food more affordable and demanding transparency and ethical management of tax dollars.

In her own words

In response to LAist’s candidate questionnaire, Mendoza said she would address housing affordability by moving “from reactive planning to proactive, sensible growth.” She said she would advocate for an expedited permitting process for workforce housing and prioritize housing density near transportation hubs.

“I will ensure that any new housing development is coupled with necessary infrastructure improvements, from road capacity to utilities,” she wrote.

Mendoza said the most pressing issue in her district is the revitalization and safety of the Santa Ana River corridor, which has attracted large homeless encampments in the past.

“This area serves as a vital recreation artery, yet it currently faces a dual crisis of public safety and environmental degradation,” she wrote in the candidate questionnaire. Mendoza said she would work to establish “daily maintenance and safety sweeps” of the corridor to ensure bike paths are safe for recreation and commuting.

Mendoza also said she would set aside a portion of district discretionary funds as “micro-grants” to be awarded to local nonprofits through a competitive process.

More voter resources:

• No campaign website provided

Kimberly Davis, small-business owner/U.S. Air Force veteran

Kimberly Davis

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Courtesy Kimberly Davis

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Kimberly Davis is running for the Board of Supervisors on a mission to reform family court. The court system is independent from county government, but the Board of Supervisors does allocate funding for Child Protective Services, child welfare and probation.

Davis said she’ll work to improve public safety, expand access to mental health services, support small businesses and ensure responsible use of taxpayer dollars.

In her own words

In response to LAist’s question about affordability in the candidate questionnaire, Davis said she would “prioritize increasing affordable housing by streamlining approvals for workforce and mixed-income developments, holding developers accountable to include truly affordable units and expanding partnerships with cities and nonprofits.”

Davis said she would advocate for rent stabilization policies, stronger tenant protections and increased access to first-time homebuyer programs.

“Additionally, I will push for transparency in how housing funds are used and ensure county resources directly benefit residents,” Davis wrote.

Regarding family court, Davis said she would push for independent audits of county-funded programs that intersect with court, including Child Protective Services, and publish the results of those audits. “We must ensure these systems are truly serving children and families, especially our most vulnerable,” she said.

More voter resources:

• Social media: Instagram

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