{"id":332340,"date":"2026-05-26T02:09:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T02:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/332340\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T02:09:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T02:09:10","slug":"kern-county-down-ballot-races-on-the-june-2-primary-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/332340\/","title":{"rendered":"Kern County down-ballot races on the June 2 primary ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 The June 2 primary ballot includes more than the governor&#8217;s race, congressional seats, state assembly, and local representatives. Kern County voters will also decide several down-ballot races that have an impact on shaping local policy, governance, education, and community life.<\/p>\n<p>County Superintendent of Schools<\/p>\n<p>The county superintendent of schools is a role that can influence public education at the local level. John Mendiburu, who has served as county superintendent since 2023, is running unopposed.<\/p>\n<p>Auditor-Controller-County Clerk<\/p>\n<p>The auditor-controller-county clerk oversees county finances and public records, making it a position with critical financial oversight for the county.<\/p>\n<p>Incumbent Aimee Espinoza, who has served since 2023, is seeking re-election. In her candidate statement, Espinoza said:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This position requires a high level of experience and a firm grasp of governmental accounting and fiscal responsibility, which I have gained in my 20 years of service in both the Auditor-Controller-County Clerk&#8217;s Office as well as the County Administrative Office.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Challenging Espinoza is Carlton Lennon, a financial advisor currently serving as vice chairman for the City of Delano Pension Committee. In his candidate statement, Lennon said he has handled over $100 million between investment and commercial banks.<\/p>\n<p>Treasurer-Tax Collector<\/p>\n<p>The treasurer-tax collector plays a role in managing how the county collects taxes and manages public funds. Chase Nunneley, the current assistant treasurer-tax collector who has served in that role for the last 11 years, is running unopposed.<\/p>\n<p>Assessor-Recorder<\/p>\n<p>The assessor-recorder directly affects property valuations and tax assessments for residents and businesses. Current Assessor-Recorder Laura Avila is running unopposed.<\/p>\n<p>Superior Court Judgeships<\/p>\n<p>Several judgeships are also on the ballot. Samantha Georgino Allen is running for Superior Court Office 31, and Murray Robertson is running for Office 35.<\/p>\n<p>Kenneth C. Twisselman II is running for re-election for Superior Court Office 37, with Deputy District Attorney Brandon Stallings running against him.<\/p>\n<p>While these races may not be as commonly known, and some are even run unopposed, they are still positions that play a role in day-to-day and community life.<\/p>\n<p>Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 The June 2 primary ballot includes more than the governor&#8217;s race, congressional seats, state&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332341,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,155,153,152,162],"class_list":["post-332340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-downtown","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news","tag-kern-county-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}