(March 13)  Elections for all seven of the county offices up for a vote this year will be contested.
In San Bernardino County, elections run on a four-year cycle, with the heaviest elective season falling in the year where the California gubernatorial elections are held. Thus, this year, the district attorney, sheriff, treasurer-tax collector, assessor and superintendent of county schools and the supervisors in the county’s Second and Fourth districts are up for election. In the years corresponding to the presidential election, supervisors in the first, third and fifth district must stand for election.
Mike Ramos, the district attorney first elected in 2002 who had no opposition in 2006 and turned back challenges by Frank Guzman and Robert Conaway in 2010, is being opposed this year by Grover Merritt, a deputy district attorney who formerly headed the district attorney’s office’s appellate unit.
Sheriff John McMahon, who was appointed to that position by the board of supervisors in 2012 following the resignation of then-sheriff Rod Hoops, will face two challengers in June, former San Bernardino County sheriff’s department lieutenant Clifton Harris and current Los Angeles sheriff’s department deputy Paul Schrader.
Incumbent Treasurer-Tax Collector Larry Walker is being opposed by certified public accountant Ensen Mason, who previously ran against Walker. In San Bernardino County, the treasurer-tax collector’s function has been combined with that of the auditor-controller. Walker was first elected as auditor controller recorder in 1998 after serving 12 years as Fourth District supervisor. He has been the treasurer tax collector for more than three years, following the consolidation of the treasurer and auditor roles.
Incumbent assessor-recorder Dennis Draeger is not seeking reelection. His chief deputy, Dan Harp is seeking election and is being opposed by former state assemblyman and state senator Robert Dutton.
County superintendent of schools Gary Thomas is not running for reelection. Ted Alejandre, who was recently promoted to the position of assistant county schools superintendent by Thomas to assist him in his electoral bid, is running,  as is Rita Ramirez and Frank Garza.
In the Second District, incumbent Janice Rutherford is being challenged by  Randolph Beasly, a retired sheriff’s department scientific analysis division employee.
In the Fourth District, incumbent supervisor Gary Ovitt has opted not to run. Instead, Congresswoman Gloria Negrete-McLeod and California Assemblyman Curt Hagman are vying against one another and two others, Chino Valley Unified school board member James Na and Ontario Councilman Paul Vincent Avila.
Other political match-ups in San Bernardino County include:
Incumbent 8th Congressional District Representative Paul Cook, R-Apple Valley, faces three challengers in the personages of Robert Conaway,  Paul Hannosh, Odessia Lee.
Lesli Gooch, Eloise Gomez Reyes, Danny Tillman, Pete Aguilar, Joe Baca, and Paul Chabot,  are seeking to replace Representative Gary Miller, R-Rancho Cucamonga, who announced in February that he would not seek re-election in the 31st Congressional District.
Christina Marie Gagnier, Scott Heydenfeldt and Norma Torres are running in the race to succeed Negrete-McLeod as 35th Congressional District representative.
Connie Leyva, Matthew Munson, Shannon O’Brien, Sylvia Robles and Alfonso Sanchez are vying to replace Norma Torres, who is running for Congress, as state senator in the California 20th State Senate District.
Michelle Ambrozic, Art Bishop, Bob Buhrle, John Dennis Coffey, Robert Larivee, Jerry Laws, Scott Markovich, Jay Obernolte, Rick Roelle and Brett Savage are seeking election in the 33rd Assembly District, where incumbent Tim Donnelly is not running for reelection and is instead running for governor.
Art Bustamante, Kathleen Marie Henry, Melissa O’Donnell and Marc Steinorth  are running in the 40th Assembly District, where Mike Morrell is currently the incumbent. Morrell is a candidate to replace Bill Emmerson in the California State Senate in a special election later this month.
Karalee Hargrove and Chad Mayes are running for state Assembly in the 42nd District.
Gil Navarro is challenging incumbent Cheryl Brown in the 47th Assembly District.
Dorothy Pineda is vying against incumbent Freddie Rodriguez in the 52nd Assembly District.
In the Loma Linda Municipal Election slated for June, incumbent councilmen Phillip Dupper and Ron Dailey are the only candidates on the ballot.