Sixteen people are seeking to fill seven of the elected county government posts up for election in the 2022 election cycle. Those positions are sheriff, district attorney, county treasurer, county assessor, county superintendent of schools and two positions on the board of supervisors, one representing the Second District and one representing the Fourth District.
In two of the six races, the incumbents are getting a free ride, as no opponents have emerged to challenge them.
District Attorney Jason Anderson has drawn no opponent. In San Bernardino County, the district attorney is provided with salary and other pay totaling $307,735.29 plus benefits of $167,660.44, for a total annual compensation of $475,395.73.
Assessor Bob Dutton will face no opposition in this year’s election. In San Bernardino County, the assessor also serves as the county recorder and county clerk. The post provides a total annual compensation of $408,791.52, including salary and benefits.
Incumbent County Treasurer Ensen Mason must get past a single alternate candidate, John Ziegnhohn, to retain the office he holds. In San Bernardino County, the treasurer is also the auditor, controller and tax collector, a position which pays $347,504.60 in salary and augmentations plus $106,964.77 in benefits for a total annual compensation of $454,469.37.
Though he is the incumbent sheriff, Shannon Dicus is not the elected sheriff, as he was appointed to the post last year. Cliff Harris is running against him. In San Bernardino County the sheriff also serves in the role of the county’s chief safety officer and as the coroner and public administrator, posts which together provide $301,428.92 in pay plus $262,507.44 in benefits for a total annual compensation of $563,936.36.
Ted Alejandre’s grip on the post of county superintendent of schools is being contested by Ken Larson. In San Bernardino County, the superintendent of schools receives $316,430.39 in total yearly pay plus $65,161 in benefits or $381,591.39 overall annually.
In the wide-open race for San Bernardino County Second District Supervisor, five candidates are looking to succeed Janice Rutherford, who is leaving office based on her having now served nearly three full terms. First elected to the board in 2010, Rutherford must depart in accordance with the county’ current three term-limit, which was put in place as a consequence of the 2006 passage of Measure P. That limitation was reduced to a single term by the 2020 passage of Measure K, which was set aside by a legal challenge.
Cucamonga Valley Water District Board Member Luis Cetina is running with Rutherford’s endorsement. Also in the race are former Fontana City Councilman Jesse Armendarez and Nadia Maria Renner, both of whom vied for Fifth District Supervisor in 2020. Armendarez and Renner were moved out of the Fifth District last year by redistricting, which placed the entirety of Fontana, where they live, in the Second District. The field is rounded out by Eric Eugene Coker, the previous president of Me Management Solutions and the current owner of PC Pricebusters; and DeJonaé Shaw, a pistol-packing licensed vocational nurse who is a Second Amendment advocate.
The Second District, at 333 square miles, consists of all of Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana and the northern part of Upland, as well as the communities of San Antonio Heights, Lytle Creek and Mount Baldy.
Curt Hagman, the incumbent Fourth District Supervisor who is currently the chairman of the board of supervisors, is being challenged by State Senator Connie Leyva and Larry Jia Wu, a Farmers Insurance agent from Chino.
Chino Hills, Chino, Montclair, Ontario, lower Upland, Guasti, Prado, Frontera, Carbon Canyon and Tres Hermanos Ranch fall within the 139-square mile confines of the Fourth District.
A supervisor receives $195,088.49 in salary and add-on pay along with benefits of $80,261.32, for a total annual compensation of $275,349.81.
There are ten top elected posts in San Bernardino County government. The other three offices beyond the seven up for election this year are First District supervisor, Third District supervisor and Fifth District supervisor. Those three positions are selected in elections corresponding to U.S. Presidential elections, while the seven posts at play this year are selected in balloting corresponding to California’s gubernatorial elections. All ten offices in San Bernardino County government involve four-year terms.