News

It’s official: Humboldt County will have a trio of contested supervisorial races on the March primary ballot, as well as a rare contested judgeship seat.

The Humboldt County Elections Office has confirmed candidates who qualified for local races, with the exception of those vying for Second District Assemblymember Jim Wood’s seat. Because Wood is declining to seek re-election, candidates have until the end of tomorrow to submit paperwork to qualify for the race.

With local election season now officially upon us, here’s a quick look at the races:

First District Supervisor
Joining three-term incumbent Rex Bohn in the race to represent the county’s First District are challengers Gordon Clatworthy, a 40-year-old U.S. Coast Guard veteran, and Gerald McGuire, who’s perhaps best known for recently having a coastal development permit revoked for his long-blighted Fields Landing property by a unanimous vote of the Board of Supervisors. The First District encompasses much of the southwest portion of the county, running from southern Eureka south, and incorporating Ferndale, Loleta, Scotia, Petrolia and Honeydew.

Second District Supervisor
Elected to the board in 2020, incumbent small business owner Michelle Bushnell will see two challengers in her bid to continue representing Humboldt County’s Second District, which incorporates the southeastern portion of the county, including Fortuna, Rio Dell, Garberville, Bridgeville and Shelter Cove. Challenging Bushnell in the race will be Fortuna small business owner Jeana McClendon and Blocksburg-based cannabis farmer Brian David Roberts.

Third District Supervisor
Two-term incumbent Mike Wilson, an environmental engineer by trade, is being challenged in his bid to continue representing the Third District, which includes Arcata and Blue Lake, by Eureka cannabis dispensary owner Rogelio “Roy” Gomez.

Superior Court Judge Department 1
Humboldt County didn’t have a contested judicial election in 20 years before 2018, but is now gearing up for its third since then. Challenging incumbent Greg Kreis for the Department 1 judicial seat the former conflict counsel has held since being appointed in 2017 is April Anne Van Dyke, a former Humboldt County deputy public defender who previously worked in the San Joaquin County Office of the Public Defender until 2019.