Supervisors Cinch Victories Over Rivals Vying for Their Seats

All three Riverside County supervisors facing re- election challenges glided to victory over their challengers in Tuesday's election.

"I'm very happy with how the election turned out," said Fifth District Supervisor Marion Ashley, who topped challenger Mark Anthony Orozco by a wide margin. "We ran a clean, comprehensive campaign based on the issues. We never once did anything negative. And I think that resonated with the voters."

Ashley told City News Service that he looked forward to "four more years, in what will be my last term on the Board of Supervisors."

During his third term, Ashley has pushed for increasing sheriff's patrols and has been a leading voice for expanding local jails, proposing a multi-point plan with Supervisor Jeff Stone to ensure the county has adequate correctional space in anticipation of rapid population growth countywide.

Ashley has also taken the lead in coordinating a local-state-federal effort to develop a "bypass" route along Interstate 10 between Banning and Whitewater to get motorists off the artery when it becomes jammed going east or west.

Orozco, a Pomona-area educator and former member of the Beaumont Unified School District Board of Trustees, questioned Ashley's integrity, noting that he has been a proponent of a large-scale warehousing project planned near Beaumont that critics say will dramatically increase traffic and pose a health threat as a result of degraded air quality from pollution.

Ashley has accepted thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the "Gateway" project developer.

Orozco's platform included supporting public-private infrastructure partnerships, ensuring "safe drinking water" and standing behind regulatory reform.

Orozco drew criticism since his election in October as chairman of the Greater Riverside Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He and other members of the Board of Directors were sued over what the plaintiffs allege was an "illegitimate" election during which Orozco claimed to have a law degree despite there being no record of his ever having had any legal training, according to court papers.

In the Second District, Supervisor John Tavaglione, entering his 20th year on the Board of Supervisors, sailed to a win over Jurupa Valley educator Arthur Gonzales, achieving a nearly 3-to-1 margin of victory in balloting.

Tavaglione highlighted his backing of the UC Riverside School of Medicine, support for a balanced budget and votes for increasing the number of sheriff's deputies on patrol as a few of the reasons to return him to office.

Though he boasted of standing against tax increases, Tavaglione has not consistently opposed fee hikes. In 2011, he voted against allowing refunds of application fees imposed on county property owners who prevail in assessment appeals.

Gonzales, who has worked as a substitute teacher most of his adult life, cited reducing juvenile truancy and increasing educational opportunities for youth generally as top concerns. He spent less than $1,000 on his campaign.

In the Fourth District race between Supervisor John Benoit and termed- out Assemblyman V. Manuel Perez, Benoit clinched a victory that put him nearly 17 percentage points ahead of the challenger, according to election returns posted early Wednesday.

Benoit, who was appointed to the board in 2009 following the death of Supervisor Roy Wilson, was elected to the seat in 2010. Perez was elected to the Assembly in 2008, serving his first term at the same time Benoit was serving as a state senator from the Coachella Valley.

Benoit, who served as a highway patrolman prior to entering state government, pointed to a pro-business record and support for "public safety and infrastructure investments" in seeking a second full term.

He led efforts to ensure the county received revenue from solar power projects planned in the Fourth District, which stretches from Palm Springs to Blythe. The undertaking was not without controversy, resulting in a lawsuit by solar power providers, who characterized the imposition of fees as a "sun tax." The two sides eventually settled.

Perez, who worked as an educator and served on the Coachella Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees before becoming a lawmaker, held himself out as a "coalition builder" in the Assembly.

According to his campaign, Perez worked to obtain federal funds in support of the state's manufacturing and high-tech industries. Though he ran on a platform of helping "to protect small business and give them the tools to grow," the outgoing legislator does not count any pro-business or taxpayer advocacy groups among his list of endorsees. Benoit was endorsed from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers' Association.

– City News Service.