With roughly 1,112 square miles, the 3rd District of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors rivals Rhode Island in size.

Chuck Washington, a former Murrieta and Temecula mayor, has represented the district since 2015, when he was appointed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown to serve Jeff Stone’s unexpired term after Stone was elected to state Senate.

Washington, who was elected to a full term in 2016, is seeking four more years on the five-member board. Opposing him in the March 3 election are four candidates – teacher Edison Gomez-Krauss, retired peace officer Mike Juarez, RV and boat storage yard operator Joe Scarafone and graduate student Courtney Sheehan.

Edison Gomez-Krauss is a candidate for Riverside County’s 3rd District supervisor. (Photo courtesy of Edison Gomez-Krauss)

Mike Juarez is a candidate for Riverside County’s 3rd District supervisor. (Photo courtesy of Mike Juarez)

Sound The gallery will resume in seconds

Joe Scarafone is a candidate for Riverside County’s 3rd District supervisor. (Photo courtesy of Joe Scarafone)

Courtney Sheehan is a candidate for Riverside County’s 3rd District supervisor. (Photo courtesy of Courtney Sheehan)

Riverside County Supervisor Chuck Washington is seeking reelection as Riverside County’s 3rd District supervisor. (Photo courtesy of Chuck Washington)



At stake is a seat representing Hemet, San Jacinto, Murrieta, Temecula, Anza, Aguanga, Homeland, Idyllwild, Winchester and Temecula Valley Wine Country. Supervisors oversee a government with 22,000 employees and a $6.1 billion budget in a county of 2.3 million people.

A candidate will win the seat if he or she gets 50% plus one of the vote. Otherwise, the top two vote-getters will move to a November runoff.

Gomez-Krauss, who lives in Anza, said he’s running because “we deserve a government that values people more than corporate donors … that’s what our government needs right now – people that care about people, not reelection.”

He added: “I believe that educators make some of the best elected officials because they approach problems with an educational standpoint.”

Gomez-Krauss said he’d fight wasteful spending and cut barriers to small business. He said that by over-regulating cannabis commerce, supervisors have re-criminalized the industry and tilted the playing field in favor of those with deep pockets.

“The more you push (cannabis into) the black market … you won’t have any control over what’s happening,” Gomez-Krauss said. “I’d rather regulate than go out and restrict and enforce.”

Juarez, who lives in Winchester, has a different take on cannabis. He said he’s not sure the board fully studied the impact of allowing cannabis cultivation in unincorporated communities. His campaign website mentions investigating “the impact and regulation of dispensaries.”

Juarez said he’s running to enhance life in unincorporated areas. His top priorities include ensuring access to clean air and water and preparing for natural disasters.

“We’ll strengthen the links between the small communities and the Indian casinos to forge partnership relationships to benefit district residents,” he said on his website.

Scarafone, a retired Border Patrol agent from Hemet, ran against Stone in 2012.

The 3rd District is the only supervisorial district where registered GOP voters outnumber Democrats. While the office of supervisor is nonpartisan, the Republican Scarafone said it shouldn’t be. Washington is a Democrat.

“I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a nonpartisan seat,” Scarafone said.

He said he’s running because “(the) Democrats have driven the state into the ground and I don’t want to lose the county.”

Scarafone said he’d call for an audit of voter rolls and cut fees and regulations. He also supports exempting homeless shelters from paying for permits so they can get homeless off the streets.

“We need to have zero tolerance for those who continually break our laws,” he wrote in an email. “We cannot continue to allow homelessness to destroy the quality of life in our county.”

Sheehan, a former Marine who lives in Temecula, said she sees problems such as traffic, homelessness and lack of high-paying jobs.

“I thought to myself ‘I’ve lived here for five years and nothing is getting better’ … all roads lead back to the Board of Supervisors.”

Sheehan said she’d work to boost small business to diversify a local economy that’s centered on service, retail and warehouse jobs. She wants businesses to pay smaller amounts of taxes when they get started, then pay more as they grow.

She wants to see “smarter development” focused on mixed-use residential and commercial where services are centrally located, reducing the need to drive elsewhere.

“We sort of have this suburban sprawl happening in Riverside County that eats up green space and builds houses the middle class can’t afford,” Sheehan said.

Washington, a retired airline pilot from Temecula, said the county needs experience on the board — especially with three new supervisors since 2017.

“To add another new person to the mix just makes it really challenging to continue the momentum that we’ve started to build,” he said. “We’re starting to see changes. The budget situation is improving. I want to see it through so I can hand it off to something better than I found it.”

Noting public complaints about the county’s $3.5 billion unfunded pension liability, Washington, 67, said the county decided to stay with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System decades ago.

“It’s easy to complain, but it’s much harder when you’re the one who has to find the solutions,” he said. “I think I have a pretty good sense of where we need to work on those things.”

A retired naval aviator, Washington said the county’s financial picture has improved on his watch. For example, the county hospital system is no longer losing $1 million a week. If re-elected, Washington said he’d work to improve the county’s transportation infrastructure and bolster public safety and health and human services.

ABOUT THE CANDIDATES

Name: Edison Gomez-Krauss

Age: 32

Residence: Anza

Occupation: English-as-a-second language teacher

Education: Bachelor’s degree in gastronomy, Autonomous University of Baja California

Professional and community activities: Anza Valley Municipal Advisory Council; board member of Asociación Filantrópica Internacional and Los Concheros Animal Sanctuary; founding member, High Country Growers Association; chair of Assembly District 71 of the Riverside County Democratic Party Central Committee.

Top five concerns: Equitable distribution of resources and services to rural communities; expanding pre-K education and trade job training; inclusive legislation and low barriers to entry for small-scale cannabis farmers; addressing homelessness by increasing mental health services especially for veterans and youths; expanding public transportation, including light rail.

Campaign information: edisongk2020.com, edisongk2020@gmail.com, fb.com/edisongk2020, Instagram: @edisongk2020, Twitter: @gomezkrauss

Name: Mike Juarez

Age: 72

Residence: Winchester

Occupation: Retired peace officer

Education: Bachelor’s in business administration, UC Davis

Professional and community activities: Correctional counselor; employee relations officer; administered $1.5 million Comprehensive Employment/Training Act program for Fresno County; volunteer board member, Rancho San Diego HOA

Top five concerns: Sustainable clean water and clean air resources; impacts of marijuana/ cannabis production and use on communities; community revitalization of old towns in Murrieta, Temecula and Winchester; housing for homeless; climate change

Campaign information: www.juarezforsupervisor.com

Name: Joe Scarafone

Age: 55

Residence: Hemet

Occupation: Retired Border Patrol agent; owner, Joe’s RV & Boat Storage

Education: Licensed contractor and licensed pest control landscape applicator; classes in accounting and tax preparation

Professional and community activities: Taught martial arts to youths in City Heights, San Diego; coached mixed martial arts teams; led worship for men’s recovery groups, including House Of Luke Ministries in Hemet and Set Free Ministries in Temecula.

Top five concerns: Auditing the county voter rolls; cracking down on homeless encampments; cutting county fees and red tape; county pension funding; opposing split roll property tax increases; stemming the middle-class exodus from California.

Campaign information: 951-634-0643, scarafone4supervisor.com; 44618 E. Florida Ave., Hemet, CA 92544

Name: Courtney Sheehan

Age: 35

Residence: Temecula

Occupation: Graduate student

Education: Bachelor’s degree in political science, University of Maryland

Professional and community activities: Former Marine; veterans advocate; president, Progressive Veterans of Riverside County

Top five concerns: Lack of well-paying local jobs/slow growth of small businesses; increasing traffic congestion leading to poor air quality; lack of affordable single-family homes; rising homelessness; rising crime

Campaign information: courtneyforriverside.nationbuilder.com; courtney4riversidecounty@gmail.com; www.facebook.com/csheehan2040; Instagram @courtneyforriverside

Name: Chuck Washington

Age: 67

Residence: Temecula

Occupation: Retired Delta Air Lines pilot/county supervisor

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration and master’s degree in public administration, National University.

Professional and community activities: Retired naval aviator; private pilot who has offered free flights to youth and non-profit fundraisers; Citizen of the Year in Murrieta and Temecula; served on boards of Habitat for Humanity, Susan G Komen, Boys & Girls Clubs and chamber of commerce.

Top five concerns: County budget, enhanced public safety services through efficiencies in county spending, improving health and human services, building and maintaining infrastructure, promoting economic growth.

Campaign information: 888-845-1952, chuckwashington.com