Early results show Glenn Church netting nearly two-thirds of the vote for another term as county supervisor.

Just after 7:30pm on Tuesday, June 2, Clint Novak carried a tray of Bloody Mary-marinated tri-tip into the kitchen, advising people to be careful around the hot dish.

The tri-tip was the centerpiece of a full menu for dinner at Glenn Church’s Royal Oaks home, which also included seasoned chicken wings, beer-marinated bratwurst and pepperoncini-marinated potato salad with no relish—a secret recipe, says Novak, Church’s nephew and a self-described hobby cook.

It was a feast at home and at the polls for Church on election night as he vies for a second term as Monterey County supervisor.

In early election results released just after 8pm Tuesday, Church held a sizable lead over his opponent, Ramon Gomez, garnering nearly 72 percent of the vote in the two-person race.

Church was first elected to represent District 2, which encompasses North County communities and North Salinas, in 2022. The area has faced two major disasters since Church took office: the Pajaro River flood in 2023 (less than three months after he was seated) and the Vistra battery energy storage facility fire in Moss Landing in 2025.

Those disasters, and Church’s responses to them, took center stage in his campaign. In Pajaro, for example, Church says he is now warmly greeted in the community that for years felt neglected by its government.

“It’s a lot more supportive than it was in 2022,” Church says of his interactions with voters this time around compared to his first campaign. “I try to work with everybody. I try to be civil. I try to compromise. I try to find middle ground. With the fire and the flood, I tried to be straight up and honest with people.”

Church spent Election Day at a county supervisors’ meeting, then opted for a low-key gathering at home at night with family and friends, as his dog Shasta greeted visitors.

Gomez arrived to his party at 101 Wine Press in Prunedale after the polls closed at 8pm, noting he wanted to be out campaigning right up to the last minute.

Gomez, who serves on the Monterey County Planning Commission and North County Fire District board, says he is happy with how the campaigns were run on both sides.

“I’ve been very proud of running a clean campaign and focusing on the issues,” the Prunedale resident says. “I think my opponent has done the same thing. That’s been a good thing for the voters.”

Church says he’s already making a plan for what he wants to accomplish over the next four-and-a-half years. Many things are already in motion, he notes, including flood control in the Bolsa Knolls neighborhood (with the supervisors hearing a report on a drainage study on June 2), additional sidewalks in Castroville and the proposed transfer station at the former Crazy Horse Landfill in Prunedale.

“What I like about a nonpartisan office is that you cross those red and blue lines,” he says. “I’ve had some texts today, one coming from a conservative Republican and one coming from a liberal Democrat, and both were wishing me the best of luck.”