With district consolidation on the ballot, it’ll be a unique situation for South County voters this election.

Celia Jiménez here, thinking about the upcoming election and the changes that it could bring to local politics. 

Some candidates have announced their campaigns early, way before the filing period started on July 13, including Salinas City Councilmember Andrew Sandoval, who is seeking reelection for District 5, and Marina City Councilmember Liesbeth Visscher, who is now running for mayor.

The filing period runs through Friday, Aug. 7, which is extended to Aug. 12 if the incumbent is not running for reelection. The Monterey County Elections Office staff is hosting various “Books and Ballots” events throughout the county to help candidates file for the ballot, with the next taking place on July 29 in Castroville.

In Soledad, there are three seats up for grabs on the city council this year, and we will see two new faces at the dais after Mayor Anna Velazquez and Councilmember Fernando Ansaldo-Sánchez announced they will not seek reelection. 

South County voters in King City, Greenfield and nearby unincorporated communities will experience a unique scenario: voting for a candidate who is running for two different school districts. 

The reason behind it is the proposed district consolidation. Voters will decide whether to consolidate Greenfield Union and King City Union, both TK-8, and South Monterey County Joint Union School District, grades 9-12. It will turn these three districts into two TK-12 school districts under new names: Greenfield Unified School District and King City Joint Unified School District. 

For example, a King City resident can run for the KCUSD, KCJUSD or both at the same time. 

If the voters approve the consolidation, candidates who run for the current districts will serve until the new districts begin operating. Those who run for both the current and new districts will serve for four years representing two different school districts. 

“Typically, you cannot serve on two school boards at the same time, but in this case, they can because new legislation was passed that allows it, and it's because the people they are representing don't change,” Monterey County Superintendent of Schools Deneen Guss says. 

As Guss says, the process is tricky, but it could ensure those districts have representatives if the consolidation passes.