The race to represent North County on the Board of Supervisors is a year away, but is already revving up.

When June 7, 2022, rolls around, two of five Monterey County supervisor seats will be up to the will of voters. Although District 3, so far, seems to be firmly in the grasp of incumbent Christopher Lopez – no one has proposed to run against him yet – there is a growing bullpen of candidates eying North County’s District 2, a seat that two-term incumbent John Phillips, 78, says he intends to give up when his term expires.

The group of four candidates who have so far indicated a run for the four-year District 2 seat is a mix of familiar faces and political newcomers. There is Regina Gage, who lost her 2018 bid to unseat Phillips after gaining the support from the local Democratic machine, and Glenn Church, lifelong North County resident and the son of former supervisor Warren Church. Stephen Snodgrass, the CFO of the Watsonville-based local powerhouse Graniterock, and Grant Leonard, a housing analyst for the city of Monterey focused on affordable housing, have also thrown their hats in the ring.

Some believe the candidate pool could grow to seven or more candidates, which would increase the likelihood of a runoff election. A runoff is triggered when no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the popular vote, sending the top two vote-getters into a five-month, head-to-head campaign before a face-off at the ballot box during the November general election. The deadline to file to run is March 11.

Among those rumored to be considering a run in the crowded field is Salinas Mayor Kimbley Craig. Elected in 2020, Craig’s two-year term as mayor would expire as the term for supervisor begins. Craig says her focus, for now, is Salinas.

“I have been asked by a lot of people if I’m running,” she says. “It’s really important for me to get some stuff done as mayor of Salinas. That’s where I’m at.”

The District 2 supervisor term is aligned with the midterm election cycle, as opposed to the presidential cycle, which means voter turnout is historically lower. In 2018, only 32.6 percent of the electorate, or roughly 12,600 of the 38,600 registered voters in the district, cast a vote for supervisor. In a two-person race, Phillips won his seat against Gage with just under 7,000 votes. In 2014, Phillips nearly won outright in a three-way primary with under 4,300 votes but needed a runoff. According to the Monterey County Elections Department, the number of registered voters in District 2 has grown to about 44,900 as of February.

Monterey County’s District 2 is unique, as nearly all of it falls within unincorporated land, save for a piece of north Salinas. Since its territory mostly does not overlap with other municipal jurisdictions, District 2’s supervisor is the elected official who most closely represents residents’ interests. This has led to a campaign promise among most of the candidates: presence and engagement.

“A supervisor needs to be engaged, and meet regular people and hold community meetings,” Church says. He paid close attention to local government when his dad served, in the 1960s and ’70s, and says he was disappointed when he tuned back into local government recently. “I see government is more distanced from the people, and we’re not that big of a county.”