Sylvia Arenas ahead in early results for South County contest

Early results show District 1 Santa Clara County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas comfortably fending off a challenger to hold onto her agricultural South County seat.

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, Arenas is leading with 61.9% of the vote or 26,962 votes. Morgan Hill Unified School District board member Rebecca Munson is in second with 37.9% of the vote or 16,505 votes.

The county’s voter turnout for the June 2 primary election is 21.3%.

“It’s very early on in the election. I’m very optimistic and have confidence that as time goes on we will see more support and votes coming my way,” Munson told San José Spotlight after the results posted.

Arenas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The District 1 race was one of just two county-level races in which incumbents faced challengers this year, after Arenas’ win four years ago — aligned with the redrawing of District 1’s boundaries the prior year — shifted the board of supervisors’ political tilt, solidifying a progressive bloc.

As supervisor, Arenas has been vocal about fixing county child welfare issues that led to the scandalous, 2023 drug overdose death of 3-month-old Baby Phoenix in San Jose. She has also championed efforts to study systemic health threats facing the county’s Latino communities and build farmworker housing in South County. She has also spoken out against plans for a federal facility planned to be built outside of Gilroy by a company with ties to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Munson campaigned with a goal to improve South County’s representation in policymaking on the board of supervisors. She championed balancing the budget to protect essential services, making public hospitals more self-sustaining through smart revenue strategies and improved efficiency and partnering with local cities to address homelessness.

Arenas has raised more than $119,000 between this and last year and spent more than $3,600 to hold onto the seat. Campaign finance filings show Munson raised $7,580 and spent $7,400 this year.

The winner will help steer Santa Clara County through its worst fiscal crisis in decades. Federal spending cuts under President Donald Trump will cost the county billions of dollars over the next several years – creating massive shortfalls that can only be bridged with steep cuts to social services, as well as the county hospital system, now California’s second largest.

Last November, voters approved the county’s proposal to levy a five-eighths cent sales tax increase called Measure A. The county is seeing $337 million in extra revenue from the tax increase this year. This year, county leaders are recommending a net reduction of 464 jobs across the region’s social safety net programs to shoulder a $787 million deficit in their nearly $15 billion budget. Most recently, county leaders said a May revised budget proposal from Gov. Gavin Newsom would threaten an additional $231 million in losses to county hospitals this upcoming fiscal year, increasing to $322 million the following year.

This story will be updated.

Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.