24 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 7-13, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com more than two dozen bills signed into law, Panetta brings the passion, experience and institutional knowledge this moment demands. In a Congress where Republicans have abdicated their constitutional role, most recently with the war in Iran, his voice on democratic accountability, immigration reform, and health care has been increasingly clear. He deserves another term, especially over the six challengers who lack the experience to persuade us they could achieve more than Panetta in these heavily partisan times. He’s continued to prioritize constituent case work, closing out nearly 1,800 cases and returning over $16.2 million in taxpayer dollars to constituents in 2025 alone. He’s taken to hosting regular town hall meetings by telephone, giving constituents a chance to hear from him directly (although we think less talking and more listening would give the public a needed opportunity to feel heard), and rightly describes himself as a workhorse. We endorse him for re-election, but not without a direct challenge on the issue where his record most betrays his constituents. On Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, we wish Panetta would do more than write letters and issue statements in support of peace, and instead be a leader in implementing a clear, humanitarian agenda. As Panetta says, “I have come to realize that it is easy to simplify and sloganize this topic or make it binary. I have found that it is not and it should never be.” We agree, but we are troubled by continued significant support he receives from the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). We’d love to see him take a stand and reject those contributions— why does he need them anyway, in a safely blue district? Panetta has voted yes on legislation that strips funding from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA), a critical relief agency in Gaza. He justifies voting yes on omnibus legislation because it has achieved a range of other purposes, but unless all of the poison pills are removed, we hope he will have the courage to join other Democrats in voting no on such legislation. MONTEREY COUNTY Dan Burns for Superintendent of Schools For the first time in decades, the top job at the Monterey County Office of Education will be determined in a contested election. This year there are two qualified candidates vying for your vote. Ralph Porras is the former superintendent of Pacific Grove Unified School District and current deputy superintendent at MCOE. Dan Burns is the former superintendent at Salinas Union High School District. Since 1998, the sitting superintendent has essentially hand-selected a successor who usually ran unopposed. From Bill Barr to Nancy Kotowski to Deneen Guss, the baton was passed. Not coincidentally, leadership during this time has been staid, steady and technocratic while the results at the student achievement level have been average. In an interview with our endorsement panel, both candidates gave the overall education system in the county a C grade. Monterey County schools are confronting declining enrollments, which means shrinking budgets. Immigration enforcement has put new stressors on many schools and districts. AI in the classroom and a wave of teacher strikes throughout California are other factors that will dominate discussions in the education hierarchy. Burns ran the largest school district in the county, one that typifies most of the challenges facing MCOE and the county’s 24 school districts. He oversaw practical solutions, including the creation of 50 units of workforce housing for employees of the district. He partnered with community colleges and industry to advance career and technical education focused on agriculture and ag tech. He wants to use those types of innovation to transform MCOE leadership from compliance-focused to more relationship-driven. Porras is endorsed by the retiring superintendent and suggests voters elect him because a change in leadership could be difficult. He is a dedicated education administrator, but we think a change in leadership might just be the kind of spark MCOE needs. Burcu Mousa for Auditor/ Controller This is not a job that ordinarily attracts very much attention. It’s usually rough patches or errors that do, such as a mistake that had the County Auditor/Controller’s Office overcharging some property owners and undercharging others four years into a Gonzales school bond. This election is not a referendum on Rupa Shah, who is not seeking re-election, nor on that Gonzales error, but it looms large in the campaign after it was revealed in 2025. Shah has endorsed her assistant, Enedina Garcia, who was hired last June with years of experience in Fresno County. She is qualified for the job. But so is Burcu Mousa, a CPA who has similarly worked as assistant auditor/controller, so would arrive prepared to do the job on day one. But she’d now come in from the outside, bringing a needed fresh perspective. Mousa describes Shah’s leadership style as maintenance mode, rather than transformative. She says she wants to focus on building trust, starting internally in the department, and she has specific ideas for protocols and cross-checking on how to avoid another version of the Gonzales error. She pledges that her first auditing priority would be the Auditor’s Office itself. “Given the issues that have come to light, I think we need to start by strengthening our own house,” she says. Jake Stroud for Treasurer/Tax Collector After his predecessor, Mary Zeeb, served four four-year terms and retired last year, Jake Stroud was appointed by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors to replace her, with both the blessing of his former boss and staff members from the County Treasurer/Tax Collector’s Office. He is now running unopposed to make it official and brings with him nine years of experience locally and previously, seven years at the State of Minnesota’s Department of Revenue. “I grew up as a frontline tax collector,” Stroud says. He advanced in his career by deploying technology and taking on management roles before relocating with his wife and their three children to be near family in Monterey County. He supervises a total of 49 employees in a department responsible for collecting over $1 billion in property taxes each year, plus transient-occupancy tax from hotels, cannabis taxes and court-ordered fines. They also manage and invest some $3.5 billion in county dollars. “I summarize the responsibilities of our department as collecting, protecting and investing for the future of Monterey County,” Stroud says. Those are responsibilities we are persuaded he takes quite seriously, and trust him to keep things humming. Marina Camacho for AssessorCounty Clerk/Recorder Marina Camacho ran unopposed for her first term in this elected leadership role, and is seeking a second term unopposed. She’s had four years to Monterey County Assessor-Clerk/Recorder Marina Camacho is particularly proud of starting to offer civil marriage ceremonies: "It's such a joyous occasion for people," she says. "You just see smiles as they are going through their moment." DANIEL DREIFUSS
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