A Los Banos candidate forum for District 5 of the Merced County Board of Supervisors focused on public safety, jobs and Westside neglect.
Two-term incumbent Supervisor Scott Silveira leaned on his record in office. At the same time, challenger Miguel Alejandre argued the area needs a louder, more visible advocate.
The forum was hosted by the League of Women Voters of Merced County. Anthony Parreira, board president of the Los Banos Unified School District, moderated and read questions submitted by residents.
Over roughly an hour, the candidates answered questions about public safety spending, job growth, county services on the Westside, road funding, fire protection, hospital access and the proposed battery energy storage project south of Los Banos.
Silveira, the incumbent, used his opening statement to stress his stance on public safety and his time in office.
“As many of you know, I’m a native Los Banian,” he told the crowd of about 50 people. “Public safety is the No. 1 priority.”
Alejandre, a Los Banos business owner running for office for the first time, introduced himself as a husband, father, Catholic, and business owner.
“I am here, and I’m willing to speak up and stand for what I believe in,” he said after confessing some apprehension about speaking to large crowds.
In a brief interview after the forum, Alejandre said he works in HVAC, appliance repair and fitness. He said he owns an LLC with five locations, including three gyms and two Pilates studios, and he recently opened a Newman location. He lived in Firebaugh until moving to Los Banos seven years ago, he said.
Hearing people’s frustration about not feeling informed or properly represented influenced Alejandre’s decision to run for county supervisor.
Public safety
The first question asked whether the county should continue directing most of its discretionary funding toward public safety. Both candidates said yes.
Silveira backed the current approach and pointed to the county’s $1.5 billion budget, explaining that the board could exercise spending discretion over only about $200 million, since the rest is earmarked for other federal and state programs.
“I would continue down that same path,” Silveira said, referring to the board directing about $150 million a year on public safety, which accounts for about 75% of the funds the board can allocate.
Alejandre also backed more support for first responders and tied safety to quality of life.
“Public safety is the most important thing to make someone want to come and live here to feel safe,” Alejandre said.
Fire protection in Dos Palos and South Dos Palos came up. Last year, the Board of Supervisors voted to close the South Dos Palos station and later voted again to keep it open.
Silveira said he fought to keep fire coverage in place and said shrinking service there was not acceptable.
Alejandre said the issue contributes to the feeling that the Westside keeps getting less.
“It makes the Westside feel a little left out,” Alejandre said.
Economic development
On jobs, both candidates said the Westside needs more opportunity, though they framed the problem differently.
Alejandre repeatedly returned to businesses in the industrial and supply chain sectors, saying the area should fight harder to attract businesses that create local jobs.
“Why are we not meeting that?” Alejandre said. “We need more manufacturing, logistics and distribution centers here.”
In a post-forum interview, Alejandre said he believes Merced County is losing out to nearby places that have landed more logistics and manufacturing growth.
“So there’s a lot of opportunities we’re missing,” he said. “We’re being left in the dust.”
One single industry is not the answer, Silveira said. The county needs to be easier to work with, he said, and easier to navigate to attract businesses to the area.
One suggestion Silveira made was a one-stop shop entity to allow prospective businesses to obtain all permits under one roof.
“Everything from environmental health, whether it’s public health, whether it’s building department, planning department, fire department, we’re all under one roof, so that the company that you talk to, one person that’s able to help you navigate all those services,” Silveira said. “(That’s) something we’re not doing.”
The proposed battery energy storage system south of Los Banos also came up for discussion.
Silveira said the project had already gone through the required review process and that the county had no legal grounds to block it.
“We had no legitimate reason to deny them,” Silveira said.
Afterward, he said he wished he had more time to answer that question because it had become “a hot button issue for some folks here in Los Banos.”
Alejandre raised doubts about safety and questioned what the Westside would actually gain from the project.
“If it’s gonna be on the Westside, we want to know, as residents – not me as running for supervisor, how is it going to benefit us?” Alejandre asked.
Transparency
On county budget transparency, both candidates said the process can be hard for the public to follow.
Silveira described the county budget as complicated and said the county already holds hearings and meetings, even if public engagement stays low.
“I don’t know how to make a budget review more sexy to propose to the public,” Silveira said.
Alejandre said the county needs to reach people where they already are, including Facebook and other social media platforms.
“I use AI to help summarize meetings for the public so it’s not too difficult to engage,” he said about his constant posts on social media.
How the candidates compare
A sharp contrast came when the candidates were asked what qualified them for the seat.
Alejandre said he has no political experience and did not try to hide it. His value comes from constant contact with residents through his businesses and daily work, he said.
“My experience is experience with the residents and what they want, and what they see and what they need,” he said.
Silveira argued that business acumen was important when supervising a county.
“Signing the front of a paycheck versus just signing the back of a paycheck – I think that brings a unique mindset into how you run government,” he said, clarifying that government should not be run as a business, but adding that the knowledge brings value to the position.
Silveria pointed to his two terms as a county supervisor and the eight years he served on the Los Banos City Council.
“I think that makes me uniquely qualified,” he said.
After the forum, Silveira said voters were weighing whether to choose someone new or someone who already knows county government.
“It’s obvious that my opponent doesn’t have a lot of experience in this,” Silveira said. “I don’t claim to know everything, but I know a lot of different factions, a lot of different pieces in what we do in Merced County.”
An advocate for the Westside
Frustration over the county’s attention to the Westside surfaced again when the candidates were asked about bringing more county services to Los Banos, Dos Palos, and nearby communities.
Alejandre said that would take advocacy and support from the rest of the board.
“I can’t speak alone for the Westside, but we’ve also got to give back to the east side,” Alejandre said. “But yes, it is time to give more to the Westside that’s been abandoned.”
Silveira pointed to services he said are already moving west.
“As a pilot program, we’re starting one day a month where you can get those services here, right here in Los Banos,” Silveira said, referring to county services such as providing birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, and business filings.
Westside residents should not have to drive to Merced for everything, he said.
In his post-forum interview, Silveira also tried to draw a line between county issues and city issues, saying voters often mix the two up.
County government handles a different set of services, he said, including behavioral health, public health, probation, the public defender and jail operations.
The forum also addressed the criticism Silveira has faced regarding his attendance at local city council meetings. Silveira pledged to do better.“I need to make a commitment that I’m gonna be here at least one meeting a month,” Silveira said. “I do watch the meetings online. I don’t always come in person.”
Alejandre said showing up is about priorities.
“I try to show up to a lot of the meetings because it’s all about priority,” Alejandre said while mentioning he regularly attends city, county, Merced County Association of Government meetings.Residents of Los Banos have long wanted a trauma center in their community.
Silveira said he has maintained relationships with Sutter Memorial Hospital leadership, but warned residents not to expect a trauma center right away.
“The reality is, they’re not going to build a trauma center here,” Silveira said. “I know, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but what they’re going to do is build a better facility that feeds into their trauma center.”
Alejandre said he wants more answers and more transparency from the people making those decisions.
“What do we need to get a trauma center?” Alejandre asked. “What’s the solution here? Let’s find it. Let’s fix things. Let’s figure this out.”
By the end of the night, each candidate used their closing statement to frame the race in their own way.
Silveira argued that voters are choosing between ideas and delivery.
“Tonight you’ve heard a lot about ideas, but it’s about more than ideas,” Silveira said. “It’s really who can deliver on those ideas.”
Alejandre cast his run as a response to residents who want more communication and a supervisor they can actually feel.
“The residents – the bosses – deserve to be responded to, to be made aware of what’s going on,” he said.