Juslyn Manalo Leads San Mateo County District 5 Race
Juslyn Manalo leads the race for San Mateo County District 5 supervisor as early results show incumbents and newcomers ahead in several California municipal elections.
Early election results from the San Mateo County Registrar of Voters show Juslyn Manalo, a Daly City Councilmember and former mayor, leading the race for the District 5 supervisor seat with 53.15% of the vote. Her opponent, South San Francisco Councilmember Mark Nagales, holds 46.85%. The seat will be vacated in January by David Canepa, who is transitioning to the role of assessor-county-clerk-reporter. Manalo has focused her campaign on addressing a $134 million county budget shortfall and increasing affordable housing.
In other San Mateo County municipal races, Ofelia Bello and an incumbent tied for the lead in East Palo Alto with 21.2% of the vote each. In Menlo Park, Drew Combs, Wonman Lee, and Laura Melahn are leading their respective districts, while incumbent Lisa Nash, Seema Patel, and Mayor Adam Loraine lead the races in San Mateo. These local contests are centered on housing density, budget deficits, and urban development projects.
Separately, preliminary results in Escondido show incumbent Mayor Dane White leading challenger Elias Velazquez. The mayoral race has been defined by a clash over homelessness strategies, with White rejecting the housing first model while Velazquez advocates for its return to secure state funding. In Escondido's City Council races, Vanessa Valenzuela holds a significant lead in District 1, and Anthony DiMartino holds a slim lead over incumbent Joe Garcia in District 2.
