San Bernardino County’s Third supervisorial district spans a vast geographic territory, including Barstow, Big Bear Lake, Crestline, Devore, Grand Terrace, Highland, Joshua Tree, Loma Linda, Needles, Redlands, Running Springs, Twentynine Palms, Yucaipa and Yucca Valley
There are four candidates on the ballot running to represent the district on the county Board of Supervisors.
The two highest profile candidates are incumbent Supervisor Dawn Rowe and attorney Chris Carrillo.
Carrillo formerly worked for then-Supervisor James Ramos as well as the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Carrillo told us that the current county board “puts politics over people,” “special interests over the public” and vows to be a much needed agent of change on the board.
Most of Carrillo’s arguments for himself and against the incumbent centered on broad criticisms of the Board of Supervisors as a whole. He cited, for example, the board’s successful effort to override Measure K, which imposed strict term and pay limits on county supervisors. Carrillo argued it was self-serving on the part of the board to back a repeal of a measure approved by the public, while at the same time acknowledging that he didn’t think Measure K was a good idea either. So that’s a bit of a wash.
He also cited a 2022 instance of the board not spending $4 million in federal money intended to go toward homelessness and having to give it back to the feds. At the same time, though, the board did vote to spend over $70 million to fight homelessness.
You might recognize a pattern in these criticisms, which is that they are ultimately shallow. One matter of consequence is that Carrillo has been boosted from the very start of his campaign by local firefighters unions which seem specifically intent on ousting Rowe.
This editorial board is always suspicious of special interests going out of their way to target an elected official.
Which brings us to the incumbent and why we’re endorsing Supervisor Rowe’s re-election.
As long as we have known her, Dawn Rowe has been a fiscally responsible leader on the board keen on steering county government in a more responsive direction.
“I firmly believe in a more participatory and transparent governance structure where I genuinely listen to the voices in the community and integrate their perspectives into the county’s decision-making process,” she told us.
Among her current priorities include continuing to improve the county’s emergency response capabilities. This requires cutting through bureaucratic hurdles, bringing people together and ensuring easy information sharing and communication. Supervisor Rowe is making that a priority.
There’s a reason why Rowe has been able to draw a diverse support base, from Democratic state Treasurer Fiona Ma to Republican Rep. Jay Obernolte. She knows how to work across the aisle and will continue to do so for the betterment of San Bernardino County.
