San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Chief Elections Officer
✦ AI Race Summary
Open seat — long-serving incumbent Mark Church is not seeking re-election. The combined office handles property tax assessment, the official records system, and election administration for the entire county. The race has become the highest-profile down-ballot contest of the cycle, featuring an unusually direct contrast between an outside elected official pitching reform and the office's veteran second-in-command pitching continuity. A notable controversy in the race is challenger Jim Irizarry's two-decade voter registration with the American Independent Party — a far-right minor party — which Irizarry attributes to a clerical error.
Candidates · sorted by endorsements
Has served the San Mateo County office for over three decades, including 13 years as the deputy/assistant to outgoing Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder Mark Church. Pitches institutional continuity and operational depth. The campaign has been overshadowed by reporting that Irizarry was registered with the American Independent Party from at least 1996 through 2015 — a fact Irizarry says was a clerical error he eventually fixed; he re-registered as a Democrat in July 2023.
BAJC-Action · Endorsed
Hindu United Vote · Endorsed
Three-term San Mateo County Supervisor representing District 5 (Daly City and northern San Mateo County) and a former Daly City mayor. Would resign his supervisor seat two years early if elected. Platform: reorganize and modernize the office (which he has publicly called a "dumpster fire"), increase transparency around assessment practices, improve outreach to homeowners and businesses, and modernize the online clerk-recorder portal.