Jose Medina Declares Victory As RivCo Supervisor; Roth Concedes

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Former Democratic Assemblyman Jose Medina declared victory over a seat on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors on Thursday, ending another neck-and-neck contest this election season.

Medina, who was an educator, beat out his former Assembly colleague and more moderate Democratic opponent, Sen. Richard Roth, whose term on the state senate will in December. The pair competed for District 1's supervisorial seat with the year-end retirement of decadelong Supervisor Kevin Jeffries of Lakeland Village.

Medina, who served as an assemblymember for the county from 2012 to 2021, will become the first Latino to serve District 1.

"It is deeply meaningful to me to become the first Latino Supervisor to represent our area of the county," Medina said in a statement on Friday.

The district is home to more than 85,000 people in the cities of Perris and Riverside, along with several unincorporated communities such as Good Hope, Highgrove, Mead Valley, and Meadowbrook. The March JPA and March Air Reserve Base also reside within the district.

Media declared himself the winner with 66,936 votes (50.52%), according to the latest county tallies.

"I am excited to get to work and look forward to uniting our community to achieve meaningful oversight of the Sheriff’s Department, address the homelessness and housing crisis, protect our environment, and expand economic and educational opportunities for everyone in Riverside County," he said.

Roth — an Air Force major general stationed in the area before entering politics — has conceded, according to The Press-Enterprise.

"I congratulate Supervisor-elect Medina on a hard-fought victory; and, no matter who you voted for in this race, I hope you will join me in wishing Supervisor-elect Medina success — because Riverside County’s success depends on it," he said in an email to the newspaper.

Roth has characterized himself as a "moderate Democrat," but on taxes he has been a largely party-line voter. Like Medina, who was termed out of the Assembly in 2022, Roth has received failing grades from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers' Association for supporting tax hikes on gasoline, higher state fees for mobile phone services and increased state charges for recycling spent car batteries, among other things.

Roth previously said he was "running for supervisor to build more housing our families can afford, improve our quality of life, recruit doctors and make mental health care more accessible."

As a former educator, Medina has pointed to his record supporting greater appropriations for University of California, Riverside, seed funding for the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and a bevy of restoration projects in Riverside as highlights of his political career.

"I want to thank everyone who believed in our cause, welcomed me into their homes, made contributions, knocked on doors, and reached out to their friends and neighbors. Our campaign was outspent by a significant margin of 4-to-1, but we demonstrated that voters are eager for a positive vision—one that reflects their hopes and focuses on real solutions to the challenges they face," Medina said Thursday.