No contest: Stanislaus County will have a new DA. He’s the former mayor of Escalon
Jeff Laugero, a chief deputy district attorney, emerged as the only candidate for Stanislaus County district attorney as a filing period extension closed Wednesday.
Laugero has a clear path to succeed District Attorney Birgit Fladager, who did not seek another term. Fladager’s current term will expire at the end of 2022.
Laugero began working for the District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor in 2005. He is a graduate of the Santa Clara University School of Law and a former police officer.
A longtime Escalon resident, Laugero previously served as mayor of Escalon and resigned from the City Council in December to move to Stanislaus County and run for district attorney. No one else stepped forward to run for DA in the June 7 primary.
County Registrar of Voters Donna Linder said Thursday her office verifies a residence in Stanislaus County before issuing candidate papers. Residency in the county is a requirement of running for county offices.
Laugero included an address in Riverbank on a candidate intention statement Jan. 12 and a Modesto address in an amended statement Feb. 23. He did not return messages Thursday from The Modesto Bee.
In one of the two county supervisorial races on the June ballot, appointed Supervisor Mani Grewal will compete with Joel DeGraef, a small business owner, for the District 4 seat on the Board of Supervisors.
Melissa Kelly had pulled papers but did not complete the process. District 4 includes most of Modesto, a small part of Ceres and Del Rio.
Board Chairman Terry Withrow is challenged by Modesto Councilman Tony Madrigal in District 3 in a rematch of a 2018 contest narrowly won by Withrow. District 3 includes west Modesto, Salida and the Wood Colony area.
Six other county offices are uncontested, including sheriff, county superintendent of schools, treasurer-tax collector, clerk-recorder, assessor and auditor-controller. Seven judges who serve on the bench in Stanislaus Superior Court are also unopposed.
The Secretary of State will release a certified list of election candidates for state Assembly and Senate districts at the end of March.
This story was originally published March 18, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
