Tomorrow evening, July 20, the Orange County Democrats will gather via Zoom to hear from the six applicants to fill Jamezetta Bedford’s seat on the Board of County Commissioners. Under the process defined by the county Democratic Party, each applicant has already answered a set of written questions, and during the live forum tomorrow evening they will respond to additional questions submitted by the community.
The application each candidate completed included a check box for which of the two seats they were applying for.
The Ballot recommendation will place the selected candidate’s name on the 2026 ballot in place of Jamezetta’s. The executive committee of the Orange County Democratic Party will choose the individual for the Ballot recommendation.
The Balance of Term application is for the individual who will fill out the remainder of this term which concludes in December 2026. The County Commissioners will select among the six applicants for the individual to fill that seat at their next meeting on July 28, 9:00 a.m., at the Southern Human Services Center.
None of the communications I have seen from the Dems specifies which term each applicant is applying for, but the questionnaire response from one candidate, Pam Hemminger, indicates she is only interested in the Balance of Term appointment. “I would be honored to help fill her [Jamezetta’s] seat for the remainder of the year.”
The Forum Structure: Selecting the Candidate to Place on the Ballot The candidate forum will be structured as follows: 1) Candidate introductory speeches: 2 minutes per candidate; 2) Question and Answer segment: Each candidate will have 1 minute to answer 4 questions that have been suggested by community members in advance. Questions will NOT be accepted during the meeting; and 3) Candidate Closing Remarks: 1 minute per candidate.
The July 20 meeting will begin with nominations from the floor. “Nominations from the floor are permitted during the July 20, 2026 meeting. A second is not required to place a name in nomination. Anyone nominated from the floor must be present to accept the nomination.”
Following the candidate forum, the Party’s executive committee will vote on the candidate to place on the ballot for November. “Only County Executive Committee members who serve as the Chair and Vice-Chair, or their designated Proxy Voter, of a precinct that lies wholly or partially within Commissioner District 1 are eligible to cast one half of their precinct’s weighted vote during the elections to fill the vacancy for the District 1 County Commissioner position.” [Voting members are allowed to appoint someone to serve as their proxy.] The full set of voting rules are too complicated to include here. Since there is no challenger in District 1, this appointment will be our newest Commissioner but will not be seated until December.
If you wish to observe the process tomorrow evening, you’ll need to register at https://mobilize.us/s/mMyIiX.
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