San Joaquin County has ten elected officials whose decisions shape our communities and daily lives. Five serve on the Board of Supervisors, with one Supervisor elected from each district. Voters across the County also elect five countywide officials:

• Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk

• Auditor-Controller

• Treasurer-Tax Collector

• District Attorney

• Sheriff-Public Administrator

Each office has different powers and responsibilities. Understanding what these officials control—and what they do not—is an important first step toward holding them accountable and knowing where to advocate for change.

The Board of Supervisors (BOS) is San Joaquin County’s main governing body. Its five members serve four-year terms and carry out legislative, executive, and quasi-judicial duties. This means the Board passes local laws, sets County policy, holds public hearings, approves contracts, and makes decisions on certain land-use and administrative matters.

The Board also appoints the County Administrator, County Counsel, Clerk of the Board, and the leaders of the majority of County departments, including Human Services, Health Care Services, Public Works, Community Development, Office of Emergency Services, and the Public Defender. That said, the Board does not directly oversee or appoint every department head. Some are appointed by the County Administrator (i.e. General Services, Human Resources, Information Systems, Registrar of Voters) or outside governing bodies (i.e. Probation, Librarian).

One of the Board’s greatest powers is deciding how County money is spent. Each year, the Board reviews and adopts the County budget. The budget for the current fiscal year 2026-2027 is about $3.3 billion and funds services like health and human services, public safety and justice, roads and infrastructure, parks, County facilities, and general governmental operations.

Most of the budget comes from department revenues, including state and federal funding, hospital and service revenue, fees, and non-General Fund balances. The rest comes from general purpose revenues, including local taxes. Because much of the funding is restricted to certain programs, the Board cannot freely move every dollar—but it still makes major decisions about which services, departments, and community needs receive County resources. 

Who are the current Board of Supervisors?

The Board of Supervisors is made up of five elected members who serve as San Joaquin County’s governing body. Each Supervisor represents one district and serves a four-year term. Supervisors may serve no more than three terms.

Each year, the Supervisors choose one member to serve as Chair and another to serve as Vice-Chair. The chairmanship typically rotates through the five districts in numerical order, but the position is formally decided by a vote of the Board during its annual reorganization meeting. The Chair leads Board meetings, represents the County at public events, and assigns Supervisors to committees. The Chair does not have more voting power than the other Supervisors; each member still has one vote.

As of January 2025, the supervisors are: 

• Mario Gardea (District 1), representing: Stockton

• Paul Canepa (District 2), Stockton

• Sonny Dhaliwal (District 3, Chair), Lathrop, Manteca, Stockton

• Steven Ding (District 4, Vice Chair), Lodi, Morada, Linden

• Robert Rickman (District 5), Ripon, Escalon, Tracy, Mountain House

What does the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk do?

The Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk is in charge of property assessments, official records, and County Clerk services. This includes determining the assessed value of taxable property, maintaining property maps and ownership records, recording deeds and other official documents, keeping vital records, issuing marriage licenses, filing fictitious business names and notary bonds, and accepting passport applications. The office is organized into five divisions: Administration, Real Property, Commercial and Business Property, Standards, and Recorder-County Clerk. There are 115 allocated staff.

The Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk is elected every four years.

Who is San Joaquin County’s Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk?

The current Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk is Steve Bestolarides.

Total Compensation in 2025: $433,361.59

What does the Auditor-Controller do?

The Auditor-Controller is in charge of the County’s accounting and financial oversight. This includes maintaining financial records, processing payroll and payments, monitoring department spending and contracts, conducting audits, preparing financial reports, and distributing property tax revenue to local public agencies. The Auditor-Controller’s office is organized into several divisions and has numerous sub-departments. There are 43 allocated staff. 

The Auditor-Controller is elected every four years.

Who is San Joaquin County’s Auditor-Controller?

The current Auditor-Controller is Jeffery M. Woltkamp, CPA.

Total Compensation in 2025: $445,434.27

What does the Treasurer-Tax Collector do?

The Treasurer-Tax Collector is responsible for collecting, protecting, and managing public funds. This includes collecting property and hotel taxes, issuing business licenses, collecting debts owed to the County, managing County banking services, and investing funds that are not immediately needed. The office is divided into three divisions—Treasury, Tax, and Revenue and Recovery—and has 40 allocated staff. 

The Treasurer-Tax Collector is elected every four years.

Who is San Joaquin County’s Treasurer-Tax Collector?

The current Treasurer-Tax Collector is Phonxay Keokham, CPA.

Total Compensation in 2025: $453,353.74

What does the District Attorney do?

The San Joaquin District Attorney’s office is in charge of prosecuting felony crimes in every area of San Joaquin County. This includes decisions on whether to prosecute police officers for unlawful violence and other misconduct. The District Attorney’s office is organized into three major divisions—the Criminal Division, Special Operations, and Bureau of Investigations—along with Victim/Witness Assistance, the Family Justice Center, information technology, and administrative support units. The office has 350 allocated staff positions. 

The District Attorney is elected every four years, up to three consecutive terms.

Who is San Joaquin County’s District Attorney?

The current District Attorney is Ron Freitas, a former Prosecutor for over 30 years. 

Total Compensation in 2025: $416,376.47

What Does the Sheriff-Public Administrator Do?

The Sheriff is San Joaquin County’s elected chief law-enforcement officer and leads the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office polices unincorporated communities and is responsible for investigating crimes, operating correctional and detention facilities, serving court orders, providing courthouse security, coordinating specialized law-enforcement services, and responds to emergencies across the County.

The Sheriff also oversees the County jail system, including the Jail Core, South Jail, and Honor Farm in French Camp. This gives the Sheriff significant control over jail policies, conditions of confinement, staffing, discipline, rehabilitation programs, and the treatment of people in custody.

The Sheriff’s Office is organized into nine major divisions, including Patrol, Investigations, Special Services, Jail Operations, Courts and Civil Services, Professional Standards, Metro Narcotics, Custody Programs, and Administrative Services.

The Sheriff-Public Administrator is generally elected every four years. However, a one-time change in California law extended the terms of sheriffs elected in 2022 to six years, moving the next regular sheriff election to 2028.

Who is San Joaquin County’s Sheriff?

The current Sheriff-Public Administrator is Pat Withrow. He was first elected in June 2018 and took office in January 2019.

Total Compensation in 2025: $511,894.18

The County has thirty departments that specialize in operating and maintaining various services to assist residents throughout the County. Types of department services include but are not limited to: community development, employment, family and children support services, and education. In this guide, we’ll highlight just a few of them. All of their leaders are selected by the Board of Supervisors.

Key Departments:

• The Agricultural Commissioner enforces the provisions of the California Food and Agricultural Code for the protection of the public's health, safety and welfare, and to promote and protect the agricultural industry.

• Assessor - Recorder - County Clerk maintains vital and public records and assesses all taxable property according to state laws and regulations.

• Auditor-Controller safeguards and conserves taxpayers dollars.

• The Department of Child Support Services works with parents - custodial and noncustodial - and legally acknowledged guardians to ensure children and families receive court ordered financial and medical support.

• Community Development Department building inspection, planning/development services, neighborhood preservation, GIS mapping.

• Employment and Economic Development Department (SJC WorkNet) provides employment and training opportunities to job seekers in San Joaquin County by assisting them with accessing employment, education, training and support services required to succeed in the labor market. San Joaquin County WorkNet also supports our local Business community by assisting businesses in accessing the available resources and services that promote business growth and increase employment opportunities.

• The Environmental Health Department deals with solid and hazardous waste, public health, food and restaurant inspections, housing abatement, sanitation, environmental impact reports, recreational health, etc.

• The General Services Department has divisions that include facilities maintenance, property management, capital projects, and parks and recreation.

• Health Care Services has departments that include Behavioral Health Services, Mental Health, Public Guardian/Conservator, Substance Abuse, Emergency Medical Services, Public Health Services, Veterans’ Services, and Neighborhood Preservation.

• Human Services Agency programs include: California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs), Foster Care, CalFresh, General Assistance, Medi-Cal, Adoptions, Child Protective Services, Adult Protective Services, In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), Refugee Assistance, and the Mary Graham Children’s Shelter.

• The Office of Emergency Services is the key disaster preparedness office of the County, and has direct responsibility to support and coordinate the efforts of County departments carrying out their functions in the field. To ensure a coordinated response to their disaster needs, OES also provides disaster information, logistical support, facilitates mutual aid requests, and facilitates inter-jurisdictional coordination with agencies from 7 cities, 120 special districts, and locally-based State and Federal agencies.

• The Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for the development and maintenance of all regional, community and neighborhood parks and facilities in San Joaquin County.

• The Probation Department identifies candidates for probation, recommends sanctions to be imposed, designs supervision plans for probationers, operates juvenile hall, provides a Probation Camp for juveniles, etc.

• The Department of Public Works services the county’s underground facilities, roadways, bridges, minor structures, solid waste facilities, project levees, channels, and special districts which provide water, sanitary sewer, storm drainage, and street lighting services.

There are seven elected members who comprise the Stockton East Water District Division and San Joaquin Delta Community College District Trustee Area respectively.

PAGE LAST UPDATED: 7/11/2026

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