Dom Zanger represents northeast Hollister and North County on the San Benito County Board of Supervisors. Zanger, one of the youngest supervisors in California, beat incumbent Betsy Dirks by 158 votes in a runoff election on Nov. 8, 2022. Dirks had been appointed to the seat by Gov. Gavin Newsom after Mark Medina resigned in 2021; she and 26-year-old Zanger were the top vote-getters out of six candidates in the June primary.
Born and raised in San Benito County, Zanger hasn’t held elected office before. In his candidate statement, Zanger wrote, “I’m running for county supervisor because I see the changes taking place that are steering our county in the wrong direction. These changes are so significant that the charming and unique farm community that I grew up in has been transformed into something entirely unrecognizable.”
First elected: Nov. 8, 2022
Day job: Estate manager and carpenter
Alma mater: UC Santa Barbara (bachelor’s degree in communications)
Notable quote: “It’s clear to every resident of this county that we are not growing at a sustainable pace. In fact, we would fail nearly every metric you could use to evaluate responsible growth. The worsening traffic, the dismal condition of our roads, the rising crime, lack of jobs, an un-unified and incohesive vision for the county, lack of cultural retainment. These are all indicators that San Benito is growing at an unsustainable pace.” (Source: BenitoLink)
