As SB Elections Czar Joe Holland Seeks 7th Term while Working from Home, Challenger Melinda Greene Says She is "Present."
Because of chronic illness, longtime incumbent county official is managing his office remotely, as one of his chief deputies and campaign rival says the stakes are too high for absentee oversight.
The central question in the campaign for the low-profile — but decidedly consequential — office that musters public records and runs elections in Santa Barbara County is this:
Can an incumbent with major health challenges effectively manage a $22 million department with 100 employees - via Zoom and text?
For 68-year old Joe Holland, who was first elected in 2002 to the post of County Clerk-Assessor-Recorder, the answer is an unequivocal ‘yes’:
“Is it ideal? No, but I effectively manage,” Holland told Newsmakers. “And I think my track record shows that I have effectively done it and I’m looking forward to get back in the office as soon as possible."
For 51-year old Melinda Greene, Holland’s chief deputy clerk-recorder for the past 12 years – and for all five members of the Board of Supervisors, who support her election challenge to him - however, the reaction is a resounding “no.”
“I’m showing, and he is not,” Greene said in an interview. “We need present and active leadership to provide the staff with the tools they need to deal with the challenges ahead.”
State of play. As a political matter, the choice between Holland and Greene in the June 2 election represents one of the more intriguing decisions in recent campaign history. As a policy matter, the contest carries high stakes for the community, coming at a time when the operations and integrity of local elections across the nation are under seige by Donald Trump and his MAGA movement.
Holland, who is afflicted with multiple sclerosis, for the past 18 months has been overseeing his department from home, and argues that he is doing so effectively, using technology tools that allow him to be reached 24 hours a day.
But Greene, who was hired by Holland 12 years ago to run the record-keeping responsibilities of the Clerk and Recorder section of the sprawling, four-division department, argues that his absence from the office is bad for workplace morale and unfair to taxpayers.
The match-up between the two is a down-ballot contest for an often overlooked office that provides significant, real-life services to local citizens: the County Clerk-Recorder is responsible for birth and death certificates, marriage licenses and documents involving real property, business filings and professional registrations; the Assessor appraises all taxable real estate and personal property; the Elections division operates all balloting in the county, from mail ballots to in-person precinct voting.
As the elected head of the department, Holland gets an annual salary of $275,511, with a benefits package worth $48,677; he also receives annual pension payments of about $43,000, to which he legally entitled under state law, for years of employment he served in the department before his election as its chief in 2002.
As Chief Deputy Clerk Recorder, Greene receives a salary of $220,205, county records show, plus a medical, pension and other benefits package of $117,762.
In an extraordinary move, all five members of the Board of Supervisors recently endorsed Greene in the race, and have chided Holland for his failure to show up in person to recent budget hearings, as he addressed them from home via Zoom.
“I’m available by phone,” he assured the supervisors. “All my division managers are able to get ahold of me instantaneously. They can call me, and I’m on it in a heartbeat.”
Teaming up with Josh Molina of the News-Press and the “Santa Barbara Talks” podcast, Newsmakers hosted both Holland and Greene on our program this week to discuss the race, the work of their office, and the contentious circumstances surrounding U.S. elections in 2026.
Key quotes from each candidate:
Joe Holland
On managing his office remotely, from home. “It’s not the ideal situation. I want to be in the office and I will be in the office (but) I have been available 24/7 for the last 18 months…Is it ideal? Like I said, no, it's not, but I'm going to change that…During that 18 months, we've conducted three elections and no voter in the county has had an issue with anything that's gone on.”
On his prognosis. “Various neurologists I've talked to, they say that my prognosis is good and I look forward forward to getting into the office soon, which may be a few weeks.”
On his opponent. “As the Chief Deputy Clerk-Recorder…she's done a very good job. So she's qualified in that respect. But across the whole department, she has absolutely no experience in conducting elections, administering elections, zero….and no experience in Assessor…I completely, 100 percent, disagree with her insinuation that the morale is bad. It’s not true.”
On election integrity. “This is nothing new with regards to what Trump or anybody else might do in this election, there’s not anything brewing locally…I’m monitoring it very, very closely. We know all the laws, we’ve gone over all the laws, we won’t have any law enforcement at a polling place, et cetera…So no, I'm not going to be turning over ballots. I'm going to follow the law and protect the ballots, but we’re not anticipating anything like that.
On state ballot initiative to require voter ID. Let me be very clear - there is no fraud whatsoever. You don't need voter ID. It works very well as it is. I think requiring voter ID voters, I am not in favor of that whatsoever.”
Check out our complete interview with Joe Holland via YouTube below or by clicking through this link. The podcast version is here (NB: Joe’s wireless was a bit balky so some audio is garbled).
Melinda Greene
On Holland’s absence. “I think if you are an elected official, you should be outward facing to the public….I'm showing, and he is not…We need present and active leadership to provide the staff with the tools they need to deal with the challenges ahead, both with budget or challenges on election integrity.”
On her qualifications. “I have dedicated my entire 30 years of career studying every possible craft I need to run this department in a technical and efficient way. I'm a certified public accountant. I'm a certified public finance officer. I'm an advanced appraiser. I'm a certified election official. I've worked in all the divisions.”
On election integrity. “What would help to alleviate people’s fears is more transparency, more communication…That’s different from me versus my incumbent… For example, many people don’t realize that this election is going to be June 2nd….So for starters, telling people, ‘you need to vote in the primary.’”
On transparency. “Ballot counting is very secure and we invite the public to watch… (Y)ou are welcome to come down election night. If you really want to see what's going on with your election, to me, the best way is to come see it in person, understand and be an observer.”
On safeguarding the ballots. “We've never had a sitting president threaten the polling sites with the National Guard. That's very different. So that does alarm me because that would not follow the law….The (law says) ‘election officials shall maintain custody.’ And there's very specific laws about chain of custody and how ballots are managed…Stay with the law and stay with my ballots. Bring my sleeping bag - protect the ballots.”
Watch our complete interview with Melinda Greene via YouTube below or by clicking through this link. The podcast version is here.
Image: League of Women Voters.