The California State Board of Equalization (BOE) is the only publicly elected tax commission in the United States, established in the California Constitution in 1879. It is a five-member body — four members elected by district and one ex officio member (the State Controller) — that oversees the fairness and uniformity of property tax administration across all 58 California counties.
An important historical note: The BOE’s authority was significantly curtailed by the California Legislature in 2017, when it stripped the board of much of its broader tax administration authority following a state audit that found widespread dysfunction, budget mismanagement, and political interference with staff. Many of the BOE’s former functions over sales and use taxes, income taxes, and insurance taxes were transferred to the newly created California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) and the Franchise Tax Board. Today, the BOE’s core responsibilities include:
- Advising and overseeing California’s 58 county assessors on the proper administration of property tax laws — the primary remaining function of the elected board.
- Setting the taxable value of property owned by utilities and railroads — a function with significant fiscal implications for local governments and ratepayers.
- Hearing certain taxpayer appeals on assessed property values, acting as a quasi-judicial body for disputes between property owners and county assessors.
- Assessing and collecting property taxes on state-assessed property — including pipelines, flumes, canals, ditches, and aqueducts lying within two or more counties.
- Promoting uniformity in property tax assessment practices through training, guidelines, and oversight of local assessors.
District 4 covers Imperial, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties — the southernmost swath of California, encompassing nearly 9 million residents. Voter registration in the district is 39% Democrat, 31% Republican, and 23% No Party Preference. Democrats typically hold this district. Recent election results: BOE District 4 voted for Kamala Harris for president in 2024 by seven points and Gavin Newsom for governor in 2022 by two points. Incumbent Mike Schaefer won re-election in 2022 and is term-limited, leaving the seat open in 2026.
Race Synopsis
The 2026 race is a five-candidate open-seat contest. Three Democrats, one Republican, and one Libertarian are competing in the June 2 primary. The top two vote-getters advance to the November 3 general election regardless of party. Given the district’s Democratic lean, the most closely watched question is which two of the three Democrats — or whether a Republican — advances.
- Democrat Martín Arias, a career taxpayer advocate who has worked directly inside a county assessor’s office, presents himself as the only candidate in the field with frontline experience fighting for lower property taxes on behalf of individual families — a claim no other candidate can fully match.
- Democrat Cody Petterson, a San Diego Unified School District board trustee and current San Diego Regional Housing Finance Authority chair, is backed by outgoing BOE Member Mike Schaefer and a strong coalition of San Diego-area Democratic officials and labor organizations including the California Federation of Teachers.
- Democrat Tom Umberg, currently serving in the California State Senate (34th District, Orange County), brings the deepest Sacramento political résumé in the field — including prior Assembly and Senate service, time as a federal criminal prosecutor, and service as Deputy Drug Czar for President Bill Clinton. He is term-limited from the Senate in 2026.
- Republican Denis Bilodeau, a longtime Orange County political figure and former Mesa Water District board member, is running on a taxpayer-protection and accountability platform representing the Republican lane in the race.
- Libertarian Gardner C. Osborne, a tax accountant, is running on a platform of taxpayer transparency and reduced government involvement in tax administration.
The June 2, 2026 primary is a top-two contest; the two highest vote-getters advance to the November 3, 2026 general election regardless of party. With three Democrats splitting votes and a Republican who has run in this district before (Bilodeau ran in the 2022 primary, finishing third with 14.2%), the risk of vote-splitting among Democrats is a real factor. Most analysts expect the general election to be a Democratic hold, but the primary outcome is genuinely uncertain. — KPBS, Ballotpedia