The team responsible for overseeing California’s property tax system is a small one.
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It’s called the California Board of Equalization, comprised of four people elected to represent districts encompassing some 10 million constituents each, plus the state controller.
The board supervises property taxes and the Alcoholic Beverage Tax and Tax on Insurers programs. They hear appeals from taxpayers regarding state-assessed property values, oversee all of the 58 county assessors and set the taxable value of property owned by the state’s public utilities and railroads, among other things.
Three of those elected positions are on Southern Californians’ ballots this year.
First District
The first district spans much of California inland, from Modoc and Siskiyou counties up north all the way down to San Bernardino County.
Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza and state Sen. Shannon Grove are both vying for this spot. And while the two candidates have different political backgrounds — Esparza is a Democrat, while Grove is a Republican — both agreed the BOE could better help property owners in the aftermath of a major disaster, like a fire or flooding.
“Property owners who lose their home to a fire or flood should get their reassessment immediately, not after months of paperwork. The state should set a clear deadline for counties to act, get relief applications online, and make sure people know the relief exists before disaster strikes,” Grove said in response to a questionnaire from the Southern California News Group.
Esparza said too much of the burden now falls on homeowners and business owners to figure out — and understand — the correct forms to fill out for disaster-related property tax relief, often while dealing with a loss.
“I will push the BOE to work with county assessors and the state’s emergency management agencies to proactively identify affected properties after a wildfire or flood using disaster declarations, so relief outreach is provided automatically rather than depending on residents to seek it out,” Esparza said, adding he would also like to see filing windows extended and guidance translated into more languages in the aftermath of a disaster.
An economics instructor at Fresno City College, Esparza said he decided to run for the position because of his own experiences.
“I understand firsthand how deeply families like mine rely on public schools, safe streets, and quality infrastructure, and how directly tax policy determines whether those services are funded,” he said. “It has also shown me how large corporations and the wealthy can navigate loopholes that working families and small businesses never even know exist. The BOE plays a vital role in whether California’s tax system treats people fairly, from how it values state-assessed utilities and railroads to how it holds counties accountable for consistent, honest property assessments.”
Grove, a small business owner and Army veteran from Bakersfield, pointed to high costs of living as the catalyst for her candidacy.
“I have watched Sacramento make California too expensive for the people who work hardest. The BOE is the one place a taxpayer gets a real hearing, and I want to be the one standing up for them,” she said.
District 3
For the seat that just covers Los Angeles County, the race for District 3 is a showdown between two Democrats: Assemblymember Mike Gipson and labor union organizer Samuel Sukaton.
Gipson said he was committed to ensuring homeowners and small business owners receive the same treatment by the BOE as large utility and insurance companies.
“This can start with the Board expanding outreach across the state — hosting regular workshops, plain-language guides, and virtual town halls so homeowners and small businesses understand how to engage in hearings and appeals,” Gipson said. “Additionally, it could formalize public input by reserving agenda time for small taxpayer testimony and creating advisory panels made up of homeowners, renters, and small business owners.”
Gipson said he also would like to see more audits and oversight to identify and close any tax loopholes used by bigger companies and wealthier individuals.
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Sukaton did not respond to the Southern California News Group’s Voter Guide. However, his campaign website said the former “Jeopardy!” contestant would also like to ensure taxes are fairly and uniformly assessed and expand outreach to underserved communities — namely, renters, first-time homeowners and small business owners — so they are informed about exemptions, tax credits and appeal rights.
His campaign website also said Sukaton would “advocate for tax policy that supports local job growth and investment — ensuring that tax burdens don’t stifle enterprise, and that revenues support the infrastructure businesses rely on.”
Gipson said the BOE could improve transparency by developing plain-language guides that explain local tax rates, exemptions, assessed values and reassessments. And, Gipson said, the BOE should require counties to provide itemized property tax breakdowns on bills and online portals.
Sukaton, too, would like to “expand awareness of online tools and data portals so taxpayers can track assessments, appeals and exemptions easily – from tax prep clinics to budget season dashboards,” according to his campaign website.
District 4
It’s Orange City Councilmember Denis Bilodeau and state Sen. Tom Umberg facing off for the BOE’s 4th District, which covers Imperial, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties, as well as a portion of San Bernardino County.
Bilodeau, a Republican, said he is running for the seat to be an advocate for taxpayers. When it comes to navigating property tax relief in the wake of a natural disaster, Bilodeau said he wants to see a simple and consistent process established and would work with the 58 county assessors to do just that.
“Affected property owners should quickly receive plain-language information explaining reassessment rights, deadlines and available Proposition 13 protections,” Bilodeau said. “Forms should be simple and available electronically, and counties overwhelmed by a major disaster should receive assistance processing claims.”
“California is already extraordinarily expensive,” Bilodeau added. “The government should never compound the financial devastation of losing a home by making legitimate tax relief unnecessarily difficult to obtain.”
Umberg, meanwhile, also said more could be done to help people in a disaster’s aftermath — and stressed that relief should be consistent across the state.
“A homeowner who has just lost a house to wildfire or flooding should not have to discover that a relief program exists, track down the right form, and meet a filing deadline while also dealing with an insurance company, finding temporary housing, and trying to rebuild. Yet much of the current system still works that way,” Umberg, a Democrat, said.
“We can do better because government often already has the information it needs. County assessors survey damage, and emergency agencies map affected areas,” Umberg said. “That information should be used to identify eligible property owners, initiate the relief process, and send them a prefilled notice rather than leaving them to start from scratch.”
When it comes to how property assessments could be changed, Umberg identified two goals.
“Every recommendation should carry a deadline, a responsible party, and a public follow-up showing whether the county actually fixed the problem. You should not have to file a records request to find out,” he said. “And every county should be reviewed on the same cycle against the same standards. You deserve to know your assessor is held to the same rules as the county next door.”
Bilodeau said he would use the BOE’s review of the county assessors to find inconsistent practices, particularly related to changes in ownership, new construction or taxpayer appeal rights.
“Significant findings should be publicly tracked until they are corrected. When the same problem occurs repeatedly in multiple counties, the BOE should issue clear statewide guidance rather than forcing individual taxpayers to fight the same battle county by county,” Bilodeau said.
Every registered California voter has already been mailed a ballot, and voting is already underway. Election Day is Nov. 3.
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