Wildomar Mayor Headed To Runoff In Bid For Auditor-Controller Job

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A November 8 runoff election is likely between Wildomar Mayor Ben J. Benoit and Riverside County Auditor-Controller Paul Angulo, according to the latest Election Day ballot tallies reported by the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.

The bid for Angulo's current post shows the two men in a close contest Wednesday night with the incumbent leading by more than a thousand votes. Neither candidate has reached a majority percentage in the race to avoid a Nov. 8 runoff.

While Election night vote counting is complete, results are not final. Approximately 136,000 vote-by-mail and 2,000 provisional ballots still must be processed. Ballots that are postmarked on or before Election Day also remain to be counted, according to the registrar.

The nonpartisan auditor-controller's office provides accounting, audit, payroll, and property tax administration services to county government, cities, K-14 schools and special districts. The auditor-controller is the chief accounting officer of the county. Angulo was first elected to the post in Nov. 2010.

A certified public accountant and U.S. Army veteran, Angulo holds a master's degree in management from the University of Redlands and is a graduate of Harvard University's Senior Executive Program in State and Local Government, according to his bio.

Benoit is the son of former lawmaker John Benoit, who served in the state Assembly, the state Senate, and on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors before his death from cancer in 2016. The younger Benoit was elected to the Wildomar City Council in 2010; his current term expires at the end of the year. He currently serves as South Coast Air Quality Management District chair. He is the vice president of local public affairs for the California Apartment Association and serves as an auditor for the Inland Empire Taxpayers Association, according to his bio.