Jaron Bandon – Board Member  

tn a stirring 2020 victory, Jaron Brandon became the youngest currently serving county supervisor in the State of California, securing a place for his vision of rural leadership and proving that age is no barrier to public service.

       Leadership

Jaron’s campaign was underpinned by a vision for enhancing the quality of life and bringing people together in Tuolumne County, an idyllic part of central Sierra and its foothills, housing approximately 55,000 residents within its 6% developable land. Running on the three pillars of housing, jobs, and transparency, Jaron is known for his scrappy, fierce, and collaborative leadership approach to changing the priorities and approaches of modern government. In addition to these core issues, he hasn’t shied away from tackling other hairy challenges such as illegal dumping, broadband deployment, biomass utilization, forest management, public safety, homelessness, digital government transformation, green hydrogen, cyber security, and more.

Having honed his leadership skills in student government at UC-Merced and through political internships with the non-partisan Maddy Institute out of CSU Fresno, Jaron’s unassuming entry into the political landscape belied his remarkable ability to rally grassroots support and the power of “ideas over ideology” — focusing on “meat and potato” issues and innovation over partisan stances and political rhetoric. A no-party-preference independent representing a conservative district, he won an incumbent’s seat 59-41 learning the power of listening to people, modern campaign tools, wearing out shoe leather, and bringing compelling ideas forward that focus on improving people’s day-to-day lives. 

Beyond his role as County Supervisor, Jaron holds multiple other leadership responsibilities including the Chair of CHIPS Forestry working with indigenous tribes, membership in the CalRecycle Illegal Dumping Task Force and the Institute for Local Government board, Vice-Chair of the National Association of Counties Technology & Telecommunications Steering Committee, cofounder of a local housing collaborative, among others. He’s been a speaker at the Green Hydrogen Coalition Catalyst H2, UC Ag and Natural Resource 2040 Vision Conference, and local high school classes alike. In his free time, he enjoys getting his hands dirty with trash cleanups in local waterways and roadsides. Jaron’s commitment to crossing political boundaries mirrors his belief in Sierra Forward, and he actively cultivates unity by championing shared values over partisan politics.

Beyond his role as County Supervisor, Jaron holds multiple other leadership responsibilities including the Chair of CHIPS Forestry working with indigenous tribes, membership in the CalRecycle Illegal Dumping Task Force and the Institute for Local Government board, Vice-Chair of the National Association of Counties Technology & Telecommunications Steering Committee, cofounder of a local housing collaborative, among others. He’s been a speaker at the Green Hydrogen Coalition Catalyst H2, UC Ag and Natural Resource 2040 Vision Conference, and local high school classes alike. In his free time, he enjoys getting his hands dirty with trash cleanups in local waterways and roadsides. Jaron’s commitment to crossing political boundaries mirrors his belief in Sierra Forward, and he actively cultivates unity by championing shared values over partisan politics.