Napa County Supervisor Diane Dillon’s current term will be her last representing the vast Upvalley District 3.
Dillon announced Wednesday she will not run for re-election when her fifth term ends in 2022.
“I have chosen to announce this early out of my profound sense of responsibility to the residents of District 3,” Dillon said in a statement. “I hope to ensure the best chance for continuing Napa County’s good governance into the future. It is in everyone’s best interest for all candidates to be fully vetted by the voters.”
Dillon thanked her constituents for their support and said she will focus on “fire mitigation, preparedness, and recovery, and effective stewardship of our land and water resources” during her final two years on the board.
“My hope is that my successor will share a commitment to and experience with these priorities, as each is an important responsibility of every elected supervisor,” she said.
“I pledge, whether in or out of office, I will continue to work — as I have since the 1980s — against any efforts to undermine the protections the voters put into our General Plan by Measure J and Measure P,” Dillon added, referring to a pair of Napa County ballot measures that bolstered the Ag Preserve.
An attorney and St. Helena resident, Dillon campaigned for Measure J before running for office.
She was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2002, finishing first among four candidates in the primary and defeating Guy Kay in a run-off to take over the District 3 seat vacated by Mel Varrelman, who had served five terms.
Dillon ran unopposed in 2006, becoming the first woman ever re-elected to the Napa County Board of Supervisors. She fended off challengers Jeff Parady in 2010, Lewis Chilton in 2014, and Cio Perez in 2018.
District 3 is Napa County’s largest in terms of area, and it got even bigger after the 2010 census due to American Canyon’s rapid population growth.
It now extends from northern Napa to Mount St. Helena and from the Sonoma County line to the Yolo County line, encompassing Calistoga, St. Helena, Yountville, Angwin, Pope Valley and Lake Berryessa.
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Diane Dillon
You can reach Jesse Duarte at 967-6803 or jduarte@sthelenastar.com.
