Raul Lomeli Mendez was appointed as the Merced County Executive Officer designee on January 10, 2022 and assumed full responsibility on February 28, 2022.
Prior to becoming the Merced County Executive Officer, Raul held a position at the Stanislaus County organization as an Assistant Executive Officer from June 17, 2020 to his appointment as Merced County CEO. While with Stanislaus County, his purview includes oversight of economic development efforts, Information Technology, General Services Agency, Public Works, Library, Parks and Recreation, Environmental Resources, Agricultural Commissioner, Planning and Community Development and Workforce Development.
He began his career in public service in 1996 with the City of San Jose initially in the City Manager’s Office and then promoting to the Department of Housing. In 2001, he was hired as a Senior Management Consultant in the Stanislaus County Chief Executive Office primarily working in the unincorporated areas to improve County relations and response to community needs. He later assumed other responsibilities in the area of the departmental budget and executive support. In 2013, he left Stanislaus County to accept an appointment to the position of City Manager with the City of Hughson. While in Hughson, Raul worked with the Hughson City Council and a strong professional staff to maintain the City’s sound fiscal position while making good progress in improving Hughson’s infrastructure (water and roads). Further, he advanced relations between the City and key partners including the county, other cities, the school district, fire district, business sector, non-profit organizations and the faith-based community--often leading the way for successful collaborative projects and initiatives.
Raul holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from California State University, Stanislaus and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan. He was born in Patterson, grew up in Riverbank and has always considered the Central Valley home. Raul is the youngest of five brothers who all hold Bachelor degrees from CSU, Stanislaus and Master degrees (Duke University, Ohio State University, California State University, Sacramento and George Washington University). They all have dedicated their careers to public service and credit their parents who immigrated to the west side of Stanislaus County from Mexico in the 1960’s where they worked long hours in farming in order to provide for their children.
Raul is married to his college sweetheart, Amy, who is a teacher with Modesto City Schools, and they have two children, Nicholas and Isabella, who both graduated from Thomas Downey High School and are now pursuing degrees at Rosalind Franklin University and Saint Mary’s College. The Mendez family enjoys an active lifestyle still playing tennis and now running, hiking, and biking as well.
