 Although he had a substantial advantage in fundraising, he lost the primary by three percentage points to Yolo County Supervisor Mariko Yamada.Cabaldon has served as President or Chair of many organizations and boards, including President of Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education (APAHE), President of the Yolo County Health Council, President of the National Brownfields Association (California), chair of the Yolo County Transportation District, and a director for the Great Valley Center, Cal Alumni Association, Foundation for the California Community Colleges, and University of California, Davis School of Education.He has served on an array of state and regional commissions, including being appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly to the Commission on Regionalism, member of the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Governor's Initiative to Turn Around Failing Schools, appointed by Governor Gray Davis to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, and a member of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Protection Commission.