# Alhambra City Council, District 5 Compare records and positions simply between Alejandro Covarrubias and 2 more for Alhambra City Council, District 5 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat on Alhambra's 5-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. - Jurisdiction: City of Alhambra - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/alhambra-council-5 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: August 31, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 87 out of 100 (Strong), across 4 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Alejandro Covarrubias** - **Adele F. Andrade-Stadler** — Incumbent - **Melissa Michelson** A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Incumbent Adele F. Andrade-Stadler faces two challengers for District 5: college professor and former Historic Preservation Commissioner Melissa Michelson, and commercial plumber Alejandro Covarrubias, who local reporting says did not qualify for the ballot in a previous attempt. This person holds one of five district seats on Alhambra's City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and the city's contracts. They also vote on land use and development approvals. Members serve four-year terms. They choose one of their own as a rotating mayor. Andrade-Stadler is running on a two-term record. It includes inclusionary housing and expanded affordable housing help. It also includes a local hire workforce agreement and the city's move to 100% renewable energy. Michelson is campaigning against developer and PAC money. She wants more transparency at City Hall. Local reporting reviewed for this contest did not surface a platform from Covarrubias. ## Adele F. Andrade-Stadler This person is Alhambra's first Latina mayor, a former 14-year member of the Alhambra Unified school board, and the sitting District 5 councilmember since 2018, seeking a third term. She is running on continuing her record: the city's Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, expanded affordable-housing assistance programs, a Community Workforce Agreement for local hiring, and Alhambra's transition to 100% renewable energy. She also serves on regional bodies covering San Gabriel Valley transportation, housing and long-range planning, including the region's Housing Trust. **Strengths:** Two terms with a concrete legislative record. It includes inclusionary housing, expanded affordable housing aid, a local hire agreement, and the city's 100% renewable energy shift. **Trade-offs:** Running as the sitting councilmember means citywide frustrations attach to her record more than to either challenger's. Those include housing costs and the long-stalled 710 stub. **Keep in mind:** She frames 2026 as continuing prior work rather than a new agenda. It is worth asking what a third term would finish that two terms didn't. ## Melissa Michelson This person is a college professor and 18-year Alhambra resident who previously served on the city's Historic Preservation Commission. She is running on supporting small businesses, responsible housing, infrastructure, environmental stewardship, neighborhood preservation and City Hall transparency, and says her campaign will not accept donations from developers, contractors, PACs or corporations. Her prior advocacy includes campaign-finance reform, protecting Alhambra's urban forest, opposing a 1,068-unit development on polluted land, and founding the Altadena Not for Sale movement after the Eaton Fire. **Strengths:** A no-developer, no-PAC funding pledge. Her record includes campaign finance reform advocacy, urban forest protection, and opposition to a 1,068 unit project on polluted land. **Trade-offs:** No experience in elected city office. Her Historic Preservation Commission seat is her only appointed city role. **Keep in mind:** Her funding pledge is a real constraint on how she can run a campaign. It is worth watching whether it holds through November against an incumbent with more institutional support. ## Alejandro Covarrubias This person is a commercial plumber challenging Andrade-Stadler for the District 5 seat. Local reporting reviewed for this contest did not surface a published platform for their 2026 campaign. They reportedly ran for this seat once before but did not qualify for the ballot, so this is their first time actually reaching a November election for it. **Strengths:** A trade background as a commercial plumber. This is also their first time qualifying for the ballot, after a prior attempt reportedly fell short. **Trade-offs:** No published platform was found in the coverage reviewed for this contest. They have no record in elected or appointed city office to evaluate. **Keep in mind:** The absence of a platform is what the record shows right now, not a judgment on them. If a campaign surfaces before November, the weekly refresh should catch it. ## Sources 1. [City of Alhambra — Candidate Offices, November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election (qualified-candidate list)](https://www.alhambraca.gov/184/Candidate-Offices) 2. [ColoradoBoulevard.net — "Alhambra Election Takes Surprise Turn as Lee Drops Out of District 1 Race; Sahu Jumps Back In" (2026-08-17)](https://www.coloradoboulevard.net/alhambra-election-takes-surprise-turn-as-lee-drops-out-of-district-1-race-sahu-jumps-back-in/) 3. [ColoradoBoulevard.net — "Melissa Michelson Announces Run for Alhambra City Council District 5"](https://www.coloradoboulevard.net/melissa-michelson-announces-run-for-alhambra-city-council-district-5) 4. [ColoradoBoulevard.net — "Alhambra Councilwoman Adele Andrade-Stadler Announces Re-election Campaign"](https://www.coloradoboulevard.net/alhambra-councilwoman-adele-andrade-stadler-announces-re-election-campaign/) ## The rest of the ballot Alhambra City Council, District 5 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "Alhambra City Council, District 5 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/alhambra-council-5 (sources last retrieved August 31, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.