Skip to main content

City of Apple Valley · Statewide General Election

Apple Valley Town Council, District 4

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

This person would represent Town Council District 4, one of Apple Valley's four council districts: town ordinances, the budget, and land use for this High Desert town. A 4-year term. Apple Valley elects its Council members by district, not at-large; its Mayor is separately, directly elected town-wide to a 2-year term (also on this November's ballot).

Incumbent Curt Emick, first elected in 2022, faces challenger Matthew Rutledge for Apple Valley Town Council District 4 on the November 3, 2026 ballot. Whichever candidate gets the most votes wins outright -- there is no primary or runoff.

This person would represent Town Council District 4, one of Apple Valley's four council districts: town ordinances, the budget, and land use for this High Desert town. A 4-year term. Apple Valley elects its Council members by district, not at-large; its Mayor is separately, directly elected town-wide to a 2-year term (also on this November's ballot as its own race).

Emick, elected November 8, 2022, holds a Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of the Pacific and serves as a Commissioner of the Victor Valley Economic Development Authority, per the town's own biography. Rutledge's filed ballot designation is "Substitute Teacher"; no independent reporting or campaign material about his background or platform was found in this research pass.

Curt Emick

Curt Emick is the incumbent District 4 councilmember, elected November 8, 2022 to a 4-year term. He holds a Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of the Pacific in Stockton and serves as a Commissioner of the Victor Valley Economic Development Authority and a representative to the Victor Valley Transit Authority, per the town's own biography. He is also a member of Kiwanis and the American Pharmacist Association. His filed ballot designation is "Councilmember / Pharmacist."

Strengths

One term already served; a professional pharmacy background plus regional economic-development and transit board roles.

Trade-offs

No independent reporting on his council record was found; financial info could not be retrieved for this race (see note below).

Keep in mind

His pharmacy career and Economic Development Authority seat are worth noting as context, not a claim of conflict -- none was found.

Matthew Rutledge

Matthew Rutledge is a challenger for Apple Valley Town Council District 4. His filed ballot designation is "Substitute Teacher." He holds no town office and has no page on the town's own website; no independent reporting or campaign material about his background or platform was found in this research pass.

Strengths

None could be documented in this research pass.

Trade-offs

No biographical or platform info beyond his filed occupation was found anywhere in this pass -- a documented gap, not an oversight. Financial info was likewise unavailable.

Keep in mind

An unusually thin public record this late in the race is itself worth noting.

Source review: Very strong (92/100) · 5 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • uploads.rov.sbcounty.gov (opens in a new tab)San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters -- statewide "Report_CandidateList.pdf" candidate-filing report linked from the county's own November 3, 2026 candidates page: within the San Bernardino County section, only Area B carries any candidates (Rita Fernandez-Loof, Miki R. Inbody, Kimberly L. Watson); Areas A and D, both confirmed expiring this cycle by the county's own Offices Up for Election document, have no candidates anywhere in the report and will not appear on the November ballot
  • uploads.rov.sbcounty.gov (opens in a new tab)San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters -- "Offices Up for Election, November 3, 2026, General Election": lists County Board of Education Areas A, B, and D (under the School category) as the county's only expiring-term seats this cycle -- no Board of Supervisors, row office, or Superior Court seat appears anywhere in the 11-page document
  • applevalley.org (opens in a new tab)Town of Apple Valley -- "Meet Your Government" page: "Apple Valley has an elected Mayor and four Council districts." "The Mayor serves for two years" and "Council members serve for four years." "Each December, the Council picks one member to be Mayor Pro Tem" -- the separate, rotating position, distinct from the directly elected Mayor. Lists the sitting council: Mayor Scott Nassif, and Council Members Art Bishop, Larry Cusack (Mayor Pro Tem), Curt Emick, and Kari Leon
  • applevalley.org (opens in a new tab)Town of Apple Valley -- Council Member Info page for District 4's Curt Emick: a Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of the Pacific, Stockton; "Elected on November 8, 2022, to a 4-year term"; Victor Valley Economic Development Authority Commissioner and Victor Valley Transit Authority representative
  • public.netfile.com (opens in a new tab)San Bernardino County -- NetFile public campaign-finance portal (aid=SBD), queried directly by name for all seven 2026 Apple Valley candidates: six return no filer at all; the seventh, Ted Bohanon, has a record, but its only filings are an FPPC Form 501 candidate-intention statement and two Form 470 short-form disclosures, all dated 2010-2012 -- nothing from the 2026 cycle

Last updated August 31, 2026.