# Artesia City Council Compare records and positions simply between Dan Rocha, Melissa Ramoso, Craig Francis, Ali Taj, or Rene J. Trevino for Artesia City Council at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds one of three seats up this cycle on Artesia's City Council. The council has five at-large members with staggered four year terms. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The council picks one of its own members to serve as Mayor. An appointed city manager runs day to day operations. - Jurisdiction: City of Artesia - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Seats: 3 - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/artesia-council - 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: 93 out of 100 (Very strong), across 6 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Dan Rocha** — Family Caregiver - **Melissa Ramoso** — Incumbent - **Craig Francis** - **Ali Taj** — Grandfather / Businessman / Councilmember · Incumbent - **Rene J. Trevino** — Mayor / Business Owner · Incumbent A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Five candidates are running for three at-large seats on Artesia's City Council: incumbents Melissa Ramoso, Ali Taj and Rene J. Trevino against challengers Dan Rocha and Craig Francis. Vote for up to three — no primary. Council seats carry 4-year terms, staggered so either two or three seats are up each cycle — this year it's three. Winners join two sitting councilmembers not up for election this year to make five votes on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The council selects one of its own to serve as Mayor; day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager. With three incumbents and two challengers competing for three seats in an at-large, vote-for-up-to-three contest, the practical choice is less which incumbent to keep and more whether either challenger should displace one of them: Rocha campaigns on specific neighborhood issues (illegal dumping, neglected properties), while Francis has filed no platform of any kind. ## Melissa Ramoso Melissa Ramoso is the incumbent Mayor Pro Tem, first elected to the council in 2018 as the city's first Filipina and Asian American woman on the body, and its mayor in 2021 (per INQUIRER.net). They're running on their council record — a dedicated Sheriff's Sergeant, license plate readers and roving cameras, the Pioneer Boulevard restriping and e-bike safety ordinance, and LA County's first catalytic converter theft ordinance — plus balanced budgets and citywide townhalls. Professionally they're district director for Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, after nearly a decade as senior adviser to U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu. **Strengths:** 23 years in public service. It includes the county's first catalytic-converter ordinance, Sheriff patrol resources, and a Capital Improvement Plan. Prior Congress and Assembly staff roles. **Trade-offs:** Ramoso's national Democratic Party leadership roles and Sacramento day job sit alongside this nonpartisan seat. That is a broader profile than a purely local record. **Keep in mind:** Ramoso was the city's first Filipina and Asian American woman elected to the council, in 2018. They have already served one term as mayor. A second council term builds on a record already well established locally and statewide. ## Ali Taj Ali Taj is a sitting councilmember who has also served as Mayor, running under the ballot designation "Grandfather / Businessman / Councilmember." They're campaigning on a record they describe as reduced crime, balanced budgets, completed independent audits, and a new Public Services Station, with priorities of neighborhood safety, local-business support and protecting taxpayer dollars — including the city's future train-station project. **Strengths:** A record Taj describes as reduced crime, completed independent audits, and a new Public Services Station. They have also already served as Mayor. **Trade-offs:** Taj's statement does not say how long they have served or when they were first elected. That leaves voters less of a timeline to weigh than for their running mates. **Keep in mind:** Taj's stated priorities are safety, taxpayer protection, and business investment. Those closely track Trevino's and Ramoso's. The three incumbents campaign on a shared record more than distinct individual platforms. ## Rene J. Trevino Rene J. Trevino is the sitting Mayor and, per their own statement, a councilmember since 2018, campaigning under the slogan "Let's Make Change Together." They name public safety as their top priority, crediting the city with year-over-year crime reduction, and point to senior programs, parks, streets and city improvement projects as ongoing work. They are also a business owner. **Strengths:** A councilmember since 2018 and this year's Mayor. That is the longest continuously stated tenure of the three incumbents. **Trade-offs:** Trevino's statement is the shortest and least specific of the three incumbents'. It names public safety generally, but no other initiative they have led. Ramoso's and Taj's records are itemized. **Keep in mind:** As this year's Mayor they preside over council meetings. They cast one vote like any other member. The title rotates among sitting councilmembers rather than being separately elected. ## Dan Rocha Dan Rocha is a lifelong Artesia resident — a graduate of the city's own Elliott Elementary, Faye Ross Middle and Gahr High schools — running under the ballot designation "Family Caregiver." A business owner and digital project manager, they have served as a Parks and Recreation Commissioner and a Beautification and Maintenance Commissioner, and are president of the Cerritos-Artesia Rotary Club. They're campaigning on public safety, addressing illegal dumping and neglected properties, and transparent government. **Strengths:** Local roots and two city commission appointments, Parks and Recreation and Beautification and Maintenance. That is appointed-government experience, though they have never held elected office. **Trade-offs:** No elected experience. Rocha's campaign committee was first registered in 2023, then terminated, and refiled for this cycle. The earlier committee's outcome is not stated in the filing record. **Keep in mind:** Rocha's platform names more specific neighborhood-level issues than any of the three incumbents name directly. Those are illegal dumping and neglected properties. ## Craig Francis Craig Francis is a challenger who qualified for the ballot by filing nomination papers, issued August 3 and filed August 6, 2026, per the city's own certified candidate list. They filed no candidate statement — marked "N/A" on the city's list — and no news coverage or FPPC campaign-finance filings turned up for them. **Strengths:** No independent source describes any record, background, or platform for Francis. The certified candidate list carries only their name and contact information. **Trade-offs:** Voters have no statement, platform, or public record to weigh for Francis at all. That sets them apart from every other candidate in this field. **Keep in mind:** Francis has no campaign committee or financial filings of any kind on record, per the city's own FPPC filing index. Francis is the only candidate in this field with no financial disclosure. ## Sources 1. [City of Artesia — Elections (City Clerk)](https://www.cityofartesia.us/1617/Elections) 2. [City of Artesia — 2026 Election Information (Certified Candidate List, November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election)](https://www.cityofartesia.us/1618/2026-Election-Information) 3. [The Ballot Book — City of Artesia Elected Officials](https://theballotbook.com/jurisdictions/553/incumbents) 4. [City of Artesia — 2026 candidate statements (Ramoso, Taj, Trevino, Rocha; Francis filed none)](https://www.cityofartesia.us/1618/2026-Election-Information) 5. [City of Artesia — FPPC Filings (campaign-finance disclosure index)](https://www.cityofartesia.us/500/FPPC-Filings) 6. [INQUIRER.net US Bureau — Filipino Americans launch bids for key posts in 2026 US elections (2026-05-22)](https://usa.inquirer.net/198128/filipino-americans-launch-bids-for-key-posts-in-2026-us-elections) ## The rest of the ballot Artesia City Council 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, "Artesia City Council — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/artesia-council (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.