City of Avenal · Statewide General Election
Avenal City Council, Short Term to 2028
This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.
On the ballot
- Ginger L. Wallis
- Francisco "Frank" Lopez — Non-profit Grant Writer
- Jose Manuel Santillana — Maintenance Tech
- Dalila Barajas
- Jessica Enriquez — Library Media Clerk
- Margie M. Meza
This person would hold one of five at-large seats on Avenal's City Council: the budget, land use, and city ordinances for this Kings County city. The council doesn't elect its mayor directly -- members choose one of their own to serve as mayor every two years. Avenal is mid-crisis heading into this election: an April 2026 recall vote removed four of the five sitting council members, and Kings County Superior Court ruled in August 2026 that those four seats had been vacant since the recall's May 2026 certification.
Six candidates qualified for Avenal's two short-term City Council seats, each carrying a shortened 2-year term through 2028 rather than the usual 4 years -- the two highest vote-getters win outright, with no runoff.
This person would hold one of five at-large seats on Avenal's City Council: the budget, land use, and city ordinances for this Kings County city. The council doesn't elect its mayor directly -- members choose one of their own to serve as mayor every two years. These two seats carry a shortened 2-year term (through 2028) rather than the usual 4 years.
These two seats exist on this ballot for the same reason as Avenal's other 2026 council contest: an April 2026 recall vote removed four of the five sitting council members, certified May 28, 2026, and a Kings County Superior Court order dated August 24, 2026 held those seats vacant since certification. Two of the four vacated seats are being filled here for a shortened 'remaining-balance' term through 2028, per Government Code section 36512, since they would otherwise not have come up for election until then.
Ginger L. Wallis
Filed no ballot designation. This dataset found no independent biographical detail beyond the county's own candidate filing.
Strengths
This dataset found no independently verified strengths to report.
Trade-offs
This dataset found no independent reporting or biography evaluating her, and she filed no stated occupation.
Keep in mind
With no ballot designation and no independent coverage found, little is confirmable about her beyond her qualification for the ballot.
Francisco "Frank" Lopez
Filed ballot designation: Non-profit Grant Writer. This dataset found no independent biographical detail beyond the county's own candidate filing.
Strengths
A stated background in nonprofit grant writing, per his filed occupation -- potentially relevant to a small city's budget and outside-funding decisions.
Trade-offs
This dataset found no independent reporting or biography evaluating him.
Keep in mind
As a first-time candidate for this dataset's purposes, he has no prior council record here to compare against the field.
Jose Manuel Santillana
Filed ballot designation: Maintenance Tech. This dataset found no independent biographical detail beyond the county's own candidate filing.
Strengths
A stated technical/maintenance background, per his filed occupation.
Trade-offs
This dataset found no independent reporting or biography evaluating him.
Keep in mind
As a first-time candidate for this dataset's purposes, he has no prior council record here to compare against the field.
Dalila Barajas
Filed no ballot designation. This dataset found no independent biographical detail beyond the county's own candidate filing.
Strengths
This dataset found no independently verified strengths to report.
Trade-offs
This dataset found no independent reporting or biography evaluating her, and she filed no stated occupation.
Keep in mind
With no ballot designation and no independent coverage found, little is confirmable about her beyond her qualification for the ballot.
Jessica Enriquez
Filed ballot designation: Library Media Clerk. This dataset found no independent biographical detail beyond the county's own candidate filing.
Strengths
A stated background in public-institution work (library media), per her filed occupation.
Trade-offs
This dataset found no independent reporting or biography evaluating her.
Keep in mind
As a first-time candidate for this dataset's purposes, she has no prior council record here to compare against the field.
Margie M. Meza
Filed no ballot designation. This dataset found no independent biographical detail beyond the county's own candidate filing.
Strengths
This dataset found no independently verified strengths to report.
Trade-offs
This dataset found no independent reporting or biography evaluating her, and she filed no stated occupation.
Keep in mind
With no ballot designation and no independent coverage found, little is confirmable about her beyond her qualification for the ballot.
Source review: Mixed (74/100) · 3 cited sources
Only procedural records are cited (candidate lists, results, finance filings); no source describes the candidates, so the score is capped.
Review note: No cited source describes the candidates; add descriptive coverage to lift the cap.
- countyofkingsca.gov (opens in a new tab)Kings County Elections Division -- "Contest/Candidate Proof List" (CFMR001), the county's own official document for the Nov. 3, 2026 General Election (68 pages, print date 9/1/2026): independently confirms every Avenal, Corcoran, Hanford, and Lemoore City Council contest, seat count, and qualified-candidate roster, cross-validated against each contest's own "Num Cands"/"Num Qualified" summary fields -- see sources/kings-city-contests-nov2026.txt for the full contest-by-contest transcription and retrieval method
- cityofavenal.gov (opens in a new tab)Kings County Superior Court -- Final Order, Case No. 26CU0265 (County of Kings v. Alvaro Preciado, et al.), Aug. 24, 2026: quo warranto ruling holding that four Avenal City Council seats were unlawfully held and vacant since the April 2026 recall's May 28, 2026 certification
- cityofavenal.gov (opens in a new tab)Kings County Superior Court -- Final Order, Case No. 26CU0248 (Taxpayers of the City of Avenal v. City of Avenal, cross-complaint by recalled Mayor Alvaro Preciado), Aug. 24, 2026: orders the County Registrar to accept Preciado's nomination papers for the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot, holding Elections Code section 11381 bars a recalled official from succeeding themselves only at the recall election itself
Last updated September 2, 2026.