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City of Azusa · Statewide General Election

Azusa City Council, District 1

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 holds your district's seat on Azusa's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. A 4-year term.

Three candidates are running for the District 1 seat on Azusa's City Council: incumbent Andrew N. Mendez, whose current term ends November 2026, against challengers Mark A. Caro and Patricia "Trish" Gonzales. This is the first election held under the district lines Azusa redrew in 2024. Whoever gets the most votes wins outright — there is no primary or runoff.

The winner joins Azusa's 5-member City Council for a 4-year term — one of five votes on the city's budget, ordinances, and land-use decisions. Day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager, not any single council member, and the council separately selects one of its own to serve as the largely ceremonial Mayor.

With one sitting councilmember on the ballot against two first-time candidates, the practical choice is whether Mendez's council record should continue or be replaced by a first term for Caro or Gonzales. Azusa's own election filings describe no candidate as ballot-eligible to claim "incumbent" status in District 1 this cycle — a consequence of the 2024 redistricting, not a sign Mendez is new to the seat.

Mark A. Caro

A first-time candidate for Azusa City Council. Caro, of the city's Villa Azusa community, has engaged with city planning matters, including a public comment supporting the Azusa Greens Redevelopment Project (per the city's own council agenda record). His campaign has floated growing the city's cultural offerings, including a new music venue and an annual music festival (per his own campaign statements).

Strengths

Direct civic engagement with city government, including public comment on a major local redevelopment project.

Trade-offs

No prior elected or appointed government experience to weigh against his campaign statements.

Keep in mind

His public platform emphasizes cultural and economic ideas more than a governance record — how he'd approach the budget and land-use votes that make up most of the job is untested.

Patricia "Trish" Gonzales

A first-time candidate for Azusa City Council. Community records place her as Board President of the San Gabriel/Pomona Regional Center, a nonprofit serving people with developmental disabilities, for the current term, and as an active member of the Azusa Eagles fraternal/civic organization. No detailed council-specific policy platform was found in public materials as of this writing.

Strengths

Leadership experience outside city government, including a current term as a nonprofit board president, plus visible local civic involvement.

Trade-offs

No prior elected or appointed government experience, and no detailed policy platform found in public materials as of this writing.

Keep in mind

Nonprofit board leadership speaks to organizational experience but says little about her positions on the budget and land-use questions the council actually votes on.

Andrew N. Mendez

The sitting District 1 councilmember, whose current term ends November 2026, seeking re-election. Raised in Azusa, he cites work on infrastructure and support for local businesses during his time in office (per his campaign site). His stated platform spans economic growth, public safety, and programs for youth, working families, and seniors, alongside a balanced city budget.

Strengths

The only candidate in this field with a council voting record, plus a stated platform spanning economic growth, public safety, and family and senior programs.

Trade-offs

Azusa's filings list no ballot-eligible incumbent for District 1 this cycle, a technicality tied to 2024's redrawn districts — it doesn't erase his tenure, but it won't show on the ballot.

Keep in mind

His specific record on District 1 votes is the more useful comparison than his platform's priorities, stated in terms common to most council campaigns.

Source review: Strong (84/100) · 8 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked; advocacy or endorsement sources are treated as attributed perspective.

Review note: Andrew Mendez for Azusa City Council (District 1 re-election campaign site) may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

Last updated August 31, 2026.