# Azusa City Council, District 3 Compare records and positions simply between Vanessa Jones or Edward J. Alvarez for Azusa City Council, District 3 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat on Azusa's 5-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The term is four years. - Jurisdiction: City of Azusa - 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/azusa-council-3 - 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: 88 out of 100 (Strong), across 5 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Vanessa Jones** - **Edward J. Alvarez** — Incumbent A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Two candidates are running for the District 3 seat on Azusa's City Council: incumbent Edward J. Alvarez, on the council since 2013 and currently serving as Mayor, against challenger Vanessa Jones. 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. That is one of five votes on the city's budget, ordinances, and land use. Day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager. No single council member runs them. Alvarez holds the Mayor title now. Azusa's council picks the Mayor from among its own members. Voters do not elect that office directly. So this race decides their council seat, not who becomes mayor. The title could pass to a different councilmember either way. Azusa's election filings describe no candidate in District 3 as ballot-eligible to claim "incumbent" status. That comes from the 2024 redistricting. It is not a sign Alvarez is new to the seat. ## Vanessa Jones A first-time candidate for Azusa City Council who qualified for the November ballot in District 3 (per the City Clerk's certified list). Their public campaign materials describe their personal motivation for running but do not detail specific policy positions as of this writing, and no independent news coverage of their candidacy was found. **Strengths:** A first-time candidate willing to challenge a councilmember who has held this district's seat since 2013. **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:** Their public record is limited to the certified candidate filing and their own campaign statements — there is little independent material yet to weigh against Alvarez's long council record. ## Edward J. Alvarez The sitting District 3 councilmember, on the council since 2013 and chosen by their colleagues as Mayor in January 2026. In office, they have signed the city's formal opposition to a federal EPA proposal and represent Azusa on regional transit and economic-development bodies (per city and council records). **Strengths:** The longest-serving official on this ballot — on the council since 2013 and chosen by colleagues as Mayor in 2026 — with a record representing Azusa on regional transit and economic bodies. **Trade-offs:** 13 years in office is a long incumbency to weigh against a voter's appetite for a fresh council voice in District 3. **Keep in mind:** Alvarez currently holds the ceremonial Mayor title, which the council reassigns among its own members regardless of this race's outcome — a vote here decides their council seat, not who becomes mayor. ## Sources 1. [City of Azusa — Certified List of Qualified Candidates, General Municipal Election, November 3, 2026](https://www.azusaca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/51836) 2. [City of Azusa — Election Information (nomination period, unofficial candidate list, districting note)](https://www.azusaca.gov/1532/Election-Information) 3. [City of Azusa — City Council (current members, districts, term-end dates)](https://www.azusaca.gov/72/City-Council-Members) 4. [City of Azusa — letter of opposition to a federal EPA proposal, signed by Mayor Edward J. Alvarez](https://www.instagram.com/andrewforazusa/) 5. [City of Azusa — Campaign Statements (FPPC filing-officer page; committee status by officeholder, no dollar figures online)](https://www.azusaca.gov/1881/Campaign-Statements) ## The rest of the ballot Azusa City Council, District 3 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, "Azusa City Council, District 3 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/azusa-council-3 (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.