# Cathedral City Council, District 3 Compare records and positions simply between Alberto Ruiz or Christina Gordon for Cathedral City Council, District 3 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat on Cathedral City's 5-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The term is four years. The council selects one of its own members to serve as Mayor and another as Mayor Pro Tem -- the titles rotate rather than being separately elected. - Jurisdiction: City of Cathedral City - 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/cathedral-city-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: September 3, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 78 out of 100 (Mixed), across 5 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Alberto Ruiz** - **Christina Gordon** — Incumbent A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Appointed incumbent Christina Gordon, chosen by the City Council in January 2026 to fill a vacancy left by a councilmember's death, seeks a full term against Cathedral City police Sgt. Alberto Ruiz for the District 3 seat. This person holds your district's seat on Cathedral City's 5-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The term is four years. The council selects one of its own members to serve as Mayor and another as Mayor Pro Tem — the titles rotate rather than being separately elected. Gordon is running to keep the seat she was appointed to after Councilmember Mark Carnevale's death in office; Ruiz, a sworn Cathedral City police officer, is making their first bid for elected office. Neither candidate's detailed platform was independently reported beyond occupation and background in the time researched for this profile. ## Christina Gordon Christina Gordon was appointed to the District 3 council seat on Jan. 7, 2026, chosen by the sitting City Council from a field of 11 applicants interviewed at a special meeting, to serve out the term of Councilmember Mark Carnevale, who died in office on Nov. 16, 2025. She brings more than 20 years of experience as a nonprofit executive and serves on the board of directors of the Boys & Girls Club of Cathedral City. **Strengths:** Already seated and current on council business, with two decades of nonprofit-executive leadership experience. **Trade-offs:** She has held elected office only since her January 2026 appointment and has not yet faced Cathedral City voters directly. **Keep in mind:** She was selected by a council vote, not an election — this November is the first time she appears on a ballot for this seat. ## Alberto Ruiz Alberto Ruiz is a sergeant with the Cathedral City Police Department, making their first run for elected office. No independent biography, platform statement, or campaign site was found for Ruiz beyond their occupation as reported by the Desert Sun, in the time available for this profile. **Strengths:** Direct, current experience with the city's public-safety operations, a frequent priority in local elections. **Trade-offs:** No prior elected or appointed public service, and no independently reported platform beyond their occupation. **Keep in mind:** As a sitting police sergeant seeking a council seat that sets police-department policy and budget, voters may want to weigh that overlap if they're elected. ## Sources 1. [Riverside County Registrar of Voters — 2026 Annual Election Calendar (lists every November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election office by city, including "City of Cathedral City: City Council District 3 / District 4 / District 5 / City Treasurer")](https://voteinfo.net/sites/g/files/aldnop371/files/2026-02/Annual%20Election%20Calendar%202026.pdf) 2. [The Desert Sun — "See who's running for mayor and city council in Coachella Valley" (Tom Coulter and Sam Morgen, Aug. 13, 2026; names every qualified candidate in each Cathedral City council/treasurer race with a one-line occupation/background note)](https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/08/13/election-2026-whos-running-for-mayor-city-council-palm-springs-area/91221615007/) 3. [City of Cathedral City — Mayor & Council (official roster: Mayor Raymond Gregory/District 5, Mayor Pro Tem Ernesto Gutierrez/District 4, Councilmembers Lamb/District 1, Ross/District 2, Gordon/District 3, plus City Treasurer Greg Jackson)](https://web.archive.org/web/20260518041924/https://www.cathedralcity.gov/government/mayor-council) 4. [City of Cathedral City — Councilmember Gordon (official bio: District 3, term 2022-2026, appointed Jan. 7, 2026 to fill the seat left vacant by Councilmember Mark Carnevale's Nov. 16, 2025 death; nonprofit-executive background)](https://web.archive.org/web/20260109131100/https://www.cathedralcity.gov/government/mayor-council/councilmember-gordon) 5. [Riverside County NetFile — Cathedral City candidate-name searches](https://netfile.com/public/ctriv/campaign/search-entities) ## The rest of the ballot Cathedral 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, "Cathedral City Council, District 3 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/cathedral-city-council-3 (sources last retrieved September 3, 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.