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City of Ceres · Statewide General Election

Ceres City Council, District 2

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 would represent one of Ceres's four City Council districts: city ordinances, the budget, and land use for this Stanislaus County city of about 49,302 residents (2020 Census). Ceres operates under a council-manager government, with a professional city manager running day-to-day operations while the elected council sets policy. The Mayor is elected at-large citywide to a 4-year term and isn't on this ballot -- Javier Lopez was elected in 2024; the four council seats are elected by district to staggered 4-year terms, with Districts 1 and 2 up this November.

Three candidates are running for Ceres's District 2 council seat: incumbent Rosalinda L. Vierra against challengers Galen Guzman and Jorge Guerrero Jr. Whichever candidate gets the most votes on November 3 wins outright -- no runoff.

This seat is one of Ceres's four district-elected City Council seats, alongside a citywide-elected Mayor. Councilmembers vote on the city's budget, ordinances, and land use; day-to-day operations run through a professional city manager. Districts 3 and 4 aren't up again until their own staggered terms expire.

Vierra is the only candidate in this race, and the only one across either of Ceres's two 2026 council contests, whose committee has filed a periodic financial disclosure -- her filing describes a functioning, multi-donor campaign already underway, while both of her challengers have so far only filed the state's initial candidate-intention paperwork.

Rosalinda L. Vierra

Rosalinda L. Vierra is Ceres's sitting District 2 councilmember, first elected in 2022, now running for a second term. A lifelong Central Valley resident and mother of four, she has owned a small business in Ceres since 2011 and now works as a Certified Student Success Specialist at a local college. Her council-era committee service includes the Ceres Measure H Committee (2020-2022) and the Stanislaus County Economic Development Action Committee (2012-present). Her 2026 committee reports $5,349 raised and $1,060.76 spent for the March 19-June 30, 2026 period, with $6,026.87 cash on hand -- including a $3,000 contribution from the Latino PAC of Stanislaus County, $500 from Cal Real Estate PAC, and $250 from the Plumbers & Pipefitters PAC, alongside a spread of smaller individual donations.

Strengths

A completed first term already in hand, with a specific committee record (Measure H, county economic development) and an active, multi-donor 2026 campaign already filing disclosures.

Trade-offs

A four-figure PAC contribution (the Latino PAC of Stanislaus County's $3,000, well over half her period total) is worth weighing alongside her record if you're looking at who's funding this race.

Keep in mind

As the only incumbent on this year's Ceres ballot with a filed periodic disclosure, she's also the only candidate here whose specific donor base voters can actually examine before Election Day.

Galen Guzman

Galen Guzman is challenging incumbent Vierra for the District 2 seat. His filed ballot designation is "Family Nurse Practitioner," independently confirmed by the federal NPI registry, which lists an active FNP-C credential for him practicing in Ceres. He filed his candidate-intention statement August 7, 2026, at the close of the regular nomination window -- the last of the three District 2 filers to qualify. No committee-organization filing was found for him, and no independent news profile or campaign website was found in this pass beyond his own filing with the city.

Strengths

A verified medical credential (Family Nurse Practitioner) gives him a checkable professional background distinct from either of his opponents.

Trade-offs

Filing at the very close of the nomination window and having organized no campaign committee as of this retrieval suggest a late-forming or still-modest campaign relative to the incumbent's.

Keep in mind

No platform, endorsement, or public statement was found for him in this pass -- his profile here rests on his own filing and an independent professional-license lookup, not a deeper biography.

Jorge Guerrero Jr.

Jorge Guerrero Jr. is challenging incumbent Vierra for the District 2 seat. His filed ballot designation is "Ceres Youth Coach." He filed his candidate-intention statement August 6, 2026. No committee-organization filing was found for him, and no independent news profile, professional registry, or campaign website was found in this pass beyond his own filing with the city -- a documented gap specific to him, since a comparable independent record (the NPI registry) was found for Guzman but no equivalent public record was located for Guerrero's coaching background.

Strengths

A community-facing "Ceres Youth Coach" designation suggests local youth-sports involvement, though no independent source in this pass describes which program, league, or age group.

Trade-offs

No platform, endorsement, campaign website, or committee filing was found for him -- the thinnest public paper trail of any candidate in either Ceres contest.

Keep in mind

A thin public profile here reflects what could be found in this pass, not a judgment about his candidacy or qualifications.

Source review: Strong (88/100) · 11 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • stanvote.gov (opens in a new tab)Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters -- official "Unofficial Candidate List," General Election Nov. 3, 2026 (document timestamped by the county 7:57 AM 8/31/2026, refetched fresh for this shard): under "CITY OF CERES," lists exactly two contests -- Council Member, District 1 (Vote for 1: Gary M. Condit, Dorie Perez, neither flagged incumbent) and Council Member, District 2 (Vote for 1: Galen Guzman, Jorge Guerrero Jr., *Rosalinda L. Vierra) -- with no Ceres Mayor contest anywhere in the document.
  • ceres.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Ceres -- own "2026 General Municipal Election Sign-Up" chart (posted to the city's Elections page, "Last Updated: 8/7/2026 3:45 PM"): the City Clerk's real-time filing record naming District 1's incumbent as James Casey and District 2's as Rosalinda L. Vierra, and giving exact papers-pulled/filed/verified dates for all 5 qualified candidates -- independently corroborates the county's roster.
  • ceres.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Ceres -- own "Notice of Offices and Nominations" (posted July 30, 2026, per Elections Code 10224.5): certifies the two one-seat, 4-year-term District 1 and District 2 offices and states City Clerk Fallon Martin furnished nomination papers to only one sitting incumbent -- "Councilmember, District 2 -- Rosalinda L. Vierra" -- confirming District 1's incumbent James Casey did not pull papers to seek reelection.
  • ceres.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Ceres -- own live "City Council" page: names the current roster -- Mayor Javier Lopez (at-large), District 1 James Casey, District 2 Rosalinda L. Vierra, District 3 Cerina Otero, District 4 Vice Mayor Daniel A. Martinez -- confirming the district structure and that Districts 3 and 4 aren't up this cycle.
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia -- "Ceres, California": used narrowly for the 2020 Census population figure (49,302) and the council-manager government structure (an elected Mayor plus four district council members, a hired City Manager); does not mention the 2026 city council race.
  • ceres.gov (opens in a new tab)Rosalinda Vierra's committee ("Rosalinda Vierra for Ceres City Council District 2 in 2026") FPPC Form 460, semi-annual statement for 3/19-6/30/2026, filed with the City of Ceres, downloaded and read directly: $5,349 raised and $1,060.76 spent this period, $6,026.87 cash on hand as of 6/30/2026. Itemized contributors include the Latino PAC of Stanislaus County ($3,000), Cal Real Estate PAC ($500), the Plumbers & Pipefitters PAC ($250), and individual donors identifying as a police dispatcher supervisor, a realtor, a contractor, and a Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors member.
  • rosalindavierra.com (opens in a new tab)Rosalinda Vierra's own campaign website (rosalindavierra.com, redirected from her filed committee domain rose4ceres.com): a lifelong Central Valley resident and Ceres small-business owner since 2011, now a Certified Student Success Specialist at a local college; lists her council committee service (including the Ceres Measure H Committee, 2020-2022) and 2026 priorities of infrastructure, affordable housing, balanced budgets, public safety, and economic development.
  • ceres.gov (opens in a new tab)Jorge A. Guerrero Jr.'s FPPC Form 501 (Candidate Intention Statement), filed with the City of Ceres 8/6/2026, declaring candidacy for City of Ceres Council -- District 2, non-partisan, primary/general 2026; no Form 410 committee-organization filing was found for him, meaning no committee had been formed as of this retrieval.
  • ceres.gov (opens in a new tab)Galen Guzman's FPPC Form 501 (Candidate Intention Statement), filed with the City of Ceres 8/7/2026, declaring candidacy for City of Ceres Council Member District 2, non-partisan, primary/general 2026; no Form 410 committee-organization filing was found for him, meaning no committee had been formed as of this retrieval.
  • npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov (opens in a new tab)CMS National Provider Identifier (NPI) Registry, a federal public database -- confirms Galen Guzman (NPI 1396478442) holds an active "FNP-C" (Family Nurse Practitioner-Certified) credential under California license NP95021381, practicing at 1700 Herndon Rd, Ceres, CA -- independent corroboration of his filed ballot designation.
  • ceres.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Ceres -- own "Election Campaign Statements" index page: as of this retrieval, lists Form 501/410 filings for all 5 qualified 2026 candidates but no FPPC Form 460 (periodic contribution/expenditure disclosure) for any of Condit, Perez, Guerrero, or Guzman -- a documented absence because their committees (where formed at all) qualified too recently to owe a periodic report yet, not a claim about any of their actual fundraising.

Last updated September 1, 2026.