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City of Claremont · Statewide General Election

Claremont City Council, District 3

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 Claremont's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use.

Incumbent Jennifer Stark, Claremont's current mayor, is seeking re-election to her District 3 seat against challenger Sonja Stump, a local photographer and event coordinator. Claremont's council elections run directly in November with no primary.

The winner holds one of five district seats on the Claremont City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. A four-year term.

Stark is a two-term incumbent whose colleagues elected her mayor for the current term; her council career has centered on emergency preparedness and regional environmental committees. Stump has no prior elected or appointed city record — her public role has been organizing Claremont's farmers market and downtown art walk. The choice is between continuity from an incumbent with a committee record and a first-time challenger without one.

Jennifer Stark

The incumbent District 3 councilmember and Claremont's current mayor, first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. She chaired the city's Emergency Preparedness ad hoc committee, with fellow councilmember Ed Reece as vice chair (per the Courier's November 2025 report), and represents Claremont on a San Gabriel Valley regional governing body (per SCAG's 2026 committee directory); during her first term she also chaired the council's energy and environment committee and sat as SGVCOG's alternate governing-board delegate (per the Courier's 2022 profile of her).

Strengths

Two terms in the seat, the mayor's chair, and a sustained run of regional and emergency-preparedness committee assignments spanning both terms.

Trade-offs

Eight years in, her record is the incumbent's own to defend; a voter weighing continuity is trusting the same committee relationships to keep producing results.

Keep in mind

She is being judged on a body of work rather than a platform — ask what her environment and emergency-preparedness committees have actually delivered, not just which ones she has chaired.

Sonja Stump

A Claremont photographer who coordinates the city's weekly Farmers and Artisans Market and its monthly First Saturday Art Walk for the local tourism board (per Discover Claremont's organizer listing). She has no prior elected or appointed city government service; her campaign launched with a kickoff fundraiser in September 2026.

Strengths

Direct, hands-on experience running recurring public events in Claremont's downtown — a practical, ground-level view of the district she'd represent.

Trade-offs

No record in city government of any kind, so there is no committee vote or budget decision to evaluate her against.

Keep in mind

A first-time challenger is, by definition, an unwritten record — what she says she'd do is all there is to weigh until she has a vote to point to.

Source review: Very strong (90/100) · 7 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context.

  • claremontca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Claremont — "November 3, 2026 General Election" (City Clerk's own page: offices to be filled, nomination-period dates, and the ballot-order candidate roster for Districts 2, 3, and 4, retrieved via a live browser session after automated fetches were blocked)
  • claremontca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Claremont — "Candidate Filing Status Final (in order of appearance on ballot)" (City Clerk's certified roster for Districts 2, 3, and 4 with each candidate's incumbent flag and nomination-paper dates)
  • claremontcourier.com (opens in a new tab)Claremont Courier — "Candidates' corner" (Aug. 20 and Aug. 27, 2026 editions): Jennifer Stark's re-election campaign, Sonja Stump's District 3 candidacy and kickoff fundraiser, and District 4 candidate Anna Jacobsen's campaign kickoff and meet-and-greet events
  • scag.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)Southern California Association of Governments — regional-committee member directory, City of Claremont delegates (Jennifer Stark, San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments EEC)
  • claremont-courier.com (opens in a new tab)Claremont Courier — "City Council, CUSD Board convene for special meeting" (Nov. 20, 2025): names the Emergency Preparedness ad hoc committee's chair and vice chair
  • claremontcourier.com (opens in a new tab)Claremont Courier — "2022 Claremont City Council candidate profiles: Jennifer Stark" (Sept. 22, 2022)
  • discoverclaremont.com (opens in a new tab)Discover Claremont (city tourism BID) — organizer bio, Sonja Stump, Coordinator

Last updated August 31, 2026.