# Coachella City Council Compare records and positions simply between Ambar De La Herran, Yavonne Zapata, Vicente Aliseo Zamora, and 2 more for Coachella City Council at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds one of two at-large seats up this cycle on Coachella's 5-person City Council (Mayor plus 4 at-large councilmembers). They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use citywide. The term is four years. - Jurisdiction: City of Coachella - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Seats: 2 - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/coachella-council - 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: 92 out of 100 (Very strong), across 8 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Ambar De La Herran** - **Yavonne Zapata** - **Vicente Aliseo Zamora** - **Andrew Gallegos** - **Juan M. Martinez** — Incumbent A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Five candidates are on the November 3, 2026 ballot for two at-large seats on Coachella's City Council: appointed incumbent Juan M. Martinez, MMA fighter Ambar De La Herran, Parks & Recreation Commissioner Andrew Gallegos, recall organizer Vicente Aliseo Zamora, and financial-aid specialist Yavonne Zapata. The two highest vote-getters win; there is no primary or runoff. The two winners each serve a 4-year term on Coachella's 5-person City Council (Mayor plus 4 at-large councilmembers). They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use citywide, with day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager. Both seats up this cycle are open in different ways: incumbent Stephanie Virgen did not file for reelection, and the second seat is a mid-term vacancy -- created when then-Councilmember Frank Figueroa moved up to Mayor -- that the city filled through a separate 11-applicant appointment process in May-June 2026, seating Juan M. Martinez for the balance of the term. Martinez is now one of the five candidates asking voters for a full term. Two of the five candidates, Vicente Aliseo Zamora and (in the Mayor's race, above) Jesus Ahkin Gonzalez, co-lead an active effort to recall Councilmembers Denise Delgado and Yadira Perez -- neither of whom is on this ballot, since neither's council term is up this cycle -- over the council's initial approval, since rescinded after public opposition, of a utility agreement tied to a proposed data-center project. Zamora and Gonzalez have criticized that initial approval directly; the recall itself is a separate process from this general election. ## Juan M. Martinez Juan M. Martinez is a real estate broker who was appointed to the City Council in June 2026, filling the vacancy created when Frank Figueroa moved up to the Mayor's office; Martinez was one of 11 applicants for the seat. They are now seeking a full term. **Strengths:** Already serving in the seat, which gives Martinez institutional continuity and name recognition heading into the election. **Trade-offs:** Martinez holds the seat by Council appointment rather than having won it in a direct election -- this is their first time asking voters for it themselves. **Keep in mind:** No independent reporting beyond their appointment, real-estate background, and current officeholder status was found for them. ## Ambar De La Herran Ambar De La Herran is a professional mixed martial arts fighter who has competed in local and regional competitions. **Strengths:** None could be independently confirmed in this research pass beyond their background as a professional MMA competitor. **Trade-offs:** No independent biography, prior public office, or stated platform was found beyond that background description. **Keep in mind:** With no public record of their priorities beyond that background, this is a vote based on the Desert Sun's brief description alone, not a documented record. ## Andrew Gallegos Andrew Gallegos is a member of the city's Parks & Recreation Commission who has volunteered for local nonprofit groups. **Strengths:** Existing service on the city's Parks & Recreation Commission and a record of nonprofit volunteering. **Trade-offs:** No independent biography, professional background, or stated platform beyond that commission service and volunteering was found. **Keep in mind:** With no public record of their priorities beyond that background, this is a vote based on the Desert Sun's brief description alone, not a documented record. ## Vicente Aliseo Zamora Vicente Aliseo Zamora co-hosts the "More than Politics CV" podcast and is, with Jesus Ahkin Gonzalez, a co-leader of the active effort to recall Councilmembers Denise Delgado and Yadira Perez. They have criticized the council's initial approval of a proposed data-center utility agreement, since rescinded. **Strengths:** An active, organized recall campaign already underway gives Zamora name recognition and a stated policy grievance heading into the race. **Trade-offs:** Their candidacy is tied to the recall they co-lead against a sitting councilmember not on this ballot and a mayoral candidate in this same election, which that candidate has called a political attack. **Keep in mind:** The city's own Elections page spells their first name "Vincente"; their FPPC filings and news coverage both use "Vicente." Both spellings come from the city's own records. ## Yavonne Zapata Yavonne Zapata is a financial aid specialist at College of the Desert. They were one of 11 applicants for the Council vacancy the city filled by appointment in June 2026, but were not the one appointed. **Strengths:** Direct prior interest in the seat, having already applied for the same Council vacancy this past spring. **Trade-offs:** No independent biography, prior office, or stated platform beyond their occupation and unsuccessful vacancy application was found. **Keep in mind:** Their only 2026 campaign-finance filing on record is a Form 470, the short form for minimal or no committee activity -- consistent with a late-forming campaign. ## Sources 1. [City of Coachella — "Elections" page: states the Nov. 3, 2026 General Municipal Election is "for two (2) Council Member seats and one (1) Mayor seat," with the Council serving 4-year terms and the Mayor a 2-year term; gives the July 13-Aug. 7, 2026 nomination filing window (extended to Aug. 12 for a non-filing incumbent) and links each 2026 candidate's own Candidate Statement](https://www.coachella.org/city-government/city-council/how-to-run-for-office) 2. [City of Coachella — "City Council" page: current roster with each member's term-end date — Mayor Frank Figueroa and Councilmembers Stephanie Virgen and Juan M. Martinez each "Term End Date: December 2026"; Mayor Pro Tem Yadira Perez and Councilmember Denise Delgado each "Term End Date: December 2028"](https://www.coachella.org/city-government/city-council) 3. [City of Coachella — "City Councilmember Vacancy" page: documents an 11-applicant appointment process (application deadline May 26, 2026) to fill a mid-term Council vacancy, for a seat whose "unexpired term" runs "ending in November 2026"; applicants include eventual appointee Juan M. Martinez and 2026 Council candidate Yavonne Zapata](https://www.coachella.org/departments/city-clerk/city-councilmember-vacancy) 4. [City of Coachella — "Candidate & Committee Statements (Form 501, 460, 410)" page: lists every 2026 Form 501/410/460/470 filing by name, naming all nine 2026 candidates (Figueroa, Delgado, Gonzalez, Molina, Martinez, Gallegos, De La Herran, Zamora, Zapata) plus a "Coachella Families Supporting the Recall of Councilmembers Delgado & Perez" committee; underlying PDFs (statements, dollar figures) returned HTTP 403 on every attempt](https://www.coachella.org/departments/city-clerk/form-460-campaign-statements) 5. [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) 6. [The Desert Sun / USA Today Network — "See who's running for mayor and city council in Coachella Valley" (Tom Coulter and Sam Morgen, Aug. 13, 2026; "Who's running in Coachella?" section names all four 2026 Mayor candidates and all five 2026 Council candidates with a one-line occupation/background note each, and reports Stephanie Virgen did not file for reelection). desertsun.com itself returned an HTTP 302 to a subscriber/consent wall on every attempt; the identical staff-bylined article was instead read in full via a USA Today Network syndication mirror carrying no such gate](https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/08/13/election-2026-whos-running-for-mayor-city-council-palm-springs-area/91221615007/) 7. [KESQ News Channel 3 — "Recall effort leaders enter City of Coachella election races" (Tommy Gallegos, July 22, 2026): reports Jesus Ahkin Gonzalez filed for Mayor and Vicente Zamora filed for City Council per the City Clerk's own candidate-intent list; identifies both as co-hosts of the "More than Politics CV" podcast and co-leaders of the recall effort against Delgado and Perez; and, in an editor's-note-flagged addition, reports Gonzalez is the son of former Coachella Mayor Jesus R. Gonzalez, who was indicted in 1993 on felony bribery/conspiracy charges over a land deal, had the case reduced to one count in 2000, and had his pleas vacated and the case dismissed entirely in 2004 after completing probation](https://kesq.com/news/2026/07/22/recall-effort-leaders-enter-city-of-coachella-election-races/) 8. [Ballotpedia — "Yadira Perez and Denise Delgado recall, Coachella, California (2026)": reference page on the recall effort against Councilmembers Perez and Delgado (status "Underway," ~4,000-signature requirement); cites the councilmembers' initial support for a Stronghold Power Systems data-center utility agreement (since rescinded) as the stated grounds, and quotes Delgado's on-record response calling the effort an attack by "a political faction comprised of convicted former mayors and their unethical cronies"](https://ballotpedia.org/Yadira_Perez_and_Denise_Delgado_recall,_Coachella,_California_(2026)) ## The rest of the ballot Coachella City Council 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, "Coachella City Council — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/coachella-council (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.