# Coachella Mayor Compare records and positions simply between Denise Delgado, Jesus Ahkin Gonzalez, Frank Figueroa, or Francisco Molina for Coachella Mayor at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person is Coachella's directly elected, citywide Mayor. They preside at City Council meetings and vote as a full member of the 5-person council that sets city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The term is two years. - Jurisdiction: City of Coachella - 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/coachella-mayor - 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: 91 out of 100 (Very strong), across 9 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Denise Delgado** - **Jesus Ahkin Gonzalez** - **Frank Figueroa** — Incumbent - **Francisco Molina** A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Four candidates are on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Coachella's directly elected Mayor. They are appointed incumbent Frank Figueroa, Councilmember Denise Delgado, political consultant Jesus Ahkin Gonzalez, and community activist Francisco Molina. Whoever gets the most votes wins outright. There is no primary or runoff. Coachella elects its Mayor citywide, separately from the City Council -- unlike most nearby Coachella Valley cities, where the mayor's title rotates yearly among sitting councilmembers. It's a 2-year term: the Mayor presides at Council meetings and votes as a full member of the 5-person body (Mayor plus 4 at-large councilmembers) that sets city ordinances, the budget, and land use; day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager. The seat is open this way because of a mid-term vacancy: longtime Mayor Steven Hernandez resigned in 2026 after pleading guilty to a felony conflict-of-interest charge. The City Council appointed Councilmember Figueroa -- who had lost the 2024 mayoral race to Hernandez -- to serve out the remainder of the term, and they're now asking voters for a full term of their own. Separately, two of Figueroa's three opponents, Gonzalez and (in the City Council race, below) Vicente Aliseo Zamora, are the co-leaders of an active effort to recall Councilmembers Denise Delgado and Yadira Perez over the council's initial approval -- since rescinded after public opposition -- of a utility agreement tied to a proposed data-center project. Neither Delgado's nor Perez's council term is actually up this November; that recall is a separate process from this election. But it's the backdrop for two of this race's four candidacies: Delgado is running for Mayor rather than defending her own (safe) seat, and Gonzalez is running for the office that would preside over the council he's trying to partly recall. ## Frank Figueroa Frank Figueroa is the incumbent. They are an academic resources manager at UC Riverside. They were first elected to the City Council in 2022. They lost the 2024 mayoral race to then-incumbent Steven Hernandez. Hernandez resigned in 2026 after a guilty plea to a felony conflict-of-interest charge. The Council then appointed Figueroa to fill out that term. They are now seeking a full term of their own. **Strengths:** Incumbency by appointment, plus two years of prior Council experience. **Trade-offs:** Figueroa reached the office by appointment after losing the 2024 mayoral race outright. This is their first time winning it directly from voters. **Keep in mind:** No independent reporting beyond their appointment and prior council term was found. Their 2026 filings run through their original 2022 council committee, not a new Mayor committee. ## Denise Delgado Denise Delgado is an educator. She has served on the Coachella City Council since 2020. Her council term runs through 2028. She is not up for reelection to that seat this cycle. She previously ran for Mayor in 2022, losing to then-incumbent Steven Hernandez. **Strengths:** Six years of Council experience by this election, plus a prior mayoral campaign already run. **Trade-offs:** She is one of two councilmembers targeted by an active recall. It grew out of a since-rescinded data-center utility deal. The other is Yadira Perez, who is not on this ballot. **Keep in mind:** Delgado calls the recall a "political faction" attack, on the record. One of its co-leaders is opponent Jesus Ahkin Gonzalez. He is the son of a former Mayor with a now-dismissed 1990s case. See his profile. ## Jesus Ahkin Gonzalez Jesus Ahkin Gonzalez has worked as a political consultant. His work included the campaign of former Mayor Steven Hernandez. He co-hosts the "More than Politics CV" podcast. He co-leads an active effort to recall Councilmembers Denise Delgado and Yadira Perez. Vicente Aliseo Zamora is the other co-leader. **Strengths:** A political-consulting background. He also has an organized recall campaign already underway and gathering signatures. **Trade-offs:** His candidacy is tied to the recall he co-leads. It targets opponent Delgado and a councilmember not on this ballot. Delgado has called it a political attack. **Keep in mind:** Gonzalez is the son of a former Mayor indicted on felony charges in 1993. The case was reduced, then vacated and dismissed after probation in 2004. That record is his father's, not his own. It is included because Delgado's on-record response to the recall points directly at it. ## Francisco Molina Francisco Molina is a community activist. Their background spans construction, business strategy, and consumer research. **Strengths:** None could be independently confirmed beyond their background in construction, business strategy, and consumer research. **Trade-offs:** No independent biography, prior public office, or stated platform was found beyond that background description. **Keep in mind:** There is no public record of their priorities beyond that background. So this is a vote based on the Desert Sun's brief description alone, not a documented record. ## 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 — "Coachella Councilmember Denise Delgado appears to be positioning for Mayoral run while facing recall effort" (July 21, 2026): reports Delgado filed a Form 501 and Form 410 to pursue the Mayor's office; quotes Mayor Figueroa on the record confirming "this November they'll have the ability to vote for a mayor and two city council members"; and reports Delgado ran for Mayor once before, against then-incumbent Steven Hernandez, in 2022](https://kesq.com/news/2026/07/21/coachella-councilmember-denise-delgado-appears-to-be-positioning-for-mayoral-run-while-facing-recall-effort/) 8. [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/) 9. [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 Mayor 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 Mayor — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/coachella-mayor (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.