Skip to main content

City of Colton · Statewide General Election

Colton 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 would hold your district's seat on Colton's 4-member, district-elected City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. A 4-year term, staggered so only some districts are up in any given November -- Colton's Mayor is separately, directly elected citywide to a 4-year term of its own (also on this November's ballot); day-to-day operations run through an appointed City Manager.

Incumbent Luis S. González faces challenger Eugene Valdez for Colton's City Council District 3 seat on the November 3, 2026 ballot. Whoever gets the most votes wins outright -- there is no primary or runoff.

This person would hold District 3's seat on Colton's 4-member, district-elected City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. A 4-year term, staggered so only some districts are up in any given November -- Colton's Mayor is separately, directly elected citywide (also on this November's ballot).

González, a councilmember since 2014 and a 40-year music and world-history educator, is running on continuity and a long record of local civic-founding work. Valdez, a first-time candidate, has no committee or civic-board record found in this pass, beyond a 2024 city planning document naming him behind a proposed community mural in South Colton.

Luis S. González

Luis S. González is Colton's incumbent District 3 councilmember, first elected in 2014 (then representing District 4), re-elected in 2018, and re-elected again in 2022 to the renumbered District 3. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati (1981) and spent 40 years as a music and world-history educator. He founded "City Talk," Colton Area Museum Day, and the Colton Youth Leadership Program, has authored two books on local history, and writes regularly for the Colton Courier. His filed ballot designation is "Retired Educator."

Strengths

Three terms on the council since 2014, plus a long record of local civic-founding work (a museum day, a youth leadership program, local writing) alongside his time in office.

Trade-offs

No independent news coverage of his voting record on the council was found in this pass; financial info could not be retrieved (see note below).

Keep in mind

His writing for the Colton Courier and Colton City News is itself local commentary, not independent reporting about him -- useful context, not neutral evaluation.

Eugene Valdez

Eugene Valdez is a first-time candidate challenging incumbent Luis S. González for the District 3 seat. He requested no ballot designation. The only independent record of him found in this pass is a July 2024 city planning document naming him as the person behind a proposed community mural sign for South Colton, aimed at commemorating historical local businesses and deterring graffiti.

Strengths

A documented, dated instance of community-beautification advocacy in South Colton, distinct from anything tied to his candidacy itself.

Trade-offs

No occupation, civic-board record, or platform statement was found anywhere in this pass; financial info was likewise unavailable.

Keep in mind

Declining a ballot designation is his own choice, not necessarily a sign of a thin record -- but combined with the lack of independent coverage, this is a genuinely thin public profile to weigh against a three-term incumbent.

Source review: Very strong (91/100) · 6 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • uploads.rov.sbcounty.gov (opens in a new tab)San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters -- "Offices Up for Election, November 3, 2026, General Election": lists County Board of Education Areas A, B, and D (under the School category) as the county's only expiring-term seats this cycle -- no Board of Supervisors, row office, or Superior Court seat appears anywhere in the 11-page document
  • uploads.rov.sbcounty.gov (opens in a new tab)San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters -- statewide "Report_CandidateList.pdf" candidate-filing report linked from the county's own November 3, 2026 candidates page: within the San Bernardino County section, only Area B carries any candidates (Rita Fernandez-Loof, Miki R. Inbody, Kimberly L. Watson); Areas A and D, both confirmed expiring this cycle by the county's own Offices Up for Election document, have no candidates anywhere in the report and will not appear on the November ballot
  • coltonca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Colton -- City Clerk's "Election Information 2026" page: states "Offices Open for Election: Council Member -- District 3, Council Member -- District 4, Mayor -- City Wide," plus the nomination period (July 13 -- August 7, 2026) and candidate eligibility requirements.
  • coltonca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Colton -- "Candidate Filing Update (FINAL UPDATE)" for the week of August 7-12, 2026: names all seven qualified candidates across the city's three November 2026 offices with their nomination-paper pull/file/qualify dates -- John Echevarria and Frank J. Navarro for Mayor; Luis S. González and Eugene Valdez for District 3; Joseph Paulino, Adrianna Escarcega, and Lawrence "Larry" Rivas for District 4 -- in full agreement with the county's own candidate-filing report.
  • coltonca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Colton -- "City Council" page: names each sitting member by seat (Frank J. Navarro, Mayor; David J. Toro, District 1; Kelly J. Chastain, District 2; Luis S. González, District 3; John R. Echevarria, District 4) and each one's term-expiration date -- Mayor, District 3, and District 4 all expire December 2026 (this cycle); District 1 and District 2 expire December 2028 (not on this ballot).
  • coltonca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Colton -- District 3's own official bio page for Councilmember Luis S. González: first elected in 2014 representing then-District 4, re-elected 2018, re-elected again in 2022 to the renumbered District 3; a Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati (1981); a 40-year career as a music and world-history educator; founder of "City Talk," Colton Area Museum Day, and the Colton Youth Leadership Program; author of two books; a regular writer for the Colton Courier and Colton City News.

Last updated August 31, 2026.