# Colton Mayor Compare records and positions simply between Frank J. Navarro or John R. Echevarria for Colton Mayor at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. Colton directly elects its Mayor citywide, separately from the City Council. The Mayor presides at Council meetings and votes as a full member. The Council has five members, the Mayor plus four district councilmembers. Together they set city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The term is four years. An appointed City Manager runs day-to-day operations. - Jurisdiction: City of Colton - 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/colton-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: September 7, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 90 out of 100 (Very strong), across 7 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Frank J. Navarro** — Mayor, City of Colton · Incumbent - **John R. Echevarria** — Councilmember / Police Officer A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Incumbent Mayor Frank J. Navarro faces a challenge from sitting District 4 councilmember John R. Echevarria on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Colton's directly elected Mayor. Whoever gets the most votes wins outright -- there is no primary or runoff. Echevarria's move up means his own council seat, District 4, is an open race this cycle too. This person is Colton'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 four years; day-to-day operations run through an appointed City Manager. Navarro, Mayor since 2018 after six years on the council, is seeking a third term, citing their record on business development, financial oversight, and regional transportation partnerships. Echevarria, a councilmember since 2020 who also serves as a Police Lieutenant with the City of San Bernardino, is giving up his own District 4 seat to run for Mayor instead of seeking reelection to it. ## Frank J. Navarro Frank J. Navarro is Colton's incumbent Mayor, first elected to the City Council in 2012 representing District 3, appointed Mayor Pro Tempore in 2015, re-elected to the council in 2016, and elected Mayor in 2018. They hold seats on numerous regional bodies, including the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, OmniTrans, and the Southern California Association of Governments' Regional Council, per the city's own biography. **Strengths:** Eight years as Mayor plus six years on the council before that -- more citywide executive experience than any other 2026 Colton candidate; seats on SBCTA, OmniTrans, SCAG, and LAFCO. **Trade-offs:** No independent news coverage of their specific record in office was found in this pass; financial info could not be retrieved (see note below). **Keep in mind:** Fourteen years total in Colton city government is a long tenure -- worth weighing against the continuity and institutional knowledge it represents. ## John R. Echevarria John R. Echevarria is Colton's sitting District 4 councilmember, first elected in 2020 (then representing District 5) and re-elected in 2022 to the renumbered District 4. He holds a Master's in Public Administration from California Baptist University and has spent his career in law enforcement, currently serving as a Police Lieutenant with the City of San Bernardino. His filed ballot designation is "Councilmember / Police Officer." **Strengths:** Six years of council experience, including service as Mayor Pro Tempore and Planning Commissioner; a public-administration graduate degree and a law-enforcement career. **Trade-offs:** No independent news coverage of his council record was found; financial info could not be retrieved (see note below); running for Mayor leaves his own District 4 seat open. **Keep in mind:** His day job as a City of San Bernardino police lieutenant is a different department from Colton's own police force -- worth noting as context, not a conflict; none was found. ## Sources 1. [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](https://uploads.rov.sbcounty.gov/ROV/Elections/2026/1103/Report_OfficesUpForElection.pdf) 2. [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](https://uploads.rov.sbcounty.gov/ROV/Elections/2026/1103/Report_CandidateList.pdf) 3. [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.](https://www.coltonca.gov/1094/Election-Information-2026) 4. [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.](https://www.coltonca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/10189) 5. [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).](https://www.coltonca.gov/118/City-Council) 6. [City of Colton -- Mayor Frank J. Navarro's own official bio page: first elected to the council in 2012 representing District 3; appointed Mayor Pro Tempore in 2015; re-elected to the council in 2016; elected Mayor in 2018; lists his regional-agency seats (Inland Valley Development Agency, LAFCO, SBCTA, OmniTrans, San Bernardino International Airport Authority, SCAG Regional Council District 6) and his stated priorities (business development, financial oversight, regional transportation partnerships).](https://www.coltonca.gov/696/Mayor) 7. [City of Colton -- District 4's own official bio page for Councilmember John R. Echevarria: first elected in 2020 representing then-District 5, re-elected in 2022 to the renumbered District 4; an Associate's degree in Administration of Justice (San Bernardino Valley College), a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice (Cal State San Bernardino), and a Master's in Public Administration (California Baptist University); began public service at 18 with the City of Upland, transferred at 23 to the City of San Bernardino, where he currently holds the rank of Police Lieutenant; a certified Spanish interpreter and former Colton Planning Commissioner and Mayor Pro Tempore.](https://www.coltonca.gov/701/District-4) ## The rest of the ballot Colton 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, "Colton Mayor — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/colton-mayor (sources last retrieved September 7, 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.