- tehama.gov (opens in a new tab)Tehama County Elections -- "Offices on Ballot for November 3, 2026" (pre-filing notice): names City of Corning Mayor (1 seat) and Member of City Council (2 seats) as the two Corning offices up this cycle. Its "4 years" term-of-office figure for the Mayor row is contradicted by Tehama County's own 2024 election results (see corning-tehamacounty-sov2024-2026) and treated here as a table-transcription error for that one row.
- tehama.gov (opens in a new tab)Tehama County Elections -- "Qualified List of Candidates," November 3, 2026 General Election (posted Aug. 10, 2026): names all four qualified Corning candidates -- Jose "Chuy" Valerio (Realtor) and Robert Snow (Plant Supervisor) for Mayor; Stefano "Steve" Miraglia (no ballot designation) and David L. Demo (Incumbent) for the two Council seats -- and explicitly marks both contests "On Ballot: Yes," ruling out a Section 10229 cancellation for either.
- corning.org (opens in a new tab)City of Corning -- City Council (current membership roster): names the sitting five-member Council -- Mayor Robert Snow, Vice Mayor Dave Demo, and Members Jose "Chuy" Valerio, Shelly Hargens, and Lisa Lomeli -- and states in its own words, "The registered voters elect the Mayor every two years, and the City Council members are elected to four year terms that overlap with the Mayor's term," resolving the county document's term-length discrepancy for the Mayor's seat.
- corning.org (opens in a new tab)City of Corning -- Administration: confirms the council-manager form of government and names City Manager Brant Mesker as the city's chief executive and administrative head.
- corning.org (opens in a new tab)City of Corning -- "Friday Notes" weekly newsletter, Aug. 7, 2026 edition: the City Clerk's own report that "there were four completed packets turned in before the deadline -- two applicants were for the Mayor position and the other two were for the Councilmember position," with no election-cancellation language.
- tehama.gov (opens in a new tab)Tehama County Elections -- Statement of Votes Cast by District, November 5, 2024 Consolidated General Election (workbook): shows "1 CITY OF CORNING MAYOR" was itself on the Nov. 2024 ballot, won unopposed by Robert E. Snow (1,642 votes) -- the same Robert Snow on the 2026 Mayor ballot two years later, establishing a 2-year Mayoral term -- and shows Jose "Chuy" Valerio and Michele "Shelly" Hargens won Corning's two Council seats that cycle (terms to 2028), confirming neither is up for Council reelection in 2026.
- en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia, "Corning, California": used narrowly for the 2020 Census population (8,244).
Last updated September 2, 2026.
City of Corning
Mayor of Corning
This person would serve a two-year term as Corning's directly elected, at-large Mayor. They preside over City Council meetings and represent the city. City Manager Brant Mesker runs day-to-day operations. Corning is a Tehama County city with a population of 8,244. It calls itself the Olive Capital of the World. Bell-Carter Foods, the largest U.S. table-olive processor, is headquartered there. City Council members serve overlapping four-year terms.
Two candidates qualified for Corning's Mayor seat. They are Jose "Chuy" Valerio, a sitting City Councilmember running to move up. The other is Robert Snow, the incumbent Mayor. This is a real contest that goes to voters. It is not a case where the city could appoint a winner and skip the election.
This person would serve a 2-year term as Corning's directly elected, at-large Mayor. They preside over City Council meetings and represent the city, within a council-manager government where City Manager Brant Mesker handles day-to-day operations as the city's chief executive and administrative head. Corning (2020 Census population 8,244), in Tehama County, calls itself the "Olive Capital of the World" -- Bell-Carter Foods, the largest table-olive processor in the United States, is headquartered there.
Corning's Mayor is elected on a different clock than its City Council: the Mayor serves a 2-year term while the four other Council seats serve staggered, overlapping 4-year terms. That means the Mayor's race comes back to voters twice as often as any single Council seat -- Snow themselves was just elected Mayor two years ago, unopposed, in November 2024.
Robert Snow
Robert Snow is the incumbent Mayor of Corning, seeking a second term. They were elected unopposed in November 2024, and their 2026 ballot designation is "Plant Supervisor." No further biographical detail, platform statement, or news coverage of their tenure or this campaign was found. They did not file a paid candidate statement. No Corning-specific 2026 election coverage was found in local or regional press.
Jose "Chuy" Valerio
Jose "Chuy" Valerio is a sitting Corning City Councilmember, elected to that seat in November 2024. They are now running for Mayor rather than seeking Council reelection. Their 2026 ballot designation is "Realtor." If elected Mayor, their current Council seat would become vacant partway through. That seat's term runs through 2028. No reporting was found on how the city would fill it. No further biographical detail, platform statement, or news coverage of this campaign was found. They also have no paid candidate statement on file.
Your pick
A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.