# Dixon City Council, District 1

Compare records and positions simply between Emily Schroeder or Jim Ernest for Dixon City Council, District 1 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person would hold one district seat on Dixon's five-member City Council. The council also has an at-large Mayor and three other district seats. An appointed City Manager runs day-to-day operations under a council-manager government. The council sets the city's budget, land-use and development policy, and ordinances. Terms are four years and staggered, so not all seats are up each time. This cycle, District 1, District 2, and the City Clerk are up for election. The Mayor and Districts 3 and 4 are not on this ballot.

- Jurisdiction: City of Dixon
- 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/dixon-council-d1
- 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 1, 2026
- Source-objectivity score: 88 out of 100 (Strong), across 7 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology

## On the ballot

- **Emily Schroeder** — Legislative Assistant
- **Jim Ernest** — Incumbent

A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

Dixon's District 1 council seat is a two-person race: Vice Mayor Jim Ernest is seeking another term against challenger Emily Schroeder, a legislative assistant. Both candidates filed by early August 2026, and the contest goes straight to the November 3 ballot -- Dixon's city council races have no June primary.

The winner holds one of four district seats on Dixon's 5-member City Council, alongside an at-large Mayor. Dixon has a council-manager government. An appointed City Manager runs day-to-day city operations. Dixon is a Solano County general-law city. Its 2020 population was 18,988, an estimated 21,116 as of 2025. The council sets the budget, land-use and development policy, and city ordinances. Terms are staggered so only some seats are up in a given November. This cycle it's District 1, District 2, and the separately elected City Clerk. The Mayor and Districts 3 and 4 are not on this ballot.

This is a low-profile race with a thin public record. The county's own candidate filing and the Daily Republic's coverage of the qualified field are the only sources. No campaign website or social-media presence could be found for either candidate. The choice is largely continuity against a new voice. Ernest is the sitting Vice Mayor. Schroeder is a legislative assistant new to Dixon elected office.

## Jim Ernest

Jim Ernest is Dixon's sitting Vice Mayor and the incumbent District 1 councilmember, seeking re-election. Their ballot designation is simply "Incumbent" -- they filed no occupational designation with their nomination papers, submitted July 23, 2026. Ernest currently serves alongside Mayor Steve Bird, District 2's Thom Bogue, District 3's Kevin Johnson, and District 4's Don Hendershot, per the city's own council roster.

**Strengths:** Sitting Vice Mayor with an existing council seat and direct familiarity with current city business.

**Trade-offs:** Ernest's ballot filing lists no occupation or background beyond "Incumbent." No campaign website, social-media presence, or dedicated news profile could be found for their 2026 re-election bid.

**Keep in mind:** The county's own candidate log and the Daily Republic's coverage of the qualified field are the only sources confirming their candidacy. Treat further claims about their platform with caution until better-sourced coverage appears.

## Emily Schroeder

Emily Schroeder is a legislative assistant challenging incumbent Jim Ernest for the District 1 seat. Schroeder filed their nomination papers Aug. 5, 2026. No campaign website or social-media presence could be found for their candidacy.

**Strengths:** Schroeder's ballot designation, "Legislative Assistant," suggests professional familiarity with legislative process. An employer or specific role could not be independently verified.

**Trade-offs:** As a first-time candidate they have no prior elected experience on the Dixon council. No campaign website, social-media presence, or dedicated news profile could be found for their candidacy.

**Keep in mind:** Like their opponent, their candidacy is confirmed only by the county's own filing record and the Daily Republic's coverage of the qualified field.

## Sources

1. [Solano County Registrar of Voters -- official "Candidate Filed Log - November 3, 2026 General Election" (as of 8/20/2026, print timestamp 8/27/2026 9:31 AM) -- City of Dixon section, page 10 of 15](https://content.solanocounty.gov/sites/default/files/2026-07/CANDIDATE_FILED_LOG_Nov_3_2026_7.13.26.pdf)
2. [City of Dixon -- its own City Council page: names the current Mayor, all four district councilmembers, and the Administrative City Clerk](https://www.cityofdixonca.gov/citycouncil)
3. [Wikipedia -- "Dixon, California": 2020 census population, a 2025 population estimate, and the district-based City Council / at-large Mayor structure](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixon,_California)
4. [Daily Republic -- "Voters have plenty of city, education choices across Solano County" (Todd R. Hansen, Aug. 13, 2026, updated Aug. 18, 2026)](https://www.dailyrepublic.com/news/voters-have-plenty-of-city-education-choices-across-solano-county/article_5130bf97-f784-4b59-8c03-e684f643a6d4.html)
5. [Daily Republic -- "Nomination period still open for nearly half of offices up for election" (Todd R. Hansen, Aug. 8, 2026)](https://www.dailyrepublic.com/news/nomination-period-still-open-for-nearly-half-of-offices-up-for-election/article_0407902c-ce8c-489e-a870-25ffe4604c4f.html)
6. [California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS -- filer searches for all five Dixon candidates (Jim Ernest, Emily Schroeder, Thom Bogue, Christina Cerna, Lupe Ruiz): every query returned only an Incapsula bot-detection challenge page, confirmed via both the automated fetch tool and a direct HTTP request -- a documented access failure, not a confirmed absence of filings](https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Misc/filerSearch.aspx?SEARCH=Dixon+City+Council)
7. [Daily Republic -- "Chat about Dixon: Grown over coffee with city staff, council members" (Daily Republic Staff, Aug. 11, 2026): confirms Jim Ernest's Vice Mayor title and Thom Bogue's current councilman role](https://www.dailyrepublic.com/news/chat-about-dixon-grown-over-coffee-with-city-staff-council-members/article_48ae0efe-ba0b-4e40-8334-78b623412728.html)

## The rest of the ballot

Dixon City Council, District 1 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, "Dixon City Council, District 1 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/dixon-council-d1 (sources last retrieved September 1, 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.
