Review note: Bill Wells's own campaign site (votebillwells.com): biography, record, and platform in his own words may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

sdvote.com (opens in a new tab)San Diego County Registrar of Voters -- Candidate List, November 3, 2026 General Election (current through the 8/24/2026 2:44pm snapshot): confirms Mayor, City Council Districts 1 and 3, City Clerk, and City Treasurer as Carlsbad's five November 2026 races, and Mayor plus City Council Districts 1 and 3 as Poway's three November 2026 races, each Vote for 1
yahoo.com (opens in a new tab)San Diego Union-Tribune (reporter Hannah Elsmore) -- "Socialist challenges conservative incumbent Mayor Bill Wells in El Cajon, three vie for open council seat": profiles both El Cajon mayoral candidates (Bill Wells, Alexander Kraft) and all three District 1 council candidates (Chuck Kaye, Patrick Grillot, Osama Bayati), including party, occupation, platform, and June 30, 2026 cash-on-hand figures for the mayoral race; the original SDUT page was not independently reachable in this pass, so it's cited via its Aug. 26, 2026 Yahoo News syndication, which attributes the underlying reporting to the Union-Tribune throughout
votebillwells.com (opens in a new tab)Bill Wells's own campaign site (votebillwells.com): describes him as a clinical psychologist and former ER nurse with 30 years in healthcare, and lists his record as $63 million in city reserves, roughly $100 million in pension-reform savings, full police staffing, and the Magnolia performing-arts center; platform opposes new taxes (naming the state's proposed AB 1421 mileage tax) and calls for a "treatment, not tents" approach to homelessness
cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)CAL-ACCESS committee detail for "KRAFT FOR MAYOR 2026" (Filer ID 1484569): status ACTIVE, but no Form 460/461/450 electronically filed for the 2025-2026 cycle as of retrieval -- a documented gap, not a claim that news-reported cash figures for him are wrong

Last updated September 7, 2026.

City of El Cajon

Mayor of El Cajon

This person presides over City Council meetings and represents El Cajon publicly. They vote as one of five members on the budget and city laws. An appointed city manager runs daily government. El Cajon's mayor is the only council member elected citywide. The other members are elected by district. The term is four years.

Bill Wells has been El Cajon's mayor since 2013. Challenger Alexander Kraft runs on a socialist platform. Kraft belongs to the Peace and Freedom Party. Whoever gets the most votes on November 3 wins, and there is no runoff.

The mayor presides over City Council meetings and represents El Cajon publicly, but votes as one of five members on the budget and city ordinances -- day-to-day city government runs through an appointed city manager. El Cajon's mayor is the only council member elected citywide; the other four represent numbered districts, though only District 1's seat is on this November's ballot. The term is four years.

El Cajon has leaned Republican for decades, with conservatives holding a majority on the council, and this race is an unusually stark ideological matchup for that environment. Wells is campaigning on his tenure's fiscal and public-safety record; Kraft, a first-time candidate, is campaigning on labor rights, housing costs, and a sharply different approach to homelessness and policing. The city's municipal elections are officially nonpartisan, but the two campaigns represent close to opposite ends of the political spectrum.

Bill Wells

Bill Wells has been mayor since 2013. He spent six years on the City Council before that, starting in 2008. He points to $63 million in city reserves. He also cites roughly $100 million saved by pension reform. He says the police department is fully staffed.

Alexander Kraft

Alexander Kraft grew up in an El Cajon trailer park. He graduated from UC Berkeley. He is a labor organizer and former educator. He runs on what he calls a working-class socialist platform. He wants to end corporate takeovers of local housing. He would fund first-time homebuyer programs and audit police spending.

Your pick

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

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