# El Monte City Council, District 2 Martin Herrera is running uncontested for El Monte City Council, District 2. Full ballot at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds one of six district seats on El Monte's City Council. The council also has a separately elected Mayor, for 7 members total. They vote on the budget, land use, and city laws. The term is four years. An appointed city manager runs day-to-day operations. - Jurisdiction: City of El Monte - 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/el-monte-council-2 - 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: August 31, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 89 out of 100 (Strong), across 6 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Martin Herrera** — Incumbent A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Martin Herrera was the only candidate to qualify for El Monte's District 2 council seat, so he runs unopposed on the November 3 ballot for a second term. The winner takes a 4-year term on El Monte's 7-member City Council. They cast one vote alongside the separately elected Mayor and five other district councilmembers on the budget, land use, and city ordinances. Day-to-day city operations run through an appointed city manager, not the council directly. With no opponent, this isn't really a choice between candidates — the meaningful information is how Herrera has already used the seat, including a January 2026 vote that put him in the minority on how El Monte structures its own elected offices. ## Martin Herrera Martin Herrera is the incumbent District 2 councilmember, first elected in November 2022 and now seeking a second term unopposed. The city has not posted a biographical narrative for him beyond his term dates, and no campaign-finance committee was found under his name. **Strengths:** A full term of incumbency and no organized opposition this cycle. **Trade-offs:** The city's own biography page for him carries no narrative — career, education, and platform simply aren't public record here. **Keep in mind:** In January 2026, Herrera was one of only two councilmembers (with Mayor Ancona) to vote against even studying a proposal to eliminate El Monte's elected Mayor, City Clerk, and City Treasurer offices; the council later tabled the idea unanimously. ## Sources 1. [City of El Monte — Notice of Election, November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election (one Mayor at-large, 2-yr term; Council Districts 2, 3, 6; City Clerk and City Treasurer at-large — all four 4-yr terms)](https://www.ci.el-monte.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/7811/NOTICE-CALLING-FOR-ELECTION-NOVEMBER-2026) 2. [City of El Monte — Interested Candidate List, Status of Candidate Pulling & Filing Nomination Papers (current through the extended Aug. 12, 2026 filing deadline; all three Mayor filers reached 'Date Qualified')](https://www.ci.el-monte.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/7854/Interested-Candidate-List---8-13-2026) 3. [City of El Monte — City Council (official roster: the Mayor plus six single-member district councilmembers, a 7-member body in all; links to each member's biography page)](https://www.ci.el-monte.ca.us/342/City-Council) 4. [City of El Monte — Councilmember Martin Herrera, District 2 (official biography page: elected Nov. 2022, term expires Nov. 2026; no biographical narrative posted beyond term dates)](https://www.ci.el-monte.ca.us/643/Martin-Herrera) 5. [San Gabriel Valley Tribune (Southern California News Group) — El Monte City Council tables vote on making city clerk, city treasurer, mayor appointed roles (unanimous Feb. 25, 2026 vote to indefinitely table the restructuring; effort never reached the Nov. 2026 ballot)](https://www.sgvtribune.com/2026/02/26/el-monte-city-council-tables-vote-on-making-city-clerk-city-treasurer-appointed-roles-rotating-mayor/) 6. [The Mid Valley News — Council Advances Plan to Restructure Offices (names the Jan. 14, 2026 5-2 council vote to begin outreach on eliminating the elected Mayor/Clerk/Treasurer offices, with Ancona and Herrera voting no; superseded by the SGV Tribune's Feb. 25, 2026 tabling)](https://midvalleynews.com/council-advances-plan-to-restructure-offices/) ## The rest of the ballot El Monte City Council, District 2 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, "El Monte City Council, District 2 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/el-monte-council-2 (sources last retrieved August 31, 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.