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City of El Centro · Statewide General Election

El Centro City Council

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

This person would hold one of two open seats on El Centro's five-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. El Centro is Imperial County's seat and largest city, a Council-Manager charter city incorporated April 16, 1908. Its five-member City Council serves staggered 4-year terms; the Council selects one of its own members to serve as Mayor for a one-year term, so there is no separately elected Mayor on this ballot. Two of the five seats are up this cycle.

Eight candidates are running for two open seats on the El Centro City Council: incumbent Sonia Carter and seven challengers, including former councilmember and mayor Jason Jackson.

This person would hold one of two open seats on El Centro's five-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. El Centro is Imperial County's seat and largest city, a Council-Manager charter city incorporated April 16, 1908. Council seats serve staggered 4-year terms; the Council selects one of its own members to serve as Mayor for a one-year term, so there is no separately elected Mayor on this ballot.

Vote for up to two candidates: the two highest vote-getters win the seats outright, with no runoff.

Sonia Carter

The incumbent, seeking another term; her filed ballot designation is "Incumbent." Carter, the council's only Black member, filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit on Aug. 22, 2025 against the City of El Centro and former City Manager Cedric Cesena, alleging systematic discrimination and retaliation: going without an orientation manual for nearly two years unlike colleagues elected in 2024, being denied an office key code and ID badge for years, having travel-expense requests denied that were approved for other members, facing pressure over pursuing a complaint against a colleague, and being subjected to "racially derogatory remarks" by officials. The suit followed the city's rejection of an earlier $1 million government claim as untimely; it raises Equal Protection and First Amendment retaliation claims and seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys' fees, and a jury trial.

Strengths

A sitting council member seeking to continue serving, with direct experience in city governance.

Trade-offs

Her own lawsuit against the city she would continue to serve, alleging serious misconduct by officials, is a live, unresolved matter voters may want to weigh; no reporting on its outcome was found.

Keep in mind

The allegations are her own, filed under penalty of perjury in federal court, but remain contested claims -- this dataset does not adjudicate them.

Jason Jackson

A challenger and former councilmember and Mayor; his filed ballot designation is "Parent/Business Owner," consistent with his ownership of a local security firm. First elected to the council in 2011 and re-elected in 2015, he was jailed in 2019 after exhausting appeals on a 2017 guilty plea to felony animal cruelty, later reduced to a misdemeanor. His 2026 campaign site describes him as "Former Mayor City of El Centro," raised in the city with family still there, running on a six-point platform: common-sense governance, public safety, economic development, fiscal responsibility, infrastructure investment, and long-term planning.

Strengths

Prior council and mayoral experience, plus a detailed, specific six-point campaign platform on his own site.

Trade-offs

A 2017 felony animal-cruelty conviction (later reduced to a misdemeanor) and 2019 jail time are part of the public record during his prior council tenure.

Keep in mind

He is seeking to return to a seat he previously held after having left it; voters can weigh his full record, not just the campaign platform he's currently presenting.

Ramon Chavoya

A challenger; filed ballot designation "Student." Per the Imperial Valley Press, he is 21 years old, recently completed studies at Imperial Valley College, and is now pursuing a public-administration degree at SDSU-Imperial Valley. Quoted on his motivation for running: "I guess seeing that nothing has changed ... I can't just sit by and not let the city council do anything for the people here."

Strengths

A directly quoted, specific motivation for running and a stated course of study (public administration) relevant to the office.

Trade-offs

As the youngest and least experienced candidate in the race, he has no prior civic or governance record; this dataset found only the single news mention above.

Keep in mind

His ballot designation, "Student," is itself informative about his current life stage relative to the other candidates.

Rick Lopez

A challenger; filed ballot designation "Retired/Law Enforcement." Independent confirmation beyond that designation comes from ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer, which lists him as Secretary of the local Fraternal Order of Eagles chapter (1559 Aerie, El Centro) in its most recent IRS filing -- a specific, active civic/fraternal leadership role.

Strengths

A confirmed law-enforcement career background plus an active civic leadership role in a local fraternal organization.

Trade-offs

This dataset found no news coverage of his campaign or platform beyond his own campaign social media, not independently reviewed here.

Keep in mind

His retirement from law enforcement, if recent, could bring direct public-safety-policy familiarity to the council; this dataset could not confirm the specifics.

Peter Rodriguez

A challenger; filed ballot designation "Community Volunteer." The Calexico Chronicle quotes him by name at a July 2026 public meeting on a proposed Imperial Valley Transit facility, advocating for senior-focused community space: "I'm really excited about their room for 100 people because this side of town needs a building for seniors and their family members to gather."

Strengths

A directly quoted instance of public civic engagement on a specific local infrastructure issue, matching his "Community Volunteer" designation.

Trade-offs

This dataset found only the single news mention above; no broader platform or prior civic record was independently confirmed.

Keep in mind

His stated priority (senior-focused community space) is one data point, not a full platform.

Armando Munoz

A challenger; filed ballot designation "Retail Business/Contractor." This dataset found no independent news coverage of his campaign beyond this county-confirmed occupational designation.

Strengths

A specific, real occupational background (retail business and contracting) rather than an unstated designation.

Trade-offs

No independent news coverage, campaign website, or stated platform was found for him despite a genuine search.

Keep in mind

This is a real information gap on platform specifics, not a sign of a blank candidacy -- his occupation is independently confirmed by the county's own filing.

Michael A. Morales

A challenger; filed ballot designation "Community Volunteer." A late-August 2026 Business Wire release (also syndicated by Morningstar, Yahoo Finance, and the Latino Community Foundation) names him as a member of the "Activate Imperial Steering Committee," a community-led civic-visioning process undertaken alongside organizations including Imperial Valley Equity & Justice and Comite Civico del Valle.

Strengths

Independently confirmed, active involvement in a regional civic-visioning initiative, consistent with his "Community Volunteer" designation.

Trade-offs

No dedicated campaign platform, website, or news profile specific to his council candidacy was found this pass.

Keep in mind

His civic-committee role speaks to community involvement generally, not to any specific council-policy positions.

Luis Minor

A challenger; filed ballot designation "Retired/Public Safety," consistent with a reported tie to the Imperial County Sheriff's Office. This dataset found no independent news coverage of his campaign beyond this county-confirmed designation.

Strengths

A specific, real public-safety career background rather than an unstated designation.

Trade-offs

No independent news coverage, campaign website, or stated platform was found for him despite a genuine search.

Keep in mind

This is a real information gap on platform specifics, not a sign of a blank candidacy -- his career background is independently confirmed by the county's own filing.

Source review: Strong (82/100) · 12 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context; advocacy or endorsement sources are treated as attributed perspective.

Review note: Jason Jackson's own campaign site (jacksonforelcentro.com), fetched directly: describes him as "Former Mayor City of El Centro," raised in the city with family still there, prior service as Councilmember and Mayor, and a six-point platform (common-sense governance, public safety, economic development, fiscal responsibility, infrastructure investment, long-term planning). may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

  • elections.imperialcounty.org (opens in a new tab)Imperial County Registrar of Voters -- "Imperial County Candidate Status" document for the November 3, 2026 General Election (Updated as of 08/20/2026), fetched and read directly as a PDF: "City of El Centro Council - Elect 2" lists eight qualified candidates with exact ballot designations -- Sonia Carter* (Incumbent), Ramon Chavoya (Student), Jason Jackson (Parent/Business Owner), Rick Lopez (Retired/Law Enforcement), Peter Rodriguez (Community Volunteer), Armando Munoz (Retail Business/Contractor), Michael A. Morales (Community Volunteer), and Luis Minor (Retired/Public Safety). No other El Centro city office appears anywhere in the document.
  • cityofelcentro.org (opens in a new tab)City of El Centro -- official City Council page, fetched directly: "The City Council consists of five elected members" serving "four-year, staggered terms," and "the City Council selects a Council member to serve as Mayor for a one year term" -- confirming no separately elected Mayor seat. States the city is a Council/Manager charter city incorporated April 16, 1908.
  • kyma.com (opens in a new tab)KYMA (El Centro/Yuma broadcast news) -- 2026 Voter Guide, fetched directly: lists all eight El Centro City Council candidates, linking to an individual profile page for each, published 2026-08-19.
  • calexicochronicle.com (opens in a new tab)Calexico Chronicle -- Eric Everwine, "Mayor Carter Files Federal Suit Against City of El Centro" (Aug. 27, 2025), fetched directly: Carter filed suit Aug. 22, 2025 in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, against the City of El Centro, former City Manager Cedric Cesena, and 50 unnamed defendants, alleging systematic discrimination and retaliation as the only Black council member -- denied an orientation manual for nearly two years, denied an office key code and ID badge for years, denied approved travel-expense requests, pressured over pursuing a complaint against a colleague, and subjected to "racially derogatory remarks." The complaint raises Equal Protection and First Amendment retaliation claims and seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys' fees, and a jury trial.
  • calexicochronicle.com (opens in a new tab)Calexico Chronicle -- Eric Everwine, "El Centro Mayor's Discrimination Claim Rejected; Legal Deadline Looms" (Aug. 20, 2025): the city rejected Carter's attempt to file a late government claim (which had requested $1 million), setting up the federal suit that followed a week later.
  • calexicochronicle.com (opens in a new tab)Calexico Chronicle -- "E.C. Council Member Jackson Jailed in Animal Abuse Case" (Nov. 21, 2019), fetched directly: identifies Jason Jackson by name as an El Centro Council Member (first elected 2011, re-elected 2015), jailed after exhausting appeals on a 2017 guilty plea to felony animal cruelty, later reduced to a misdemeanor.
  • jacksonforelcentro.com (opens in a new tab)Jason Jackson's own campaign site (jacksonforelcentro.com), fetched directly: describes him as "Former Mayor City of El Centro," raised in the city with family still there, prior service as Councilmember and Mayor, and a six-point platform (common-sense governance, public safety, economic development, fiscal responsibility, infrastructure investment, long-term planning).
  • ivpressonline.com (opens in a new tab)Imperial Valley Press -- Christina Uriarte, "COLAB hosts political candidate training workshop" (Aug. 5, 2026): quotes Ramon Chavoya, 21, who recently completed studies at Imperial Valley College and is now pursuing a public-administration degree at SDSU-Imperial Valley, on his motivation for running: "I guess seeing that nothing has changed ... I can't just sit by and not let the city council do anything for the people here." This outlet's live article repeatedly rate-limited (HTTP 429) this pass's automated fetches -- a documented access pattern for this outlet elsewhere in this dataset -- so this citation relies on a prior pass's successful read of the full article rather than a fresh fetch this pass.
  • calexicochronicle.com (opens in a new tab)Calexico Chronicle -- Sophia Gaxiola, "ICTC Informs the Public on New IVT Facility" (Aug. 5, 2026), fetched directly: quotes Peter Rodriguez by name at a July 29, 2026 public meeting on a proposed Imperial Valley Transit facility, advocating for senior-focused meeting space: "I'm really excited about their room for 100 people because this side of town needs a building for seniors and their family members to gather."
  • businesswire.com (opens in a new tab)Business Wire (also syndicated by Morningstar, Yahoo Finance, and the Latino Community Foundation) -- "Imperial Valley Residents Unveil Community-Led Roadmap ..." (Aug. 31, 2026): names Michael A. Morales as a member of the "Activate Imperial Steering Committee," a community-visioning process alongside Imperial Valley Equity & Justice and Comite Civico del Valle. This pass's direct fetch of the release returned HTTP 403; this citation relies on a prior pass's successful read.
  • projects.propublica.org (opens in a new tab)ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer -- IRS Form 990 filer data for EIN 95-0706247 (Fraternal Order of Eagles, 1559 Aerie, El Centro, CA), fetched directly: lists "Rick Lopez" as Secretary among the chapter's officers for FY2025, alongside Worthy President Dan J. Salgado and others.
  • public.netfile.com (opens in a new tab)A negative-result local campaign-finance check: Imperial County's own countywide FPPC campaign-finance index carries no City of El Centro section, and El Centro's NetFile public portal (public.netfile.com/pub2/?AID=CELC) is a client-rendered single- page-app shell with no server-rendered filer or committee content, the same access gap documented dataset-wide.

Last updated September 2, 2026.