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City of Gonzales · Statewide General Election

Gonzales Mayor

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

On the ballot

Gonzales's directly elected, citywide Mayor: presides at City Council meetings and votes as a full member of the 5-person council that sets city ordinances, the budget, and land use for this Monterey County city of about 8,600 residents. A 2-year term -- shorter than the 4-year terms the district Council Members ordinarily serve.

Three candidates are running for Gonzales Mayor: Mayor Pro Tem Elizabeth Silva, Andrew Castillo, and Henry Laizure McDowell.

Gonzales's Mayor is directly elected citywide to a 2-year term -- shorter than the 4-year terms the district Council Members ordinarily serve -- and presides over the 5-member City Council that sets city ordinances, the budget, and land use for this Monterey County city of about 8,600 residents.

Sitting Mayor Jose L. Rios's term runs through 2026 and he did not file for reelection. Whoever gets the most votes on November 3 wins the seat outright, with no primary or runoff.

Elizabeth Silva

Silva currently serves as Mayor Pro Tem, per the city's own City Council Members page (her council term is listed 2022-2026). Her county ballot designation this year is "Mayor Pro Tem." She filed a candidate statement with the county, though it is stored as a scanned document this dataset could not independently transcribe this pass.

Strengths

Current elected experience as Mayor Pro Tem, the only candidate in this race with sitting council experience.

Trade-offs

No independent press coverage or campaign site was found describing her specific platform for this race.

Keep in mind

Her council term overlaps with outgoing Mayor Rios's, so she represents continuity with the current council majority more than the other two candidates.

Andrew Castillo

Castillo's county ballot designation is "Disability Advocate." No independent biography, campaign site, or news coverage of his candidacy was found this pass beyond the county's own certified candidate list, and he did not file a candidate statement.

Strengths

A "Disability Advocate" ballot designation, suggesting a background in accessibility or disability-rights work.

Trade-offs

No campaign website, public statement, or news coverage was found this pass describing his specific background or platform.

Keep in mind

Beyond his name and ballot designation, this dataset found no independent information about him -- an absence, not a judgment.

Henry Laizure McDowell

McDowell's county ballot designation is "Property Manager." No independent biography, campaign site, or news coverage of his candidacy was found this pass beyond the county's own certified candidate list, and he did not file a candidate statement.

Strengths

A "Property Manager" ballot designation, suggesting professional experience relevant to housing and development issues.

Trade-offs

No campaign website, public statement, or news coverage was found this pass describing his specific background or platform.

Keep in mind

Beyond his name and ballot designation, this dataset found no independent information about him -- an absence, not a judgment.

Source review: Strong (83/100) · 5 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • gonzalesca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Gonzales -- "Notice of Election" (published in the Salinas Valley Tribune, Jul. 1, 2026): confirms the Nov. 3, 2026 General Municipal Election is for exactly four offices -- Mayor (2-year term, at-large), Council Member District 1 (4-year term), Council Member District 3 (4-year term), and Council Member District 4 (2-year term, an unexpired-term seat) -- and that District 1/3/4 are each voted only by that district's own registered voters, while the Mayor is elected at-large citywide.
  • countyofmonterey.gov (opens in a new tab)Monterey County Elections -- official "Candidate List" page for the November 3, 2026 General Election, read live via a browser session (the accordion-based, JS-rendered page returns HTTP 403 to curl/WebFetch): the four expanded Gonzales entries name every qualified candidate. Mayor (Vote for One): Andrew Castillo (Disability Advocate), Elizabeth Silva (Mayor Pro Tem, candidate statement filed), Henry Laizure McDowell (Property Manager). Council District 1 (Vote for One): Delia Gutierrez (Retired County Employee), Maria Orozco (Incumbent). Council District 3 (Vote for One): Adrian Paco (Business Development Director), unopposed. Council District 4, 2 Year (Vote for One): Constance "Connie" Arellano (Emergency 911 Dispatcher, candidate statement filed), Henry Martinez Sr (Landlord).
  • gonzalesca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Gonzales -- official City Council Members page: lists Mayor Jose L. Rios's term as 2024-2026 (confirming a 2-year mayoral cycle, and that he is not seeking reelection since he does not appear among the three qualified 2026 Mayor candidates), Mayor Pro Tem Liz Silva and Council Members Lorraine Worthy and Maria Orozco each listed 2022-2026 (the three seats up this cycle), and Council Member Scott Funk listed 2024-2028 (not up).
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia -- "Gonzales, California": 2020 Census population 8,647. Used narrowly for population, not for anything about the 2026 election.
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS -- filer searches for all seven Gonzales candidates: every query returned only a bot-detection challenge page, not usable results, the same recurring access block documented dataset-wide for this county.

Last updated September 2, 2026.