Skip to main content

City of Hemet · Statewide General Election

Hemet City Council, District 1

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

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 holds your district's seat on Hemet's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. A 4-year term, capped at three lifetime terms (Hemet Municipal Code Sec. 2-37, counting only terms since 2012). The council selects one of its own members to serve as Mayor and another as Mayor Pro Tem -- the titles rotate rather than being separately elected.

Incumbent Connie Howard-Clark seeks reelection to Hemet's District 1 council seat against Carlos Michel and Realtor Norm Kyriss.

This person holds your district's seat on Hemet's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. A 4-year term, capped at three lifetime terms. The council selects one of its own members to serve as Mayor and another as Mayor Pro Tem -- the titles rotate rather than being separately elected.

Howard-Clark is the sitting District 1 councilmember, running to keep her seat. Kyriss, a longtime local Realtor and civic volunteer, is campaigning on fiscal discipline and city services. Neither Michel's nor Howard-Clark's detailed platform was independently reported beyond background in the time researched for this profile; Howard-Clark filed no candidate statement of her own.

Connie Howard-Clark

Connie Howard-Clark is Hemet's sitting District 1 councilmember, seeking reelection. A fourth-generation Hemet resident, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Humboldt University and an emergency teaching credential. She is active with P.E.O. (a women's-education organization), coaches youth softball, and is married to a retired police officer, per the city's own official council bio. She filed no candidate statement of her own for this race.

Strengths

Current council experience and deep roots in Hemet as a fourth-generation resident.

Trade-offs

As the incumbent, her record on the district's priorities is now something voters can judge directly; she filed no candidate statement laying out her platform for this race.

Keep in mind

Hemet caps council service at three lifetime terms (counting since 2012) -- voters weighing a longer-term incumbent may want to confirm her term count directly with the city clerk.

Carlos Michel

Carlos Michel filed to run for the District 1 seat. No candidate statement, independent biography, or platform statement was reachable for Michel in the time available for this profile.

Strengths

Not independently established in the time available for this profile.

Trade-offs

No candidate statement, prior public role, or independently reported platform was found for Michel in the time available for this profile.

Keep in mind

This is a documented research gap, not a sign of anything about the candidate himself -- voters may want to look for a campaign site or contact him directly.

Norm Kyriss

Norm Kyriss has lived in Hemet since 1981 and is a 1986 graduate of Hemet High School, where he built a career in real estate. His own filed candidate statement cites serving as Ramona Bowl President during its 100th season, President of the local Association of Realtors, a director for Habitat for Humanity, a member of the Measure U Citizens Oversight Committee, Vice-President of Grandfathers for Golf, and State Political Coordinator for the California Association of Realtors. His statement calls for fiscal discipline, improved streets and parks, support for first responders, and an environment where businesses can grow. The city's own candidate list names him "Norman W. Kyriss III"; this profile follows the name he uses in his own campaign materials.

Strengths

Decades of hands-on local civic leadership -- the Ramona Bowl, the Realtors Association, Habitat for Humanity, and Measure U oversight -- plus a real-estate career rooted in Hemet.

Trade-offs

No prior elected office; his platform beyond his own statement was not independently reported in the time available for this profile.

Keep in mind

His statement frames the city's finances in stark terms ("a growing budget deficit"); voters may want to check that claim against the city's own published budget documents.

Source review: Very strong (91/100) · 5 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • hemetca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Hemet -- General Municipal Election, November 3, 2026 (official election page: lists District 1, District 2, and District 5 City Council seats as contested, every candidate who filed for each with filing date, and notes Jackie Peterson's withdrawal and Eric Urena's non-filing)
  • hemetca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Hemet -- Mayor & City Council (official roster: Mayor Linda Krupa/District 5, Mayor Pro Tem Joe Males/District 4, Councilmembers Connie Howard-Clark/District 1, Jackie Peterson/District 2, Tom Lodge/District 3)
  • hemetca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Hemet -- Municipal Elections Information (three-term lifetime limit on council service, Hemet Municipal Code Sec. 2-37, counting only terms since 2012; nomination filing period July 13-Aug. 7, 2026, extended to Aug. 12 for District 2)
  • hemetca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Hemet -- Council Member Connie Howard-Clark, District 1 (official bio: fourth-generation Hemet resident, B.A. in History from Humboldt University, emergency teaching credential, works with P.E.O., coaches youth softball, married to a retired police officer)
  • hemetca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Hemet -- Norm Kyriss's filed Candidate Statement, City Council District 1 (Hemet resident since 1981, Hemet High School class of 1986, career in real estate; cites serving as Ramona Bowl President, President of the local Association of Realtors, a Habitat for Humanity director, Measure U Citizens Oversight Committee member, Vice-President of Grandfathers for Golf, and State Political Coordinator for the California Association of Realtors; priorities of fiscal discipline, streets/parks, public safety, and business growth). Filed and signed "Norm Kyriss" throughout, though the city's own candidate list names him "Norman W. Kyriss III" -- this dataset follows his own, self-consistent spelling.

Last updated August 31, 2026.