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City of Imperial · Statewide General Election

City of Imperial 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 three at-large seats up this cycle on Imperial's 5-member City Council, elected to a 4-year term: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. Imperial, a General Law, Council-Manager city of about 20,263 residents (2020 Census) in Imperial County, elects its Council entirely at-large to staggered 4-year terms; the Council picks a Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem from among its own members each year rather than electing either position directly, so the Mayor isn't separately on this ballot. A separately elected City Clerk seat was also up this cycle, but sole candidate Kristina Shields drew no opponent and was deemed elected without appearing on the printed ballot, per California's Section 10229.

Four candidates are running for three at-large seats on Imperial's City Council: incumbent James Tucker faces three challengers -- Robert C. Shields, Victor Lopez, and Sara Solorzano.

Imperial, a General Law city of about 20,263 residents (2020 Census) in Imperial County, elects its 5-member City Council entirely at-large to staggered 4-year terms -- there's no district system. The Council itself picks a Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem from among its own members each year, so neither title is separately elected: current Mayor Ida Obeso-Martinez and Mayor Pro-Tem Stacy Mendoza hold those roles only through the Council's own annual rotation, not because voters chose them for those specific positions.

Three seats are up this cycle, and two of them are open. Mendoza and Obeso-Martinez, whose four-year Council terms both expire this year, did not file to run again -- Obeso-Martinez is running instead for California's 36th Assembly District, having advanced through the June 2026 primary to a November runoff for that separate office. No comparable explanation was found for Mendoza simply not refiling. Incumbent James Tucker, whose term also expires this year, is the only sitting Council member seeking re-election, so this is a mix of an incumbent defending his own seat and an open-seat race for the other two.

A separately elected City Clerk seat was also nominally up this cycle, but incumbent Kristina Shields drew no opponent. Per the county's own official designation -- the same one applied to the neighboring City of Holtville's unopposed council race, which the city there confirmed by actually cancelling that election and appointing both candidates -- Shields is deemed elected to another term without the Clerk's office appearing on the printed ballot.

James Tucker

James Tucker is the incumbent, seeking another term. A business owner per his filing with the county, he was already a sitting Council member when re-elected in November 2022, and KYMA's own candidate profile states he "previously served as Mayor of Imperial" -- a title the Council itself rotates among its members each year. He filed a Form 501 candidate intention statement with the city on July 22, 2026.

Strengths

The only incumbent in the race, with a Council tenure predating 2022 and a prior turn as the Council-selected Mayor.

Trade-offs

As the field's sole continuity option, he's effectively running against a wholesale changeover -- two of the three outgoing incumbents didn't seek re-election at all.

Keep in mind

No 2026-specific news coverage beyond his own filed intention statement and KYMA's brief profile was found this pass, despite a genuine multi-engine search; KYMA's note that he "previously served as Mayor" doesn't specify a year.

Robert C. Shields

Robert C. Shields, a Correctional Sergeant per his filing with the county, is one of three challengers for the two open seats plus Tucker's. He filed a Form 501 candidate intention statement with the city on July 13, 2026 -- the earliest of the two candidates in this race who filed one on record with the city as of this pass.

Strengths

Filed his candidate paperwork earliest of the four, and is one of only two candidates with a Form 501 on file with the city as of this pass.

Trade-offs

No prior elected or appointed city government experience was found.

Keep in mind

No source beyond the county's own occupation listing, KYMA's one-sentence profile, and his own filed paperwork was found this pass, despite a genuine multi-engine search (Google News, Bing, the Calexico Chronicle's and Imperial Valley Press's own site search).

Victor Lopez

Victor Lopez, an Auto Tech per his filing with the county, is one of three challengers for the two open seats plus Tucker's. No Form 501 candidate intention statement appears on file with the city for him as of this pass.

Strengths

None independently documented beyond his candidacy itself and the county's own occupation filing.

Trade-offs

No prior elected or appointed city government experience was found.

Keep in mind

No Form 501 is posted for him on the city's own FPPC page as of this pass -- a documented negative result, not proof he filed one elsewhere. No source beyond the county's occupation listing and KYMA's one-sentence profile was found despite a genuine search.

Sara Solorzano

Sara Solorzano, a Congressional Field Representative per her filing with the county, is one of three challengers for the two open seats plus Tucker's. No Form 501 candidate intention statement appears on file with the city for her as of this pass.

Strengths

Her filed occupation points to constituent-casework experience in a member of Congress's office, though which office could not be confirmed.

Trade-offs

No prior elected or appointed city government experience was found.

Keep in mind

No Form 501 is posted for her on the city's own FPPC page as of this pass -- a documented negative result, not proof she filed one elsewhere. No source beyond the county's occupation listing and KYMA's one-sentence profile was found despite a genuine search.

Source review: Strong (82/100) · 18 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context.

  • 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): names City of Imperial Council candidates Robert C. Shields (Correctional Sergeant), James Tucker (Business Owner), Victor Lopez (Auto Tech), and Sara Solorzano (Congressional Field Representative), no "NO ELECTION" tag; separately flags "City of Imperial Clerk - Elect 1" "NO ELECTION" with sole candidate Kristina Shields (Incumbent). Fetched and read directly as a PDF.
  • elections.imperialcounty.org (opens in a new tab)Imperial County Registrar of Voters -- official "List of Contests" spreadsheet for the November 3, 2026 General Election, generated pre-filing in July 2026: 'City of Imperial - Council', 3 seats, 4-year term, incumbents Ida S. Obeso Martinez, Stacy Mendoza, James Tucker; 'City Clerk', 1 seat, 4-year term, incumbent Kristina Shields.
  • imperial.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Imperial -- official "Elections" page: "The City of Imperial is a General Law City... City Council members are elected at-large for a four-year term. The Council members serve staggered terms, i.e., two or three seats are open each election cycle. The City Clerk is also an elected position... The positions of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore are ceremonial in nature and not directly elected." Its live "Notice of Nominees for Public Office" names all four Council nominees ("Vote for no more than three (3)") and Kristina Shields as the sole Clerk nominee ("Vote for One (1)").
  • imperial.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Imperial -- official "Mayor & Council" page: current roster is Mayor Ida Obeso-Martinez, Mayor Pro-Tem Stacy Mendoza, and Council Members James Tucker, Katherine Burnworth, and Robert Amparano; "The City of Imperial is governed by a Council-Manager form of government... Members are elected for a four (4) year term. The positions of Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem are annually appointed by the City Council for a one-year term."
  • kyma.com (opens in a new tab)KYMA (El Centro/Yuma broadcast news) -- 2026 Voter Guide: lists all four City of Imperial Council candidates under a dedicated section, linking to an individual profile page for each.
  • kyma.com (opens in a new tab)KYMA -- candidate profile, James Tucker: "Tucker is running for reelection to be on the Imperial City Council. He previously served as Mayor of Imperial." Nonpartisan office, no website/social media listed.
  • kyma.com (opens in a new tab)KYMA -- candidate profile, Robert Shields: "Shields is running to be on the Imperial City Council." Nonpartisan office, no website/social media listed.
  • kyma.com (opens in a new tab)KYMA -- candidate profile, Victor Lopez: "Lopez is running to be on the Imperial City Council." Nonpartisan office, no website/social media listed.
  • kyma.com (opens in a new tab)KYMA -- candidate profile, Sara Solorzano: "Solorzano is running to be on the Imperial City Council." Nonpartisan office, no website/social media listed.
  • calexicochronicle.com (opens in a new tab)Calexico Chronicle -- "Newly Elected Members Join Imperial Council" (Katherine Ramos, Dec. 27, 2022): "As per the results of the Nov. 8 election, incumbent James Tucker, and newcomers Ida Obeso Martinez and Stacy Mendoza have been elected to the Imperial City Council... Kristina Shields was elected as city clerk." Confirms Tucker was already an incumbent going into that cycle.
  • calexicochronicle.com (opens in a new tab)Calexico Chronicle -- "Ida Obeso-Martinez of Imperial Announces Assembly Candidacy" (Oct. 17, 2025): reports the sitting Imperial Mayor's campaign for California's 36th Assembly District, explaining her absence from the City Council candidate list this cycle.
  • desertsun.com (opens in a new tab)The Desert Sun -- "Imperial mayor tops Indio councilmember in state assembly primary" (June 17, 2026): reports Ida Obeso-Martinez advancing through the June 2026 primary to a November runoff for California's 36th Assembly District.
  • imperial.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Imperial -- official "FPPC Campaign Reporting" page: "2026 Election Statements, Form 501: Shields, Robert C. (PDF), Shields, Kristina (PDF), Tucker, James (PDF)." No Form 501 listed for Victor Lopez or Sara Solorzano as of this retrieval.
  • imperial.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Imperial -- James Tucker's filed Form 501 (Candidate Intention Statement): office sought City Council, City of Imperial, non-partisan office, 2026 general election; executed 7/22/2026; voluntary expenditure ceiling accepted, no personal funds in excess reported.
  • imperial.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Imperial -- Robert C. Shields's filed Form 501 (Candidate Intention Statement): office sought City Council, City of Imperial, non-partisan office, 2026 general election; filed 7/13/2026, received by the city 7/20/2026; voluntary expenditure ceiling accepted, no personal funds in excess reported.
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)A negative-result access check: California's statewide Cal-Access campaign-finance filer/candidate search was queried directly this pass and returned no usable content, consistent with the same class of block documented elsewhere in this dataset.
  • ivpressonline.com (opens in a new tab)Imperial Valley Press -- "Holtville cancels November election, appoints Goodsell and Britschgi to City Council": independently confirms that the county's "NO ELECTION" tag in its Candidate Status document reflects a real, already-acted-on Elections Code Section 10229 cancellation and Council appointment, the same tag applied to Imperial's own City Clerk contest.
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia, "Imperial, California": used narrowly for the 2020 Census population (20,263) and the July 12, 1904 incorporation date; its infobox lists James Tucker as current Mayor, which conflicts with the city's own live Mayor & Council page (Ida Obeso-Martinez) and is not used here.

Last updated September 2, 2026.