Skip to main content

City of Jurupa Valley · Statewide General Election

Jurupa Valley City Council, District 5

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 Jurupa Valley's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. A 4-year term. The council doesn't elect its Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem by separate citywide vote -- each year, the council selects one of its own members to serve as Mayor and one to serve as Mayor Pro Tem -- and day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager.

Three candidates are running for Jurupa Valley's open District 5 City Council seat: George Ruiz, Adair Gonzalez, and Adriana Gonzalez. Incumbent Chris Barajas, the council's current Mayor Pro Tem, is not seeking reelection — the city's own election page extended District 5's nomination period specifically because no incumbent filed in the initial window.

The winner serves a four-year term on Jurupa Valley's five-member City Council, which sets city ordinances, adopts the budget, and decides land use citywide. The council doesn't elect its Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem by separate citywide vote — each year, the council selects one of its own members to serve as Mayor and one to serve as Mayor Pro Tem — and day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager.

With no incumbent, this is a genuinely open race decided entirely on each candidate's own account of their background. Ruiz brings the longest public-service record of the three, on both a special district and an appointed city commission; the two Gonzalez candidates (not related, based on their statements) bring public-safety-adjacent careers and no prior elected or appointed office between them.

George Ruiz

George Ruiz says in his own statement that he has lived in Jurupa Valley for more than 66 years, spent 48 years with Riverside County Flood Control, has served nearly nine years as a Planning Commissioner, and has experience as a local business owner. He lists public safety, protecting taxpayer dollars, and "smart, fiscally responsible decisions" as his priorities for the council seat.

Strengths

The longest local track record here — decades with the county flood-control agency plus nearly nine years on the city's own Planning Commission, relevant land-use experience for the seat.

Trade-offs

His Planning Commission role is appointed, not elected; like the other candidates, his statement's claims were not independently verified in this pass.

Keep in mind

His flood-control career overlaps with an issue Armando Carmona (District 1) separately cites in his own statement — Mira Loma/Pedley flooding — though Ruiz's statement does not address that area specifically.

Adair Gonzalez

Adair Gonzalez describes himself in his own statement as a veteran and a parole agent, saying his career has been dedicated to "serving and protecting our communities." He lists public safety, accountability, and quality of life as his stated priorities, and says his military and public-safety background taught him discipline and integrity that he would bring to the council.

Strengths

A public-safety career (parole agent) plus military service, both directly relevant to his stated public-safety focus.

Trade-offs

No prior elected or appointed local-government office, unlike Ruiz; his statement centers on general principles (discipline, accountability) more than specific city policy positions.

Keep in mind

His statement doesn't specify which branch of the military he served in or in what capacity, beyond "veteran."

Adriana Gonzalez

Adriana Gonzalez describes herself in her own statement as a businesswoman who grew up in Jurupa Valley, graduated from Rubidoux High School, and is now raising her own family in the city while pursuing a graduate degree in School Psychology at California Baptist University. She frames her platform around growth that "strengthens our neighborhoods, supports local businesses, improves public safety, and preserves the sense of community" and says her work with local leaders, businesses, and schools has taught her to build partnerships and move projects forward.

Strengths

Deep roots in the specific community (grew up locally, raising her family there) plus current graduate study relevant to youth and family services.

Trade-offs

No prior elected or appointed local-government office, the same gap as Adair Gonzalez; her statement's business background is not itemized beyond the "businesswoman" designation.

Keep in mind

She and Adair Gonzalez share a surname but, based on their statements, are not presented as related — worth double-checking on the ballot itself given the potential for voter confusion between the two.

Source review: Very strong (91/100) · 9 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • jurupavalley.org (opens in a new tab)City of Jurupa Valley — November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election page: offices on the ballot (3 City Council seats, Districts 1, 3 and 5, 4-year terms), nomination period, and links to the List of Candidates and Randomized Alphabet Drawing documents
  • jurupavalley.org (opens in a new tab)City of Jurupa Valley — Election Information page: general elections procedures, including that "all campaign and conflict of interest filings required by the Fair Political Practices Commission are centralized in the City Clerk's Office" (no public campaign-finance portal or NetFile link found on this page)
  • jurupavalley.org (opens in a new tab)City of Jurupa Valley — District-Based Elections page: the city is divided into 5 single-member council districts, with 3 seats moved to by-district election in Nov. 2018 and the remaining 2 in Nov. 2020
  • jurupavalley.org (opens in a new tab)City of Jurupa Valley — City Council page: current officeholder roster by district (Mayor Brian Berkson/District 3, Mayor Pro Tem Chris Barajas/District 5, Councilmembers Carmona/District 1, Silva/District 2, Sanchez/District 4), and that the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem titles rotate annually among council members rather than being elected at-large
  • jurupavalley.org (opens in a new tab)City of Jurupa Valley — "List of Candidates for Website": official roster by district with candidate-statement, papers-pulled, papers-filed and qualified-for-election dates, incumbents marked with an asterisk; notes Elias Ascencio (District 3) as qualified but "Declined by candidate" for a statement, and that District 5's nomination period was extended because the incumbent did not seek reelection
  • jurupavalley.org (opens in a new tab)City of Jurupa Valley — "City Council Candidate List by District, November 3, 2026 (In Randomized Alphabet Drawing Order)": ballot order, each candidate's self-reported occupational designation, and each campaign's own website/email
  • jurupavalley.org (opens in a new tab)George Ruiz's own filed Candidate's Statement, District 5
  • jurupavalley.org (opens in a new tab)Adair Gonzalez's own filed Candidate's Statement, District 5
  • jurupavalley.org (opens in a new tab)Adriana Gonzalez's own filed Candidate's Statement, District 5

Last updated August 31, 2026.