# Jurupa Valley City Council, District 5 Compare records and positions simply between George Ruiz, Adair Gonzalez, or Adriana Gonzalez for Jurupa Valley City Council, District 5 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat on Jurupa Valley's five-member City Council. They vote on city laws, the budget, and land use. The term is four years. The council does not elect its Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem by citywide vote. Each year, the council picks one member to be Mayor. It also picks one member to be Mayor Pro Tem. An appointed city manager runs daily operations. - Jurisdiction: City of Jurupa Valley - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/jurupa-valley-council-5 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: August 31, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 91 out of 100 (Very strong), across 9 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **George Ruiz** — Planning Commissioner - **Adair Gonzalez** — Parole Agent - **Adriana Gonzalez** — Businesswoman A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. 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 their own statement that they have lived in Jurupa Valley for more than 66 years, spent 48 years with Riverside County Flood Control, have served nearly nine years as a Planning Commissioner, and have experience as a local business owner. They list public safety, protecting taxpayer dollars, and "smart, fiscally responsible decisions" as their priorities for the council seat. **Strengths:** The longest local track record here. They spent decades with the county flood-control agency and served nearly nine years on the city's Planning Commission, which is relevant land-use experience. **Trade-offs:** Their Planning Commission role is appointed, not elected. Like the other candidates, the claims in their statement were not checked against outside sources. **Keep in mind:** Their flood-control career overlaps with an issue Armando Carmona raises in District 1, Mira Loma and Pedley flooding. Ruiz's own statement does not address that area. ## Adair Gonzalez Adair Gonzalez describes themselves in their own statement as a veteran and a parole agent, saying their career has been dedicated to "serving and protecting our communities." They list public safety, accountability, and quality of life as their stated priorities, and say their military and public-safety background taught them discipline and integrity that they would bring to the council. **Strengths:** They work as a parole agent, a public-safety career that matches their stated focus. They also have military service. **Trade-offs:** They have held no prior elected or appointed local office, unlike Ruiz. Their statement centers on general principles such as discipline and accountability more than specific city policy. **Keep in mind:** Their statement does not say which branch of the military they served in. It does not say in what capacity, beyond "veteran." ## Adriana Gonzalez Adriana Gonzalez describes themselves in their own statement as a businesswoman who grew up in Jurupa Valley, graduated from Rubidoux High School, and is now raising their own family in the city while pursuing a graduate degree in School Psychology at California Baptist University. They frame their platform around growth that "strengthens our neighborhoods, supports local businesses, improves public safety, and preserves the sense of community" and say their work with local leaders, businesses, and schools has taught them to build partnerships and move projects forward. **Strengths:** They have deep roots in this community. They grew up locally and are raising their family there. Their current graduate study is relevant to youth and family services. **Trade-offs:** They have held no prior elected or appointed local office, the same gap as Adair Gonzalez. Their business background is not itemized beyond the "businesswoman" label. **Keep in mind:** Adriana Gonzalez and Adair Gonzalez share a surname. Their statements do not present them as related. It is worth double-checking on the ballot, since voters could confuse the two. ## Sources 1. [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](https://www.jurupavalley.org/641/November-3-2026-General-Municipal-Electi) 2. [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)](https://www.jurupavalley.org/159/Election-Information) 3. [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](https://www.jurupavalley.org/160/District-Based-Elections) 4. [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](https://www.jurupavalley.org/215/City-Council) 5. [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](https://www.jurupavalley.org/DocumentCenter/View/5804/List-of-Candidates-for-Website) 6. [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](https://www.jurupavalley.org/DocumentCenter/View/5825/Jurupa-Valley-2026-Candidate-List---Randomized-Alphabet-Drawing) 7. [George Ruiz's own filed Candidate's Statement, District 5](https://www.jurupavalley.org/DocumentCenter/View/5801/George-Ruiz-Candidate-Statement---District-5) 8. [Adair Gonzalez's own filed Candidate's Statement, District 5](https://www.jurupavalley.org/DocumentCenter/View/5799/Adair-Gonzalez-Candidate-Statement---District-5) 9. [Adriana Gonzalez's own filed Candidate's Statement, District 5](https://www.jurupavalley.org/DocumentCenter/View/5800/Adriana-Gonzalez-Candidate-Statement---District-5) ## The rest of the ballot Jurupa Valley City Council, District 5 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "Jurupa Valley City Council, District 5 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/jurupa-valley-council-5 (sources last retrieved August 31, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.