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School District · Statewide General Election

Kern County Board of Education, Trustee Area 7

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 sits on the 7-member Kern County Board of Education: it sets policy for the County Superintendent of Schools' office, which runs the county's own special-education and alternative-education programs, hears expulsion and inter-district-transfer appeals from local school districts, and decides county-level budget and property matters. A 4-year term.

Kern County's Board of Education has a rematch on its hands for the Trustee Area 7 seat on November 3, 2026: incumbent Lori Cisneros faces Ernest "Ernie" Bell Jr., the man she unseated in 2022. It's a direct November election with no June primary for this office -- whoever gets the most votes wins outright.

The winner serves a 4-year term on the county's 7-member Board of Education. The board sets policy for the County Superintendent of Schools' office, decides county-level budget and property matters, and hears expulsion and inter-district-transfer appeals from local school districts. Area 7 is the other trustee area on this ballot that crosses county lines: the county's own candidate-filing document lists it as "shared with" San Bernardino and Ventura counties, reflecting the sprawling eastern Kern desert geography around Ridgecrest and Tehachapi that the seat covers.

The choice is a direct rematch of the 2022 race, which Cisneros won by nearly 20 points. Cisneros argues her two decades as an educator and a first term already on the board make the case for continuity; Bell, a retired school superintendent who previously held this same seat by appointment before losing it, is making a second bid to reclaim it.

Lori Cisneros

Lori Cisneros is the Area 7 incumbent, elected in November 2022 after nearly two decades as an educator in public, private and charter school settings. She and her husband operate Cisneros Farm Workshops on their farm in Tehachapi. She defeated then-incumbent Ernest Bell Jr. in her first run, 59.7% to 40.3%.

Strengths

Nearly two decades of classroom experience across public, private and charter settings, plus a decisive first-election win against the sitting incumbent.

Trade-offs

One term on the board so far, with no additional public office on her record beyond this seat, and no independent news coverage of her specific board votes surfaced this pass.

Keep in mind

Her 2026 committee is active but has not filed a campaign-finance disclosure as of this writing; her biography here comes from the county board's own site, not an independent profile.

Ernest Bell Jr.

Ernest "Ernie" Bell Jr. is a Ridgecrest native and retired Superintendent of Sierra Sands Unified School District who held the Area 7 seat by appointment before losing his bid to keep it in 2022. A local charter school's governing board approved his employment contract in August 2024, so he has stayed active in Ridgecrest-area education since leaving the county board.

Strengths

A full career as a school administrator, capped by running an entire local school district, plus prior board experience in this exact seat.

Trade-offs

He already lost this seat once, decisively (40.3% to 59.7%), and running to reclaim a seat he was previously voted out of is a harder case to make than a first-time bid.

Keep in mind

No campaign committee or candidate filer entry is registered under his name with the state, and no coverage of his specific 2026 platform (as distinct from his professional biography) surfaced this pass.

Source review: Very strong (91/100) · 11 cited sources

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

  • kernvote.com (opens in a new tab)Kern County Elections Division -- official "Contest/Candidate Proof List" (report CFMR001) for the November 3, 2026 General Election: within its county-office section, only two contests appear -- Board of Education Trustee Areas 3 and 7 -- naming each area's incumbent (Mary Margaret Little, Lorena Joy Cisneros); no Board of Supervisors, Sheriff, District Attorney, Assessor, Auditor-Controller-County Clerk, Treasurer-Tax Collector, or Superior Court Judge contest appears anywhere in the 97-page document
  • bakersfield.com (opens in a new tab)The Bakersfield Californian -- "Local election filing closes, with six potential candidates for Ward 3" (Peter Segall, Aug. 7, 2026): transcribes the full Kern County Elections Division candidate roster as of 5 p.m. Aug. 7 for every county and local school-board office, including Board of Education Trustee Area 3 (Mary Little, incumbent; Regina Velasquez; Anastasia Hopper) and Trustee Area 7 (Lori Cisneros, incumbent; Ernie Bell Jr.)
  • kern.org (opens in a new tab)Kern County Board of Education -- its own landing page: a 7-member board, elected to staggered 4-year terms by area, that decides county budgeting and property matters and hears expulsion and inter-district-transfer appeals from local school districts
  • kern.org (opens in a new tab)Kern County Board of Education -- Trustee Area 7 page: names Lori Cisneros, elected November 2022, a 19-year educator who operates Cisneros Farm Workshops with her husband in Tehachapi
  • ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)Ballotpedia -- Lori Cisneros: confirms she defeated incumbent Ernest Bell Jr. 59.7%-40.3% in the November 8, 2022 general election for Kern County Board of Education Trustee Area 7
  • ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)Ballotpedia -- Ernest Bell Jr.: a former Trustee Area 7 board member who left office Dec. 9, 2022 after losing his re-election bid to Lori Cisneros
  • tehachapinews.com (opens in a new tab)Tehachapi News -- "Two candidates each for county Board of Education..." (Sept. 26, 2022): profiles Ernie Bell, then a 62-year-old lifelong Ridgecrest resident, as retired Superintendent of Sierra Sands Unified School District, running for the Trustee Area 7 seat
  • turnto23.com (opens in a new tab)turnto23.com (KERO, Bakersfield's ABC affiliate) -- "What is the role of a school board member in Kern County?" (Oct. 10, 2022): an explainer on the county Board of Education's powers that names Ernest Bell as a Ridgecrest native who was appointed to the Area 7 seat and was running to be elected to it
  • ridgecrestca.com (opens in a new tab)The Ridgecrest Daily Independent -- "REALMS Board approves Bell contract" (Aug. 29, 2024): reports a Ridgecrest charter school's governing board approved the employment contract of "former Sierra Sands Unified School District Superintendent Ernie Bell," independent confirmation he has stayed active in Ridgecrest-area education since leaving the county board
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS -- "CISNEROS FOR TRUSTEE 2026" (Filer #1491572), status ACTIVE; no Form 460/461/450 electronically filed for the 2025-2026 cycle as of this retrieval
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS -- filer search for "Ernest Bell": no results; no campaign committee registered under his name for this race

Last updated August 31, 2026.