# Lathrop City Council

Compare records and positions simply between Shelita Jefferson, Steve Dresser, Leandro Vicuña, or Daniel MacNeilage for Lathrop City Council at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person would hold one of four at-large seats on Lathrop's City Council. The council has five members, including a directly elected Mayor. The term is four years.

- Jurisdiction: City of Lathrop
- Election: November 3, 2026 California general election
- Seats: 2
- Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements.
- Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/lathrop-council
- 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: September 1, 2026
- Source-objectivity score: 89 out of 100 (Strong), across 16 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology

## On the ballot

- **Shelita Jefferson** — Realtor/Mother
- **Steve Dresser** — Appointed Incumbent · Incumbent
- **Leandro Vicuña** — Bank Executive/Father
- **Daniel MacNeilage** — Construction Superintendent

A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

Steve Dresser is the incumbent. He was appointed to the Council. He now seeks election in his own right. He faces three first-time candidates for Lathrop's two at-large Council seats. They are Chamber of Commerce leader Leandro Vicuña and longtime construction executive Daniel MacNeilage. The third is Realtor Shelita Jefferson.

This person would hold one of four at-large seats on Lathrop's 5-member City Council, alongside a directly elected Mayor, in this general-law, council-manager city of about 28,701 residents (2020 Census) in San Joaquin County. City Manager Stephen J. Salvatore runs day-to-day operations under Council direction. The term is four years.

One of the two seats on this ballot is Dresser's: he was appointed to fill an unexpired vacancy rather than elected to it. The other belongs to Diane Lazard, whose term expires this December; she chose not to seek another term, and her decision not to refile by the Aug. 7, 2026 deadline triggered a state-law extension of the filing window (through Aug. 12) during which any non-incumbent could enter the race -- which is how Jefferson, the last of the four qualifiers, joined the field. A second would-be candidate, Michael Wells, also filed but withdrew before qualifying. The city's other two Council seats, held by Vice Mayor Jennifer Torres-O'Callaghan and by Minnie Diallo (who is instead running for Mayor this cycle), are not up until 2028.

## Steve Dresser

His filed ballot designation is "Appointed Incumbent." His statement gives his age as 76. He has lived in Lathrop for 30 years. His candidate statement says he has "proudly served on the City Council for 15" of those years. It points to the city's finances and its police and fire services as evidence his approach is working. He has also served as a Director on the Fire Board. He has been a member of the local Rotary Club since its founding in 2000. He cites involvement in the city's Thanksgiving dinner and winter jacket distribution programs for children.

**Strengths:** The longest track record of any 2026 Lathrop Council candidate. That is 15 years on the Council plus Fire Board service. He knows the city's finances and public-safety departments firsthand.

**Trade-offs:** He was appointed rather than elected to his current seat. So this is his first time putting that tenure before voters.

**Keep in mind:** His statement frames his candidacy around continuity rather than new initiatives. He writes, "If it's not broken, don't fix it." That is useful context next to three first-time challengers running on change.

## Daniel MacNeilage

MacNeilage's filed ballot designation is "Construction Superintendent." Their statement gives their age as 68. They have lived in Lathrop for nearly 30 years. Their candidate statement cites over 35 years of leadership and management experience in the construction industry. It also cites a prior term as a City of Lathrop Planning Commissioner. They now serve on the board of the Boys and Girls Club. They hold volunteer leadership roles with the American Cancer Society and the ALS Association.

**Strengths:** Direct land-use and development experience from a prior Planning Commission term. MacNeilage also brings decades of hands-on construction-industry management. That is relevant to a fast-growing city.

**Trade-offs:** They have held no prior elected office. There is no independent reporting on their Planning Commission tenure outside their campaign.

**Keep in mind:** Their stated slogan is "Neighborhoods before Politics." That is a broad framing rather than a specific policy platform. It is worth asking them to make it concrete.

## Leandro Vicuña

Vicuña's county-filed ballot designation reads "Bank Executive/Father." Their own longer candidate statement lists their occupation as "Nonprofit Executive Chairman." Both are accurate self-descriptions of the same person. Vicuña is a Bank Executive at Fremont Bank. They are also Founder and Chairman of the Greater Lathrop Chamber of Commerce. They are President-Elect of Lathrop Rotary. They hold a Juris Doctor from Cooley Law School. They center their campaign on attracting jobs and supporting small business. They also run on public safety and infrastructure investment as the city grows.

**Strengths:** Direct local economic-development experience through Chamber of Commerce leadership. Vicuña also brings a banking background relevant to the city's money decisions.

**Trade-offs:** They have held no prior elected office. Their dual bank-executive and Chamber-chairman roles are worth weighing for conflicts on business votes. No reporting alleges a specific conflict.

**Keep in mind:** Their stated priorities are jobs, small business, public safety, and infrastructure. They overlap closely with what MacNeilage and Jefferson say this cycle. Compare them on specifics, not just shared framing.

## Shelita Jefferson

Jefferson's filed ballot designation is "Realtor/Mother." Their longer candidate statement lists their occupation as "Community Sales Manager (Realtor)." They have lived in Lathrop since 2019. They hold a bachelor's degree in Business. They have been a licensed Realtor since 2016. Their own filed statement cites coaching youth sports and organizing community backpack drives. They co-founded the Lathrop Juneteenth Heritage Committee. That nonprofit runs scholarship and educational programs. They also cite leadership involvement at Home Church.

**Strengths:** Sustained, multi-year local civic work and nonprofit founding experience. Jefferson co-founded the Juneteenth Heritage Committee. That is more than a single volunteer stint.

**Trade-offs:** They have held no prior elected office. They have lived in Lathrop since 2019. That is among the shortest residencies of this cycle's four Council candidates.

**Keep in mind:** Jefferson was the last of the four Council qualifiers to file. They entered during the extended nomination period. That period opened only after Lazard's withdrawal.

## Sources

1. [San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters -- official "Offices Up for the 2026 General Election" document: confirms the City of Lathrop's office structure -- Mayor (one seat, at-large, 2-year term) and Member of City Council (two seats, at-large, 4-year term each) -- with 20 nominations needed and a combined $800 Statement of Qualifications estimate for the two office types](https://www.sjgov.org/docs/default-source/registrar-of-voters-documents/elections/gubernatorial-general-election-2026/candidate-services/offices-up-for-2026-general-election.pdf)
2. [San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters -- "Qualified Candidate List" (report CFMR009, printed 8/20/2026): confirms both November 2026 City of Lathrop contests as On Ballot: Yes -- Contest 3570, Mayor, Vote For 1 (Paul Akinjo, "City of Lathrop Mayor," incumbent; Minnie "Cotton" Diallo, "City of Lathrop Councilwoman") and Contest 3572, City Council, Vote For 2 (Steve Dresser, "Appointed Incumbent"; Leandro Vicuna, "Bank Executive/Father"; Daniel MacNeilage, "Construction Superintendent"; Shelita Jefferson, "Realtor/Mother") -- with every candidate's exact filed ballot designation and an Aug. 7, 2026 qualified date for all six](https://www.sjgov.org/docs/default-source/registrar-of-voters-documents/elections/gubernatorial-general-election-2026/candidate-services/candidate-roster-(35).pdf)
3. [City of Lathrop -- official "General Municipal Election -- November 3, 2026" City Clerk page: the fullest single source for this shard -- states the same office structure as the county's document, names all six qualified candidates, and explicitly ties each of the two open Council seats to a named outgoing officeholder ("current terms ending: Council Members Stephen Dresser and Diane Lazard"); links each candidate's own filed Statement of Qualifications, the Notice of Extended Nomination Period, and the Candidate Log](https://www.ci.lathrop.ca.us/city-clerk/page/general-municipal-election-november-3-2026)
4. [City of Lathrop -- official "Notice of Extended Nomination Period for City Council Contest(s)" (dated Aug. 4, 2026, published Aug. 6, per Elections Code Section 10225): states the Council nomination period was extended through Aug. 12, 2026 because an incumbent eligible for reelection (Diane Lazard) withdrew her nomination papers before the close of the regular period; confirms the Mayor's nomination period was not extended; lists Akinjo, Dresser, and Lazard as the three incumbents who were issued papers as of Aug. 4, with Lazard's papers marked "Withdrawn Date: August 3, 2026"](https://www.ci.lathrop.ca.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_clerk/page/3371/080626_notice_of_nomination_period_extended_for_city_council_ad_proof.pdf)
5. [City of Lathrop -- official "Candidate Log, General Municipal Election, November 3, 2026" (uploaded 8/7/2026): gives exact nomination-papers-issued, filed, and qualified dates for every filer in both contests, including two Council filers who did not qualify -- Michael Wells (withdrew July 27, 2026) and incumbent Diane Lazard (withdrew Aug. 3, 2026, triggering the Section 10225 extension) -- alongside the four who did qualify (Dresser, MacNeilage, Vicuna, Jefferson) and the two Mayoral qualifiers (Akinjo, Diallo)](https://www.ci.lathrop.ca.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_clerk/page/3371/candidate_log_november_3_2026_election_extended_nomination_for_city_council_uploaded_080726.pdf)
6. [City of Lathrop -- official "City Council" page: confirms the five-member structure -- "the Mayor and four Council Members" -- and names the full current roster (Mayor Paul Akinjo; Vice Mayor Jennifer Torres-O'Callaghan; Councilmembers Diane Lazard, Stephen Dresser, and Minnie Diallo); links each of Akinjo's, Torres-O'Callaghan's, Lazard's, and Dresser's own official biography PDFs (no bio PDF is linked for Diallo)](https://www.ci.lathrop.ca.us/citycouncil)
7. [City of Lathrop -- official City Manager page: names Stephen J. Salvatore as the current City Manager](https://www.ci.lathrop.ca.us/city-manager)
8. [Wikipedia -- "Lathrop, California": independently confirms Paul Akinjo as Mayor and Stephen Salvatore as City Manager under a council-manager government; gives the 2020 Census population (28,701) and July 1, 1989 incorporation date](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lathrop,_California)
9. [City of Lathrop's own SouthTech "CampaignDocs eRetrieval" public campaign-finance portal (linked from the city's Campaign Statements page): a negative-result check -- the portal loads (HTTP 200) but is a classic ASP.NET WebForms application driven by server-side postbacks with no static content, query-string search, or documented public API reachable by this session's tooling. Documents the absence of a reachable local financial-disclosure source for any of the six 2026 Lathrop candidates, not any candidate's actual finances](https://www.southtechhosting.com/LathropCity/CampaignDocsWebRetrieval/Default.aspx)
10. [City of Lathrop -- official Council biography PDF for Councilmember Steve Dresser (no further career or education detail is included in the file beyond his name, title, and photo)](https://www.ci.lathrop.ca.us/system/temporary/filefield_paths/updated_new_bio_template_-_dresser_2025v3.pdf)
11. [City of Lathrop -- official Council biography PDF for Councilmember Diane Lazard: confirms a term of "December 2022 to December 2026," re-elected in the Nov. 8, 2022 General Municipal Election; over 35 years a Lathrop resident, an Associate's Degree from Delta College, over twelve years on the Lathrop Planning Commission (Chair and Vice Chair) before her Council service. Cited in this shard only to establish that her seat's term expires this cycle -- she did not seek renewal, per the county's and city's own election documents](https://www.ci.lathrop.ca.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_council/page/98/draft_new_bio_template_-_lazard_2025.pdf)
12. [City of Lathrop -- official Council biography PDF for Vice Mayor Jennifer Torres-O'Callaghan: confirms a term of "December 2024 to December 2028," re-elected in the Nov. 5, 2024 General Municipal Election. Cited in this shard only to independently confirm her seat is not up in Nov. 2026](https://www.ci.lathrop.ca.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_council/page/98/updated_new_bio_template_-_torres-ocallaghan_2025.pdf)
13. [Steve Dresser's own filed Candidate's Statement of Qualifications for City Council (age 76 per the form): states he has lived in Lathrop 30 years and "proudly served on the City Council for 15 of them"; cites service as a Director on the Fire Board and as a Rotary Club member since its 2000 inception, and local charitable involvement (Thanksgiving dinner, winter jacket distribution)](https://www.ci.lathrop.ca.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_clerk/page/3371/steve_dresser_statement_of_qualifications_councilmember_seat_redacted.pdf)
14. [Leandro Vicuna's own filed Candidate's Statement of Qualifications for City Council (age 48 per the form; occupation listed as "Nonprofit Executive Chairman"): identifies himself as Founder/Chairman of the Greater Lathrop Chamber of Commerce, President-Elect of Lathrop Rotary, a Bank Executive at Fremont Bank, and a Juris Doctor graduate of Cooley Law School -- reconciling his fuller statement occupation with the shorter, county-filed ballot designation "Bank Executive/Father"](https://www.ci.lathrop.ca.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_clerk/page/3371/leandro_vicuna_statement_of_qualifications_councilmember_seat_redacted.pdf)
15. [Daniel MacNeilage's own filed Candidate's Statement of Qualifications for City Council (age 68 per the form): states nearly 30 years as a Lathrop resident; cites over 35 years of leadership and management experience in the construction industry, current board membership at the Boys and Girls Club, and a prior term as a City of Lathrop Planning Commissioner](https://www.ci.lathrop.ca.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_clerk/page/3371/daniel_macneilage_statement_of_qualifications_councilmember_seat_redacted.pdf)
16. [Shelita Jefferson's own filed Candidate's Statement of Qualifications for City Council (age 46 per the form; occupation listed as "Community Sales Manager (Realtor)"): states she moved to Lathrop in 2019, holds a bachelor's degree in Business, has been a licensed Realtor since 2016, and co-founded the Lathrop Juneteenth Heritage Committee, a nonprofit providing scholarships and educational programs](https://www.ci.lathrop.ca.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_clerk/page/3371/shelita_jefferson_statement_of_qualifications_councilmember_seat_redacted.pdf)

## The rest of the ballot

Lathrop City Council 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

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