# Mayor of Lawndale Compare records and positions simply between Robert Pullen-Miles or Francisco M. Talavera for Mayor of Lawndale at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person is Lawndale's mayor. They preside over City Council meetings and represent the city publicly, but vote as one of five members on the budget and city ordinances, the same as any other councilmember. The term is two years. - Jurisdiction: City of Lawndale - 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/lawndale-mayor - 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: 74 out of 100 (Mixed), across 6 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Robert Pullen-Miles** — Mayor, City of Lawndale · Incumbent - **Francisco M. Talavera** — Councilmember, City of Lawndale A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Two candidates are running for Mayor of Lawndale: incumbent Robert Pullen-Miles, seeking another term after more than two decades in city government, against sitting City Councilmember Francisco "Frank" Talavera, who announced their campaign in August 2026. No primary — the November 3, 2026 winner takes the seat outright. Lawndale's mayor presides over City Council meetings and represents the city publicly, but votes as one of five members on the budget and city ordinances, the same as any other councilmember. The term is two years, half the length of a council seat's four years. Day-to-day city government runs through an appointed city manager, not the mayor's office. With two candidates on the ballot, the choice is between continuity — a mayor with two decades combined in Lawndale city government — and change in the office from a sitting councilmember who has not held it before. Because the seat is largely consensus-driven, one vote of five, the practical stakes are about priorities and relationships with the rest of the council more than any single decision the mayor alone can make. ## Robert Pullen-Miles The incumbent mayor, with more than 22 years in Lawndale city government across the Planning Commission, City Council, and the mayor's office (per Pullen-Miles's campaign). They point to $6 million in secured state funding, several new businesses opening on their watch, and successfully opposing a Metro light-rail route through Lawndale neighborhoods, and list public safety, economic development, and senior and youth services as their priorities for a new term. They are endorsed by Congresswoman Maxine Waters and fellow councilmembers Pat Kearney and Sirley Cuevas, among others (per their campaign). **Strengths:** Two decades in Lawndale government, secured state funding, new local businesses, and endorsements spanning Congress to the city council. **Trade-offs:** Running as the incumbent means Pullen-Miles's record, including the Metro light-rail dispute, faces a real challenger for the first time in years. **Keep in mind:** Their platform reprises priorities from prior campaigns — public safety, infrastructure, and youth and senior services — plus new stakes tied to the 2028 Olympics; whether another term changes that record is what a voter is weighing. ## Francisco M. Talavera A challenger and sitting Lawndale City Councilmember, whose own council seat is not up this cycle — Talavera's term runs through November 2028. They announced their mayoral campaign on Facebook on August 8, 2026, telling supporters it was "an honor to give our community a choice" (their words). No further platform detail from their campaign was found for this guide as of this writing. **Strengths:** Currently serving on the City Council, so Talavera has sat at the table making the budget and policy decisions the mayor's office touches most directly. **Trade-offs:** No public platform beyond their campaign announcement was found for this guide, leaving little yet to weigh against Pullen-Miles's specific record. **Keep in mind:** Because Talavera's own council seat isn't up until 2028, a loss here costs them nothing — they keep their seat either way, unlike a challenger risking their only office. ## Review notes - CA Slates and Frank Talavera may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources. ## Sources 1. [City of Lawndale — Certified List of Qualified Candidates, November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election (signed 8/11/26)](https://www.lawndale.ca.gov/UserFiles/Servers/Server_16676053/File/Government/Departments/2026%20Election/Lawndale%20Certified%20List%20of%20Candidates%20Form_Online%20signed.pdf) 2. [City of Lawndale — Election Information (nomination timeline and current officials/terms)](https://www.lawndale.ca.gov/government/departments/city_clerk_s_office/election_information) 3. [CA Slates — Robert Pullen-Miles for Mayor, Lawndale (candidate's own campaign bio, paid content)](https://www.caslates.com/campaigns/november-2026/robert-pullen-miles-mayor-lawndale) 4. [Frank Talavera — mayoral campaign announcement, "Family and Friends of Lawndale" Facebook group (2026-08-08)](https://www.facebook.com/frank.talavera.3/posts/family-and-friends-of-lawndale-its-official-ive-decided-to-run-for-mayor-its-an-/102267530805317891/) 5. [The Ballot Book — City of Lawndale Candidates (unofficial aggregator)](https://theballotbook.com/jurisdictions/758/candidates) 6. [City of Lawndale — Campaign Finance document portal (FPPC Form 400/500-series filing index, CY 2026)](https://lawndaleca.hosted.civiclive.com/cms/One.aspx?portalId=16676137&pageId=17238584) ## The rest of the ballot Mayor of Lawndale 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, "Mayor of Lawndale — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/lawndale-mayor (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.