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Lemon Grove City Council

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City of Lemon Grove

Lemon Grove City Council

This person holds one of two at-large seats up this cycle. The seats are on Lemon Grove's City Council. The council has five members. A separately, directly elected Mayor also serves on the council. They vote on city laws, the budget, and land use. An appointed city manager runs day-to-day operations. The term is four years.

Four candidates are running for two at-large seats on the Lemon Grove City Council. The seats carry 4-year terms, and one candidate, Seth Smith, is an appointed incumbent. The top two vote-getters on November 3 both win, since there is no runoff.

This person holds one of two at-large seats up this cycle on Lemon Grove's 5-member City Council, alongside a separately, directly elected Mayor. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use, with day-to-day operations run by an appointed city manager. The term is four years.

This race is one leg of an unusual three-seat, single-election reshuffle. A third council seat -- a 2-year 'short term' filling out the balance of the late Councilmember Sitivi Faiai's term -- is on the same ballot as a separate contest. The City Clerk's own Notice of Extension of the Nomination Period shows that Seth Smith, the sitting appointed incumbent of that short-term seat, chose to run here instead, for one of the two 4-year seats -- while the sitting 4-year incumbent Jennifer Mendoza filed for the short-term seat rather than this one. A third sitting 4-year incumbent, Yadira Altamirano, didn't file for re-election to either race at all. Because Lemon Grove's council seats are undifferentiated at-large positions with no numbered districts, Smith is marked incumbent here on the strength of his current council membership, not because this is the specific seat he was appointed to.

Seth Smith

Seth Smith is the appointed incumbent and an architectural designer and small business owner. He says he helped secure $5.2 million for street repairs and wants a walkable Broadway. The council appointed him in December 2025 after Councilmember Sitivi Faiai's death.

Minola Clark Manson

Minola Clark Manson is a sitting Lemon Grove Planning Commissioner. They say they have more than 30 years of public sector leadership experience. They campaign on integrity and transparency, but name no specific policy platform.

Krystle Johnson

Krystle Johnson is a special education teacher with more than 13 years of experience. She lists fixing infrastructure, building a vibrant business climate, and improving community spaces. She says the city's food distributions grew from 50 to 300 families served.

Joe Smith

Joe Smith is listed as a Community Engagement Director, with no employer named. He did not file a candidate statement with the city, unlike the other three candidates. No independent news coverage of him was found.

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

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