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City of Maricopa · Statewide General Election

Maricopa City Council

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 holds one of two at-large seats up this cycle on Maricopa's 5-member City Council -- the county's own candidate list carries no district number for this race. Maricopa draws its Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem from the council itself: sitting Mayor Cory Morse is on this ballot because his own council term, not a separately elected mayoral term, expires this cycle. How the council makes that choice wasn't confirmed this pass.

Five candidates qualified for two of Maricopa's five at-large City Council seats on the November 3 ballot, per Kern County's own candidate list: sitting Mayor Cory Morse and Mayor Pro Tem Virgil Bell are both seeking re-election to their council seats, against three challengers -- John Crump Jr., Richard W. Albright, and Malinda Adams.

The two winners each serve a term on Maricopa's five-member, at-large City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land-use decisions citywide. Maricopa draws its Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem from the council itself -- how the council makes that choice wasn't confirmed this pass.

Two of the five candidates, including the sitting Mayor, already hold the seats up this cycle, so the choice is less about council experience than whether voters want to keep the current leadership or bring in one of three newcomers.

John Crump Jr.

He is a retired construction worker and one of three newcomers in this five-candidate field. No specific 2026 platform was confirmed beyond his qualified candidacy filing.

Strengths

One of three newcomers in a five-candidate field, offering voters an alternative to the two sitting officeholders seeking re-election.

Trade-offs

No service in elected or appointed city government, and no specific platform could be confirmed from available reporting.

Keep in mind

His ballot designation, "Retired Construction Worker," doesn't reference current city office, unlike the two incumbents on this ballot.

Virgil Bell

He serves as Maricopa's Mayor Pro Tem; the city's own site lists his council term as expiring November 2026, confirming his seat is one of the two up this cycle. No specific 2026 platform was confirmed beyond his qualified candidacy filing.

Strengths

Currently serves as Mayor Pro Tem, the position his council colleagues chose him for, alongside the council seat he's defending this cycle.

Trade-offs

No specific 2026 platform could be confirmed from available reporting -- a real gap for a sitting Mayor Pro Tem.

Keep in mind

He's one of two sitting officeholders seeking re-election in this five-candidate field, running under the ballot designation "Incumbent."

Richard W. Albright

He filed no ballot designation and is one of three newcomers in this five-candidate field. No specific 2026 platform was confirmed beyond his qualified candidacy filing.

Strengths

One of three newcomers in a five-candidate field, offering voters an alternative to the two sitting officeholders seeking re-election.

Trade-offs

No service in elected or appointed city government, and no specific platform could be confirmed from available reporting.

Keep in mind

He filed no ballot designation at all, the only one of the five candidates who didn't -- the county's list marks it "No Ballot Designation."

Malinda Adams

She works as a paraprofessional and is one of three newcomers in this five-candidate field. No specific 2026 platform was confirmed beyond her qualified candidacy filing.

Strengths

One of three newcomers in a five-candidate field, offering voters an alternative to the two sitting officeholders seeking re-election.

Trade-offs

No service in elected or appointed city government, and no specific platform could be confirmed from available reporting.

Keep in mind

Her ballot designation, "Paraprofessional," doesn't reference current city office, unlike the two incumbents on this ballot.

Cory Morse

He is Maricopa's sitting Mayor; the city's own site lists his council term as expiring November 2026, confirming this council seat -- not a separately elected mayoral term -- is what's up this cycle. No specific 2026 platform was confirmed beyond his qualified candidacy filing.

Strengths

Currently serves as Maricopa's Mayor, the position his council colleagues chose him for, alongside the council seat he's defending this cycle.

Trade-offs

No specific 2026 platform could be confirmed from available reporting -- a real gap for a sitting Mayor.

Keep in mind

He's one of two sitting officeholders seeking re-election in this five-candidate field, running under the ballot designation "Mayor" rather than "Incumbent."

Source review: Strong (88/100) · 2 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with a narrow source base.

  • kernvote.com (opens in a new tab)Kern County Elections Division -- "Contest/Candidate Proof List," November 3, 2026 General Election (report code CFMR001, printed 8/17/2026); Delano City Council is contest 7031, Maricopa City Council is contest 7041, Ridgecrest Mayor is contest 7060, Ridgecrest City Council is contest 7061, Shafter City Council is contest 7071. Reached via a live browser session, navigating a fresh tab straight to each page's own URL fragment (#page=N) -- direct curl/WebFetch 403s behind an Akamai WAF, and the embedded viewer freezes after one render/scroll per tab, so each contest's roster was captured from a separate fresh tab.
  • cityofmaricopa.org (opens in a new tab)City of Maricopa -- City Council Members (current officeholders and term-expiration dates: Mayor Cory Morse and Mayor Pro Tem Virgil Bell both "Term Expires: November 2026"; Council Members Crystal Harris, John Horn, and James Owens all "Term Expires: November 2028")

Last updated September 3, 2026.