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City of Mcfarland · Statewide General Election

McFarland City Council, District 1

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 represents one of McFarland's four Council districts: city ordinances, the budget, and land-use decisions, alongside a citywide-elected Mayor and an appointed city manager who runs day-to-day operations. McFarland moved from at-large to district-based Council elections in 2024; Districts 2 and 4 were first elected under the new map that year, and Districts 1 and 3 follow in 2026. A 4-year term.

Only one candidate qualified for this seat: Maria T. Perez, listed on the city's own certified candidate list as an "Appointed Incumbent," appears unopposed for a full term — so this contest is settled and your vote here does not change the outcome.

This person represents District 1 on McFarland's City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land-use decisions, alongside a citywide-elected Mayor and an appointed city manager who runs day-to-day operations. McFarland moved from at-large to district-based Council elections in 2024; Districts 2 and 4 were first elected under the new map that year, and Districts 1 and 3 — including this seat — follow in 2026. A 4-year term.

"Appointed Incumbent" means Perez currently holds this seat by City Council appointment rather than a prior District 1 election — District 1's first election under McFarland's new district map is this very cycle, so an appointment is how anyone could have held the seat beforehand. This dataset could not confirm from any reachable source when or why she was appointed. Beyond her name, district, and ballot designation, no independent biographical detail was found.

Maria T. Perez

Holds District 1's seat by City Council appointment, per her filed ballot designation, "Appointed Incumbent"; the city's own Council Members page confirms her District 1 assignment. No occupation, background, or stated priorities could be confirmed from any reachable source — McFarland's site publishes no officeholder bios, and no independent coverage of her was found this cycle despite a real search effort.

Strengths

Already in the seat, so voters get an appointed incumbent's presence at Council meetings rather than a total unknown.

Trade-offs

Because she reached the seat by appointment rather than a prior District 1 election, this is her first time facing voters for it.

Keep in mind

This dataset could not confirm any specifics of her tenure, priorities, or background — treat that as a documented research gap, not an endorsement of a blank slate.

Source review: Strong (88/100) · 7 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • media-002-us.cdn.govstack.com (opens in a new tab)City of McFarland, Office of the City Clerk -- "Certified List of Candidates," General Municipal Election, November 3, 2026, signed and sealed by City Clerk Erika De La Cruz, dated Aug. 13, 2026: certifies Ricardo Cano ("Vice Mayor") for Mayor; Maria T. Perez ("Appointed Incumbent") for Council District 1 (Full Term); Martin Gutierrez ("Appointed Incumbent") for Council District 2 (Short Term); and M. Anita Gonzalez ("Incumbent") for Council District 3 (Full Term) -- one certified candidate per seat, none submitting a Candidate Statement
  • mcfarlandcity.org (opens in a new tab)City of McFarland's own 2026 General Municipal Election page: confirms Mayor (4-year term), Council District 1 (4-year term), Council District 2 (2-year Short Term), and Council District 3 (4-year term) as the four offices up Nov. 3, 2026, with a July 13-Aug. 7, 2026 filing period and a link to the Certified List of Candidates; states no City Clerk or City Treasurer seat is up this cycle
  • mcfarlandcity.org (opens in a new tab)City of McFarland's own "District Election Process" page: the city adopted district-based Council elections (the "red" map) on March 14, 2024; the Mayor continues to be elected citywide every 4 years; Districts 2 and 4 were first elected under the new map in 2024, and Districts 1 and 3 follow in 2026, with elections thereafter every 4 years
  • mcfarlandcity.org (opens in a new tab)City of McFarland's own Council Members roster page: Mayor Saul Ayon (term expires Nov. 2026, not seeking reelection per the certified candidate list); Maria Perez, District 1 (term expires Nov. 2026); Martin Gutierrez, District 2 (term expires Nov. 2026); Anita Gonzalez, District 3 (term expires Nov. 2026); and Ricardo Cano, Vice Mayor, District 4 (term expires Nov. 2028, not up this cycle)
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia's McFarland, California article: population 14,161 (2020 census); a San Joaquin Valley city in Kern County, about 25 miles northwest of Bakersfield and 6.5 miles south of Delano; founded 1909, incorporated 1957
  • kernvote.com (opens in a new tab)A negative-result attempt to independently cross-check McFarland's contests against Kern County's own "Contest/Candidate Proof List": kernvote.com returned HTTP 403 ("Access Denied," a WAF block) for both the county's Nov. 3, 2026 general-election landing page and a previously-cited kernvote.com document URL, including a retry with TLS verification disabled to rule out an unrelated expired-certificate error the site also threw intermittently -- the same WAF pattern already documented this session for Tehachapi; no browser tool was reachable this run
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)A negative-result campaign-finance check: California's Cal-Access filer database covers state-level contests only and this dataset's own cached statewide snapshot carries no filer under any of the four McFarland candidates' names; McFarland's own City Clerk page describes the office as the FPPC filing officer for Statements of Economic Interests only, with no online campaign Form 460/461 filing portal found

Last updated September 1, 2026.