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City of Menifee · Statewide General Election

Menifee City Council, District 2

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 holds your district's seat on Menifee's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. A 4-year term, staggered so only two of the four district seats are up in any given November. Menifee's Mayor is directly elected citywide to a separate seat -- unlike many nearby cities, where the mayor's title rotates among sitting councilmembers -- and day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager.

Three candidates are running for Menifee's District 2 City Council seat on the November 3, 2026 ballot, including incumbent Ben Diederich, who was appointed to the seat in January 2025 and is now seeking a full term. Whoever gets the most votes wins a 4-year term; there is no primary or runoff.

Menifee's City Council has 5 seats: a directly elected, at-large Mayor (not up this cycle) and 4 district councilmembers elected to staggered 4-year terms, of which Districts 2 and 4 are up in 2026. The council sets city ordinances, the budget, and land use; day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager.

Diederich did not win this seat by election: the City Council appointed him in January 2025 to fill the vacancy left when Ricky Estrada, District 2's prior holder, was elected mayor. Diederich ran for the seat in 2022 and lost to Estrada before that appointment. Independent, on-the-record local reporting (Menifee 24/7) interviewed all three candidates directly; one profile below also discloses a 2014 conflict-of-interest case from a prior council term.

Laz Peterson

Laz Peterson is a challenger who has served on Menifee's Parks, Recreation and Trails Commission since 2023, after previously serving on the committee that became the city's Measure DD Quality of Life Oversight Committee. He owns three technology businesses -- internet hosting, application development, and IT/network security -- and has lived in Menifee with his wife and five children since 2015.

Strengths

Direct commission experience with the city's parks and quality-of-life spending, and a technical background he says informs his view of the city's Flock camera program.

Trade-offs

No prior elected office; no independent reporting beyond his own candidate statement and one Menifee 24/7 interview was found to corroborate his account.

Keep in mind

Peterson told Menifee 24/7 he supports the city's Flock cameras but would defer to District 2 residents if an overwhelming majority wanted them removed -- prioritizing constituent will over his own stated view.

Ben Diederich

Ben Diederich is the incumbent, appointed to the District 2 seat in January 2025 after Ricky Estrada, the seat's prior holder, was elected mayor; he is now seeking a full term. He previously served six years on the Planning Commission, ran for this seat in 2022 (losing to Estrada), and has run a small local law firm in Menifee for more than a decade.

Strengths

Incumbency, six years of prior Planning Commission experience, and specific outreach he points to (a District 2 town hall, meetings with Quail Valley residents after a house fire).

Trade-offs

Has voted for several council-approved warehouse projects some residents oppose; he says he evaluates each on its own merits rather than opposing warehouses as a category.

Keep in mind

Diederich supports the police department's Flock license-plate cameras with safeguards in place, and says he would reconsider that support if the safeguards changed or evidence showed misuse.

Thomas Fuhrman

Thomas Fuhrman ("Tom" in his own campaign materials) is a retired tool-and-die specialist who has ranched in Menifee for 36 years and previously served on the City Council from 2010 to 2014.

Strengths

36 years of residency and four years of prior council experience (2010-2014), including District 2 concerns -- unpaved roads, Holland/Murrieta Road traffic -- he has raised for years.

Trade-offs

In 2014, while on the council, Fuhrman was arrested on a conflict-of-interest charge, pleaded guilty, served probation and community service, and had the felony expunged -- not disqualifying.

Keep in mind

Fuhrman opposes further warehouse development and the city's amphitheater spending, and says that if elected he would poll 25 randomly chosen District 2 residents ahead of each council meeting.

Source review: Very strong (92/100) · 13 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • menifee.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Menifee -- City Clerk "Notice of Election" (Notice of Election - 2026): a General Municipal Election will be held Nov. 3, 2026 for exactly two offices, "One (1) Member of the City Council -- District 2" and "One (1) Member of the City Council -- District 4," each a full 4-year term; signed by City Clerk Stephanie Roseen.
  • menifee.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Menifee -- City Clerk "Notice of Nomination Papers Issued" (as of Aug. 4, 2026): confirms the City Clerk issued nomination papers to "the eligible incumbent for the District 2 office" and that "there is no eligible incumbent for District 4," and that redistricting did not affect either incumbent's eligibility to run.
  • menifee.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Menifee -- City Clerk "Notice of Nominees for Public Office": the certified, final list of qualified candidates for the Nov. 3, 2026 General Municipal Election -- District 2 (Laz Peterson, Ben Diederich, Thomas Fuhrman) and District 4 (Frank Sandoval, Daniel Stephens, Randy Madrid), each race "vote for no more than one (1)"; signed by City Clerk Stephanie Roseen.
  • menifee.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Menifee -- "Election and Voter Information" page: hosts a live "City Council Candidate Activity" table (name, district, date papers pulled, date qualified, and a link to each filed candidate statement) plus the Notice of Election, Notice of Nomination Papers Issued, and Notice of Nominees documents; the table's 6 rows (3 per district) match the certified Notice of Nominees exactly.
  • menifee.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Menifee -- "City Council" government page: current roster confirms Ricky Estrada is a directly elected, at-large Mayor (next up in 2028, not this cycle); Bob Karwin (District 1, Mayor Pro Tem) and Dan Temple (District 3) are also not up this cycle; Ben Diederich is the sitting District 2 councilmember and Dean Deines the sitting District 4 councilmember.
  • menifee247.com (opens in a new tab)Menifee 24/7 -- "Election for council Districts 2, 4 set for Nov. 3, applications open July 13": explains Menifee's structure directly -- a directly elected, citywide Mayor (Ricky Estrada, up in 2028) plus 4 district councilmembers on staggered 4-year terms; District 4's Dean Deines "has termed out" (but remains eligible to run for Mayor in 2028, a separate office); District 2's Ben Diederich was appointed by the City Council in January 2025 to fill the vacancy created when Estrada was elected mayor, and was "expected to run for a full term"; candidate statements are capped at 200 words under a policy the Council approved June 3, 2026.
  • menifee247.com (opens in a new tab)Menifee 24/7 -- "City Council hopefuls to appear at Sept. 23 Candidates Forum": independently names all 6 qualified candidates by district (District 2: Ben Diederich, Tom Fuhrman, Laz Peterson; District 4: Randy Madrid, Frank Sandoval, Daniel Stephens) ahead of a Menifee 24/7-sponsored forum at Liberty High School.
  • menifee247.com (opens in a new tab)Menifee 24/7 -- "Meet the candidate: Ben Diederich, Menifee City Council District 2" (Ashley Beebe): on-the-record interview -- Diederich was appointed to the council in January 2025, previously spent 6 years on the Planning Commission, ran for the D2 seat in 2022 and lost to now-Mayor Ricky Estrada, attended Mt. San Jacinto College and law school before returning to open a small local law firm (10+ years); discusses his votes on warehouse projects, support for Flock license-plate cameras with safeguards, and priorities (amphitheater completion, a regional park, the city's infrastructure backlog).
  • menifee247.com (opens in a new tab)Menifee 24/7 -- "Meet the candidate: Laz Peterson, Menifee City Council District 2" (Ashley Beebe): on-the-record interview -- Peterson has served on the Parks, Recreation and Trails Commission since 2023, previously served on the committee that became the Measure DD Quality of Life Oversight Committee, owns three technology businesses (internet hosting, application development, IT support/network security), and discusses priorities (youth amenities, warehouse land-use, and conditional support for Flock cameras).
  • menifee247.com (opens in a new tab)Menifee 24/7 -- "Meet the candidate: Tom Fuhrman, Menifee City Council District 2" (Ashley Beebe): on-the-record interview -- Fuhrman is a retired tool-and-die specialist who has ranched in Menifee 36 years and served on the City Council from 2010 to 2014; he opposes further warehouse development and the city's amphitheater spending; separately discloses that in 2014, while a sitting councilmember, Fuhrman was arrested on a conflict-of-interest charge, pleaded guilty, served one year of probation plus 100 hours of community service, and had the felony expunged after a year -- a case that did not disqualify him from future office.
  • menifee.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Menifee -- Ben Diederich's filed 200-word Candidate Statement (District 2): cites 6 years on the Planning Commission, vice-chair of the Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Santa Rosa Academy board, and council-term accomplishments (a balanced budget with reserves, $113M+ budgeted for public safety, a SafeWise top-20-safest-CA-city ranking).
  • menifee.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Menifee -- Laz Peterson's filed Candidate Statement (District 2): self-describes as a father of 5, Vice Chairman of the Parks, Recreation and Trails Commission, and a business owner, running on youth/open-space amenities and economic development.
  • menifee.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Menifee -- Tom Fuhrman's filed Candidate Statement (District 2): self-describes as a 33-year Menifee rancher who "served 4 years as the people's champion and waste watchdog for District 2" on the council; criticizes city spending, the Salt Creek overpass, City Hall rent, and a highly paid assistant-to-the-assistant-city-manager position.

Last updated August 31, 2026.