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City of Merced · Statewide General Election

Merced City Council, District 6

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 would hold one of three district seats up this cycle on Merced's 6-member City Council, serving a 4-year term: city ordinances, the budget, and land use for the county seat of Merced County, a charter city of about 86,333 residents (2020 Census). Merced runs under a council-manager government -- an appointed City Manager handles day-to-day operations -- and separately elects a Mayor citywide to a 4-year term; the Mayor isn't up this cycle.

Three candidates are running for the District 6 seat: incumbent Fue Xiong, retired teacher John Bliss (who lost this same seat by six votes in 2018), and Realtor and barbershop owner Yader Zeledon.

Merced runs under a council-manager government: an appointed City Manager handles day-to-day operations, while a 6-member district City Council sets city ordinances, the budget, and land use. Voters also directly elect a Mayor citywide to a 4-year term, but that office isn't on this November's ballot. District 6 covers North Merced -- neighborhoods beyond Yosemite Avenue and Merced College, and the annexed UC Merced campus.

Xiong, the sitting Councilmember, deliberated publicly before deciding to seek reelection. In August 2026 he was the lone vote to advance an expanded tenant-protection proposal (the motion failed for lack of a second), and in late 2025 he drew public criticism from a council colleague, Shane Smith, after sharing a meme comparing the council's flag-display policy to supporting the KKK -- an episode that prompted the council to schedule a broader review of its own code of conduct.

Fue Xiong

Fue Xiong, 31, describes himself as the son of a working-class Hmong family with deep roots in Merced. He's the sitting District 6 Councilmember, campaigning on housing affordability, local job creation, public safety and neighborhood livability, youth resources, and climate action. The Merced Sun-Star has endorsed him, saying he "would be a strong advocate for those who are struggling" and offers "well-conceived counterpoints to conventional wisdom."

Strengths

A sitting term in office, a local newspaper endorsement, and a record of taking positions -- the tenant-protection push, the flag-policy meme -- that show where he stands.

Trade-offs

His flag-policy meme drew public rebuke from a colleague, and his tenant-protection motion drew no second -- voters may weigh that as principled dissent or difficulty building consensus.

Keep in mind

No 2026 news profile beyond meeting coverage was found for him -- his platform above comes from his own campaign site, not independent reporting on his record.

John G. Bliss Jr.

John G. Bliss Jr. grew up on a fifth-generation family farm in El Nido and holds a history degree from Fresno State. He taught and coached at five valley high schools -- including Merced High and, most recently, Buhach Colony High -- over 36 years, retiring in June 2026 to run for council full-time. He ran for this same seat in 2018 and lost to Delray Shelton by six votes; Shelton later encouraged him to run again. His platform centers on public safety (full police and fire staffing), partnerships for homelessness and addiction services, road and infrastructure maintenance, downtown revitalization, balanced growth around UC Merced's expansion, and expanded youth programs.

Strengths

36 years teaching and coaching in Merced-area schools, a near-miss prior campaign for this exact seat (lost by six votes in 2018), and encouragement from the man who beat him.

Trade-offs

No elected or appointed government experience; his public record is built on education and coaching rather than city governance.

Keep in mind

He retired from teaching specifically to run this cycle and held a kickoff that drew about 100 residents, per the Merced County Times -- an organized, resourced campaign rather than a token candidacy.

Yader Zeledon

Yader Zeledon, 44, is a Realtor and barbershop owner (Headquarterz Barbershop, downtown Merced) born in San Francisco to Nicaraguan immigrant parents who fled armed conflict, moving to Merced when he was six. As a teenager he was involved in a 1998 case tied to a fatal brawl and served six years in the California Youth Authority; his juvenile record has since been expunged. After his release he became a barber, then earned his real estate license in 2020. His platform emphasizes broadly defined public safety (police and fire staffing plus shelter and services for vulnerable residents), modernizing roads and utilities to keep pace with growth from UC Merced and the High-Speed Rail project, workforce training, and a proposed "Repeat Housing Code Violators Program" to address neglected rental properties.

Strengths

Two established small businesses in the district (a barbershop and a real-estate practice), a Realtor association endorsement, and a personal history he campaigns on directly.

Trade-offs

No elected or appointed government experience; his 1998 juvenile case, though resolved and expunged decades ago, is part of the record he campaigns on.

Keep in mind

He has also weathered serious health issues since 2019 (open-heart surgery, a colon-cancer scare, and sepsis in 2024) while continuing to work -- context for a first-time candidate, not an issue raised by anyone else.

Source review: Strong (84/100) · 9 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context; advocacy or endorsement sources are treated as attributed perspective.

Review note: Fue Xiong's own 2026 campaign site (fuexiong.com): self-described platform for reelection to District 6 -- "the proud son of a working-class Hmong family" -- prioritizing housing affordability, local job creation, public safety, youth resources, and climate action; also cites a Merced Sun-Star endorsement describing him as offering "well-conceived counterpoints to conventional wisdom." may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

  • countyofmerced.com (opens in a new tab)Merced County -- official "November 3 2026 General Election -- All Contests -- Final Qualified Candidate List" (report CFMR009, printed 8/25/2026 3:26:53PM): the city section confirms exactly three Merced city rows on the ballot -- Councilmember District 2 (Felipe Rojas-Flores, "Legal Aid Attorney"; Yang Pao Thao, "Appointed Incumbent"), District 4 (Shane Smith, "Councilmember / Legal Counselor" -- the only qualified candidate), and District 6 (John G. Bliss Jr., "Retired Educator"; Yader Zeledon, "Small Business Owner"; Fue Xiong, "Engineer / Housing Advocate") -- with candidate statement filing dates for each. No "Merced Mayor" row appears anywhere in the document.
  • themercedfocus.org (opens in a new tab)The Merced FOCUS (nonprofit newsroom) -- "Merced City Council rejects expanded tenant protection proposal. 'It's not the right time.'" (Aug. 21, 2026): names the full sitting council roster by district -- Mayor Matthew Serratto; District 1, Darin DuPont; District 2, Yang Pao Thao; District 3, Mike Harris; District 4, Shane Smith; District 5, Sarah Boyle; District 6, Fue Xiong -- and reports District 6 Councilmember Fue Xiong's motion to add expanded tenant protections to a future agenda failing for lack of a second.
  • themercedfocus.org (opens in a new tab)The Merced FOCUS -- "Key city races take shape in Merced County. See who made the filing deadline" (Aug. 9, 2026): reports, after the close of filing, that District 6 incumbent Fue Xiong filed for reelection against John Bliss (a Buhach Colony High teacher who lost the same seat by six votes in 2018) and businessman Yader Zeledon; that District 2 incumbent Yang Pao Thao is running to retain his seat against attorney Felipe Rojas-Flores, who "previously ran for District 5 in 2024 but withdrew"; and that District 4 incumbent Shane Smith faced no qualified challenger ("no candidates qualified to compete against Smith on the ballot").
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia, "Merced, California": used narrowly for the fixed 2020 Census population figure (86,333) and for its own-worded confirmation that Merced "is a charter city that operates under a council-manager government."
  • mercedcountytimes.com (opens in a new tab)Merced County Times -- "Bliss calls for stronger, safer Merced where families thrive" (Aug. 7, 2026): a dedicated 2026 campaign profile of John Bliss -- a lifelong Merced-area resident raised on a fifth-generation family farm in El Nido, a Fresno State history graduate who taught and coached at five valley high schools (including Merced High and Buhach Colony High) over 36 years, retired from teaching in June 2026 to run, and lost the same District 6 seat by six votes to Delray Shelton in 2018 -- covering his public-safety, homelessness-services, infrastructure, downtown-revitalization, growth-management, and youth-programs platform.
  • mercedcountytimes.com (opens in a new tab)Merced County Times -- "Zeledon carries perseverance, self-determination in race for District 6 seat on Merced City Council" (July 30, 2026): a dedicated 2026 campaign profile of Yader Zeledon, 44 -- a Realtor and barbershop owner (Headquarterz Barbershop, downtown Merced) born to Nicaraguan immigrant parents, who served six years in the California Youth Authority as a teenager following a 1998 juvenile case (record since expunged), later survived open-heart surgery, a colon-cancer scare, and sepsis, and built a Realtor career after 2020 -- covering his public-safety, infrastructure/workforce, and housing-code-enforcement platform and endorsements from the Merced County Association of Realtors and others.
  • fuexiong.com (opens in a new tab)Fue Xiong's own 2026 campaign site (fuexiong.com): self-described platform for reelection to District 6 -- "the proud son of a working-class Hmong family" who would be the second Hmong descendant elected to city government in Merced -- prioritizing housing affordability, local job creation, public safety, youth resources, and climate action; also cites a Merced Sun-Star endorsement describing him as offering "well-conceived counterpoints to conventional wisdom."
  • themercedfocus.org (opens in a new tab)The Merced FOCUS -- "Merced councilmember writes letter responding to 'defamatory' KKK meme shared by council colleague" (Nov. 12, 2025): reports District 6 Councilmember Fue Xiong shared a meme comparing the council's halt of commemorative flag displays to supporting the KKK; District 4 Councilmember Shane Smith, who authored the revised flag policy, called the comparison "defamatory" and "demonstrably false" in a written response, explaining the policy lets the council deny hate-group flags without a First Amendment violation.
  • campaigndocs.co.merced.ca.us (opens in a new tab)A negative-result local campaign-finance check for all six District 2/4/6 candidates: Merced County's own Campaign Finance eRetrieval portal (hosted at southtechhosting.com) is a client-rendered ASP.NET web form with no GET-queryable search results page this session's tools could drive; direct California Secretary of State Cal-Access filer searches for all six names returned no usable results either. Documents the absence of a reachable financial-disclosure source for these six candidates, not any of their actual finances.

Last updated September 1, 2026.