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City of Modesto · Statewide General Election

Modesto City Council, District 4

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On the ballot

This person would represent one of Modesto's six City Council districts: city ordinances, the budget, and land use for Stanislaus County's largest city and county seat, population 218,464 per the 2020 Census. Modesto operates under a council-manager government, with a professional city manager running day-to-day operations while the elected council sets policy. The Mayor is elected at-large citywide to a 4-year term and isn't on this ballot; the six council seats are elected by district to staggered 4-year terms, with Districts 2, 4, and 5 up this November.

Incumbent Nick Bavaro runs unopposed for a second term representing Modesto's District 4, after the only two other residents who pulled nomination papers never returned them.

Modesto is Stanislaus County's largest city and county seat, with about 218,464 residents per the 2020 Census, operating under a council-manager government with an at-large Mayor and six district-elected Council seats on staggered 4-year terms. District 4 is one of three Council seats up in November 2026; unlike Districts 2 and 5, it drew only one candidate. Two other prospective candidates, Matthew Gonzalez and Tyler Anthony Slacks, obtained nomination papers from the City Clerk but never filed them, per the city's own candidate-filing record -- no city resolution or notice canceling the District 4 election was found, so it remains a live, single-candidate contest on the ballot rather than a filled-by-appointment vacancy.

Despite the lack of an opponent, Bavaro's campaign kept fundraising and spending through this period -- his committee's cash position is, by a wide margin, the largest of any 2026 Modesto council candidate this dataset found, contested or not.

Nick Bavaro

The unopposed incumbent, whose ballot designation is "Modesto City Councilmember." He filed for re-election on July 20, 2026, ahead of the two other prospective candidates who never returned their papers. His campaign has raised more money this cycle than any other 2026 Modesto council candidate found in this dataset -- despite facing no opponent.

Strengths

Deep institutional support -- $26,335 raised, $50,192.58 on hand, from real-estate/development interests, a builders' PAC, a safety union, and a PAC -- well beyond what this race needs.

Trade-offs

Running unopposed removes any competitive pressure to explain that fundraising or spending to voters directly, since there is no opposing campaign forcing the contrast.

Keep in mind

A large campaign war chest ahead of an uncontested race can also be read as preparation for future office, not necessarily this one -- this dataset found no statement from Bavaro about his plans for the funds.

Source review: Very strong (90/100) · 6 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • stanvote.gov (opens in a new tab)Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters -- official "Unofficial Candidate List," General Election Nov. 3, 2026 (document timestamped by the county 7:57 AM 8/31/2026): under "MUNICIPAL OFFICES / CITY OF MODESTO," lists exactly three contests -- Council Member, District 2 (Vote for 1: *Eric E. Alvarez, Jon Rodriguez, Juan Telles), Council Member, District 4 (Vote for 1: *Nick Bavaro), and Council Member, District 5 (Vote for 1: *Jeremiah Williams, Jared Sylvia) -- with no Modesto Mayor contest and no county-level Stanislaus office anywhere in the document.
  • modestogov.com (opens in a new tab)City of Modesto -- own "2026 General Municipal Election" page: confirms "Council Districts 2, 4, and 5" are up in November 2026, that the Mayor is "elected at-large on a nonpartisan basis for four-year terms" and not on this ballot, and gives the candidate nomination period (July 13 - Aug. 7, 2026).
  • modestogov.com (opens in a new tab)City of Modesto -- own "Election Candidate List - Sign Up List" page (the City Clerk's real-time filing record): District 2 -- Eric E. Alvarez (incumbent, filed 7/29/2026), Juan Telles (filed 8/6/2026), Jon Rodriguez (filed 8/6/2026); District 4 -- Nick Bavaro (incumbent, filed 7/20/2026), plus Matthew Gonzalez and Tyler Anthony Slacks, both marked "DID NOT RETURN" their nomination papers; District 5 -- Jeremiah Williams (incumbent, filed 7/24/2026), Jared Sylvia (filed 8/6/2026) -- independently corroborates the county's roster and supplies exact filing dates.
  • modestogov.com (opens in a new tab)City of Modesto -- own "Council Members" page (live roster): Mayor Sue Zwahlen (at-large), District 1 Rosa Escutia-Braaton, District 2 Eric E. Alvarez, District 3 Chris Ricci, District 4 Nick Bavaro, District 5 Vice Mayor Jeremiah Williams, District 6 David Wright -- confirms the 6-district-plus-at-large-Mayor structure and that each incumbent listed above is the sitting officeholder for their district.
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia -- "Modesto, California": used narrowly for its 2020 Census population figure (218,464) and for confirming the council-manager government type and the at-large-Mayor/by-district-council structure; its named current officials were not used where the city's own live pages (see modesto-cityclerk-councilmembers-2026) could confirm the same facts more directly.
  • netfile.com (opens in a new tab)Nick Bavaro's committee ("Nick Bavaro For Modesto City Council District 4 2026") FPPC Form 460, semi-annual statement for 4/19-6/30/2026, filed 7/30/2026, downloaded via the City of Modesto's NetFile public API and read directly: $25,046 raised this period ($26,335 calendar-year-to-date) against $5,929.03 spent, leaving $50,192.58 cash on hand as of 6/30/2026 -- despite running unopposed. Itemized contributors include real-estate and development interests (Rubik Built LLC, Huber Family Ventures LLC, Tesoro Homes Inc, The Martino Land Development family limited partnership), the Building Industry Association of the Greater Valley PAC ($1,000), the Latino PAC of Stanislaus County ($3,000), the Modesto Police Officers Association ($1,000), and dozens of $100-500 contributions from Modesto residents and local business owners. The single largest expenditure is $3,879.33 to Events Unlimited, a Modesto events company.

Last updated September 1, 2026.