# Modesto City Council, District 4

Nick Bavaro is running uncontested for Modesto City Council, District 4. Full ballot at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person would represent one of Modesto's six City Council districts. They vote on city laws, the budget, and land use. Modesto is Stanislaus County's largest city and county seat. It has 218,464 residents. A professional city manager runs day-to-day operations. The elected council sets city policy. The Mayor is elected citywide to a 4-year term. The Mayor's seat is not on this ballot. The six council seats are elected by district for staggered 4-year terms. Districts 2, 4, and 5 are up this November.

- Jurisdiction: City of Modesto
- Election: November 3, 2026 California general election
- Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements.
- Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/modesto-council-4
- Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/
- Sources last retrieved: October 7, 2026
- Source-objectivity score: 87 out of 100 (Strong), across 7 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology

## On the ballot

- **Nick Bavaro** — Modesto City Councilmember · Incumbent

A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

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 its county seat. It has about 218,464 residents, per the 2020 Census. The city has a council-manager government. The Mayor is elected at-large. Six Council seats are elected by district to 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 obtained nomination papers from the City Clerk. They were Matthew Gonzalez and Tyler Anthony Slacks. Neither filed the papers, per the city's own candidate-filing record. No city resolution or notice canceling the District 4 election was found. So it stays a live, single-candidate contest on the ballot. It is not a vacancy filled by appointment.

Bavaro has no opponent. Their campaign kept raising and spending money through this period. Their committee's cash position is the largest of any 2026 Modesto council candidate found, contested or not. It leads by a wide margin.

## Nick Bavaro

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

**Strengths:** Deep institutional support, with $26,335 raised and $50,192.58 on hand. Donors include real estate and development interests. A builders' PAC, a safety union, and a PAC also gave.

**Trade-offs:** Running unopposed removes any competitive pressure to explain that fundraising or spending to voters. No opposing campaign is forcing the contrast.

**Keep in mind:** Bavaro has a large war chest ahead of an uncontested race. That can be read as preparation for a future office, not this one. No statement from Bavaro about their plans for the funds was found.

## Sources

1. [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.](https://www.stanvote.gov/pdf/candidate-list.pdf)
2. [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).](https://www.modestogov.com/399/City-Election-Information)
3. [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.](https://www.modestogov.com/411/Election-Candidate-List---Sign-Up-List)
4. [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.](https://www.modestogov.com/706/Council-Members)
5. [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.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modesto,_California)
6. [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.](https://netfile.com/api/public/sites/api/CampaignDocuments/download/217114982?aid=MOD&name=Bavaro&date=2026-07-30&form=460)
7. [League of Women Voters -- Vote411 voter guide, 'City of Modesto City Council Member, District 4' race (statewide All Races list): each candidate's self-submitted ballot designation and campaign contacts, plus answers to the League's questions -- If elected, what are your top 3 priorities?; What background, experience and/or education qualify you for this elected office? No answers were on file at capture. Capture in data/nov-2026/sources/vote411/modesto-council-4.json.](https://www.vote411.org/plan-your-vote)

## The rest of the ballot

Modesto City Council, District 4 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/

## How to cite this page

Vote or Else, "Modesto City Council, District 4 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/modesto-council-4 (sources last retrieved October 7, 2026).

Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.