# Monrovia City Council Compare records and positions simply between Tamala P. Kelly, Larry J. Spicer, or Jesus Rojas for Monrovia City Council at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds one of two at-large seats up this cycle on Monrovia's 5-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The term is four years. - Jurisdiction: City of Monrovia - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Seats: 2 - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/monrovia-council - 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: September 3, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 88 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 - **Tamala P. Kelly** — Incumbent - **Larry J. Spicer** — Incumbent - **Jesus Rojas** A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Three candidates are running for Monrovia's two at-large City Council seats: incumbents Tamala P. Kelly and Larry J. Spicer against challenger Jesus Rojas, an El Monte police corporal making his second run at a council seat. Vote for up to two — no primary. Council seats carry 4-year terms. Winners join the mayor as five votes on city ordinances, the budget, and land use, with day-to-day operations run by an appointed city manager rather than any single elected official. Kelly, elected in 2022, and Spicer, in his fourth term since 2013, are running together as the sitting council's incumbents and are not opposing each other. Rojas is the only challenger, so the practical choice in a two-seat field of three is whether his policing background should replace one of the incumbents rather than which incumbent to keep. ## Tamala P. Kelly The incumbent, elected to the council in 2022 and Mayor Pro Tem from 2024 to 2026 — the first African American woman elected to the Monrovia City Council. Kelly names public safety, affordable housing, preserving Monrovia's character, and fiscal responsibility and transparency as their priorities (per the city's official bio). They are also an associate college professor and CEO of Empower 2 Purpose, Inc., a nonprofit they and their husband founded. **Strengths:** A first term that already includes the Mayor Pro Tem post, plus outside roles with the Cal Cities African American Caucus and the Immigration Resource Center of San Gabriel Valley. **Trade-offs:** One term in office is a shorter record than running mate Spicer's to weigh Kelly's stated priorities against. **Keep in mind:** Kelly and Spicer are running together, not against each other; the real choice in this field is whether Rojas' policing background should replace one of them. ## Larry J. Spicer The incumbent, elected to the council in 2013 and now in his fourth term, having served three stints as Mayor Pro Tem. He names public safety, homelessness, transportation, senior programs and affordable housing as his priorities (per the city's official bio). A U.S. Army veteran and lifelong Monrovian, he served one term on the Planning Commission before his council election. **Strengths:** The longest council tenure in this field, since 2013 with three terms as Mayor Pro Tem, plus regional-board seats spanning transit, workforce development and county sanitation. **Trade-offs:** 13 years in office is a long incumbency to weigh against a voter's appetite for a fresh council voice. **Keep in mind:** He and Kelly are running together, not against each other; the real choice in this field is whether Rojas' policing background should replace one of them. ## Jesus Rojas A challenger and Corporal with the El Monte Police Department, where he has served about 20 years; he holds no city office and finished out of the running in a March 2024 Monrovia council race (per Ballotpedia). At a 2024 candidates forum he described a public-safety platform: an armored vehicle for Monrovia PD, more license-plate reading cameras, and more police presence on school campuses and Metro trains (per Monrovia Now). In 2025 the Peace Officers Association of LA County gave him its Centurion Award for community policing, for programs including a Citizens Academy and National Night Out events (per the Mid Valley News). **Strengths:** A 20-year policing career built on community-based programs, capped by a 2025 countywide award for that work. **Trade-offs:** No elected or appointed government experience, and an unsuccessful council bid in his only prior run, in March 2024. **Keep in mind:** His platform is the most specific of the three on public-safety hardware; whether that translates to the rest of the job — budget, land use, general council work — is untested. ## Sources 1. [Monrovia City Clerk — Certified Qualified Candidates list, November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election (published 8/7/26)](https://www.monroviaca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/41152/639217168700800000) 2. [City of Monrovia — Meet the City Council (official officeholder bios)](https://www.monroviaca.gov/your-government/city-council/meet-the-city-council) 3. [Monrovia Now — Here are the city and school district candidates for the Nov. 3 election (2026-08-17)](https://www.monrovianow.com/2026/08/here-are-city-and-school-district.html) 4. [Monrovia Now — City Council and mayoral candidates (2024 forum recap, February 2024)](http://www.monrovianow.com/2024/02/city-council-and-mayoral-candidates.html) 5. [Ballotpedia — Jesus Rojas (Monrovia City Council At-Large, California, candidate 2024)](https://ballotpedia.org/Jesus_Rojas_(Monrovia_City_Council_At-Large,_California,_candidate_2024)) 6. [The Mid Valley News — Solis Honors El Monte Officer for Community Policing](https://midvalleynews.com/solis-honors-el-monte-officer-for-community-policing/) 7. [City of Monrovia NetFile public campaign-disclosure portal -- candidate searches and filed 2026 campaign forms](https://netfile.com/public/MON/campaign/) ## The rest of the ballot Monrovia City Council 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, "Monrovia City Council — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/monrovia-council (sources last retrieved September 3, 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.