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City of Montebello · Statewide General Election

Montebello City Council, District 4

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 Montebello's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, land use, and the budget.

Mayor Pro Tem Danielle Romero, appointed to the District 4 seat in February 2025, is running for her first election to the seat. She faces Rafael Gutierrez, a Montebello High School teacher and athletic director who served as the city's elected Treasurer from 2018 to 2022.

Whoever wins takes office in December for a four-year term on Montebello's five-member City Council, which sets city ordinances, decides land-use and development matters, and adopts the annual budget — work shared with the other four district representatives and the city staff who run day-to-day operations.

Romero is an appointed incumbent asking voters to make her tenure permanent at the ballot box for the first time; Gutierrez is a past citywide officeholder, in a different role, running to return to city government. Both have some record in Montebello government to evaluate — just not the same kind.

Danielle Romero

Danielle Romero is the appointed District 4 councilmember and current Mayor Pro Tem, an Army veteran and accredited Veteran Service Officer with the American Legion. She says she has worked on parks, public safety, infrastructure, and local business support since taking office, and will continue that work if elected. She was appointed to the seat in February 2025 and has not previously won a Montebello election.

Strengths

About a year and a half of hands-on experience in the seat already, and a specific list of issue areas — parks, safety, infrastructure, local business — she says she's worked on while appointed.

Trade-offs

She has never won a Montebello election; her only time in the seat has been by council appointment, so this is voters' first chance to weigh in on her directly.

Keep in mind

Her ballot designation, "Veteran Advocate/Councilmember," and her statement both describe continuing an existing agenda rather than proposing a new one — weigh her record in the seat alongside her platform. She has no NetFile campaign-finance filer record on file.

Rafael Gutierrez

Rafael Gutierrez is a 45-year Montebello resident, Montebello High School teacher and athletic director, and 20-year varsity baseball coach who served as the city's elected Treasurer from 2018 to 2022. He says he'll focus on infrastructure, responsible housing, parks, and attracting new businesses. He previously held citywide elected office in Montebello, though not a council seat.

Strengths

A prior citywide win as Treasurer (2018-2022) and 45 years as a Montebello resident and teacher give him a longer public record in the city than most first-time candidates running this cycle.

Trade-offs

His prior office was Treasurer, a financial-administration role, not a legislative seat — that record speaks less directly to the land-use and ordinance work District 4's council seat actually does.

Keep in mind

His statement does not say why he left the Treasurer's office in 2022 or what he has done in city government since; it covers his community and coaching work in the years between. He has a NetFile campaign-finance filer record; its detail was not reviewed for this guide.

Source review: Very strong (92/100) · 4 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 31, 2026.