# Montebello City Council, District 4 Compare records and positions simply between Danielle Romero or Rafael Gutierrez for Montebello City Council, District 4 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat on Montebello's 5-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, land use, and the budget. - Jurisdiction: City of Montebello - 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/montebello-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: August 31, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 92 out of 100 (Very strong), across 4 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Danielle Romero** — Veteran Advocate/Councilmember · Incumbent - **Rafael Gutierrez** — Teacher A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Mayor Pro Tem Danielle Romero, appointed to the District 4 seat in February 2025, is running for their first election to the seat. Romero 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. Montebello's City Council has five members. It sets city ordinances and adopts the annual budget. It also decides land use and development matters. That work is shared with the other four district representatives. It is also shared with the city staff who run day-to-day operations. Romero is an appointed incumbent. Romero is asking voters to elect them to the seat for the first time. Gutierrez is a past citywide officeholder in a different role. Gutierrez is running to return to city government. Both have some record in Montebello government to weigh. The two records are 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. They say they have worked on parks, public safety, infrastructure, and local business support since taking office, and will continue that work if elected. They were appointed to the seat in February 2025 and have 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 — they say they have worked on while appointed. **Trade-offs:** Romero has never won a Montebello election; their only time in the seat has been by council appointment, so this is voters' first chance to weigh in on them directly. **Keep in mind:** Romero's ballot designation, "Veteran Advocate/Councilmember," and their statement both describe continuing an existing agenda rather than proposing a new one — weigh their record in the seat alongside their platform. They have 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. They say they'll focus on infrastructure, responsible housing, parks, and attracting new businesses. They 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 Gutierrez a longer public record in the city than most first-time candidates running this cycle. **Trade-offs:** Their 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:** Their statement does not say why they left the Treasurer's office in 2022 or what they have done in city government since; it covers community and coaching work instead. They have a NetFile filer record; its detail was not reviewed for this guide. ## Sources 1. [City of Montebello — Certified List of Qualified Candidates, November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election (certified 2026-08-13)](https://www.montebelloca.gov/UserFiles/Servers/Server_58672/File/Departments/Administration/City%20Clerk's%20Office/Elections/2026/November%203,%202026%20-%20Certified%20List%20of%20Qualified%20Candidates..pdf) 2. [City of Montebello — Candidate statements filed for the November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election](https://www.montebelloca.gov/departments/administration/city_clerks_office/elections_voting_information/2026_general_election) 3. [City of Montebello — Elected Officials (current councilmembers, districts, and terms) and Mayors of Montebello](https://www.montebelloca.gov/government/elected_officials) 4. [City of Montebello — Public campaign-finance disclosure portal (NetFile)](https://netfile.com/public/BELLO/campaign) ## The rest of the ballot Montebello 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, "Montebello City Council, District 4 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/montebello-council-4 (sources last retrieved August 31, 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.