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City of Montebello · Statewide General Election

Montebello City Council, District 5

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.

Councilmember Ric Alonzo, appointed to the District 5 seat in January 2025, is running for his first election to the seat. He faces James Santana, a small-business owner and former chair of the city's Parks and Recreation Commission.

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.

Like the District 4 race next door, this pits an appointed incumbent making his first appeal to voters against a first-time candidate with a different kind of city experience — an appointed council seat against service on an advisory commission. Both district priorities and citywide council powers are on the ballot here.

Ricardo "Ric" Alonzo

Ric Alonzo is the appointed District 5 councilmember, an engineer who was appointed to the seat in January 2025. He points to a police community resource center, refurbished park restrooms, a community garden, and repaved streets in South Montebello during his time in office, and says he'll keep working on the same issues. He has not previously won a Montebello election.

Strengths

About a year and a half of hands-on experience already in the seat, and a specific, itemized list of completed projects — a resource center, park repairs, a community garden — he points to.

Trade-offs

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

Keep in mind

He describes his approach as strictly procedural — reading every staff report, voting independently — a style claim, not a policy commitment; his project list is the more checkable part of his case. He has filed only a candidate statement and a committee registration.

James Santana

James Santana is a small-business owner and homeowner in Montebello who chaired the city's Parks and Recreation Commission and founded a civic group, MontebelloUnited. He says he'll hold monthly District 5 office hours, create a commission for seniors and caregivers, and weigh every contract and budget item against residents' interests. He has not previously held elected office in Montebello.

Strengths

Direct civic experience chairing the Parks and Recreation Commission and founding a neighbors' group, plus more than 20 years of business and community involvement in District 5 specifically.

Trade-offs

No prior elected office, and his commission chairmanship, while real city experience, carries no vote on ordinances or the budget the way a council seat does.

Keep in mind

His statement commits to specific, checkable steps — monthly office hours, a seniors' commission — which gives voters a concrete promise to hold him to if elected. 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.