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City of Moreno Valley · Statewide General Election

Moreno Valley 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 Moreno Valley's 4-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. A 4-year term, staggered so only two of the four districts are up in any given November. Moreno Valley's Mayor is directly elected citywide to a separate 2-year term -- unlike most nearby cities, where the mayor's title rotates among sitting councilmembers -- and day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager.

Incumbent Cheylynda Barnard faces two challengers, Nikita Wilson and Steven Granda Alvarado, for Moreno Valley's District 4 City Council seat on the November 3, 2026 ballot. Whoever gets the most votes wins a four-year term; there is no primary or runoff.

This person holds your district's seat on Moreno Valley's 4-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. A 4-year term, staggered so only two of the four districts are up in any given November. Moreno Valley's Mayor is directly elected citywide to a separate 2-year term -- unlike most nearby cities, where the mayor's title rotates among sitting councilmembers -- and day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager.

Barnard's incumbency is confirmed against the city's own current council roster. No independent news coverage, campaign site, or biographical detail beyond each candidate's own ballot designation was found for any of the three despite targeted searches for each by name.

Nikita Wilson

Nikita Wilson is a challenger running on the ballot designation "Caregiver." No independent biography, occupation detail, or platform statement was found for them beyond the city's own certified candidate record.

Strengths

None could be independently confirmed in this research pass beyond the ballot designation "Caregiver."

Trade-offs

No independent biography, professional background, or stated platform was found beyond that designation.

Keep in mind

With no public record of their priorities beyond the ballot designation, this is a vote based on that stated designation alone, not a documented record.

Cheylynda Barnard

Cheylynda Barnard is the incumbent District 4 councilmember, seeking another term. The city's own current council roster confirms she holds the seat. No independent biography, occupation detail, or platform statement beyond her ballot designation was found for her.

Strengths

Already serving in the seat, which gives her institutional continuity and name recognition if reelected.

Trade-offs

No independent biography, professional background, or stated platform was found for her beyond her incumbency and ballot designation.

Keep in mind

With no public record of her priorities beyond continuing in office, this is in part a vote on continuity itself.

Steven Granda Alvarado

Steven Granda Alvarado is a challenger running on the ballot designation "Businessowner / Nonprofit Cofounder." No independent biography, occupation detail, or platform statement was found for them beyond the city's own certified candidate record.

Strengths

None could be independently confirmed in this research pass beyond the ballot designation "Businessowner / Nonprofit Cofounder."

Trade-offs

No independent biography, professional background, or stated platform was found beyond that designation.

Keep in mind

With no public record of their priorities beyond the ballot designation, this is a vote based on that stated designation alone, not a documented record.

Source review: Very strong (90/100) · 6 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • moval.org (opens in a new tab)City of Moreno Valley -- "City Council" government page: "In 2014, voters approved the direct election of a City Mayor"; describes a directly elected, at-large Mayor plus a 4-member City Council elected by district, and lists the current roster (Mayor Ulises Cabrera; District 1, Elena Baca-Santa Cruz; District 2, Ed A. Delgado; District 3, Erlan Gonzalez, Mayor Pro Tem; District 4, Cheylynda Barnard). Fetched directly, with no bot-blocking.
  • moval.org (opens in a new tab)City of Moreno Valley -- City Clerk "General Election Info" page: the Mayor serves a 2-year term elected at large; Councilmembers serve staggered 4-year terms by district; general municipal elections are held in even-numbered years; for November 3, 2026 the offices up are the Mayor and the District 2 and District 4 Council seats.
  • moval.org (opens in a new tab)City of Moreno Valley -- City Clerk "2026 Election" page: November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election overview naming all 6 Mayoral candidates (Jaime Hurtado, Ulises Cabrera, Rylee Joseph Peak, Christopher Baca, Patsy Brown, Vanessa Moore) and all 3 candidates each for District 2 (David Zeitz, Liza Arellano, JoAnn Martinez Stephan) and District 4 (Nikita Wilson, Cheylynda Barnard, Steven Granda Alvarado), with links to each candidate's FPPC campaign-finance disclosure forms.
  • moval.org (opens in a new tab)City of Moreno Valley -- City Clerk-certified "Candidate List, November 3 2026 General Election" (signed and dated August 27, 2026): the qualified-candidates-only roster for Mayor, City Council District 2 and City Council District 4, with each candidate's ballot designation and randomized ballot-order number.
  • moval.org (opens in a new tab)City of Moreno Valley -- City Clerk "2026 Candidate Information" tracker, "List of Nomination Papers Issued and Filed for Members of the City Council: Mayor, District 2 and District 4" (updated August 7, 2026): the same 12 candidates as the certified candidate list, with each one's nomination-paper pull, filing, and Registrar-of-Voters qualification dates.
  • voteinfo.net (opens in a new tab)Riverside County Registrar of Voters — 2026 Annual Election Calendar (lists every November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election office by city, including "City of Cathedral City: City Council District 3 / District 4 / District 5 / City Treasurer")

Last updated August 31, 2026.