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City of Moreno Valley · Statewide General Election

Moreno Valley Mayor

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

Moreno Valley directly elects its Mayor citywide, separately from the City Council -- unlike most nearby cities, where the mayor's title rotates among sitting councilmembers. A 2-year term. The Mayor presides at Council meetings and votes as a full member of the 5-person body (Mayor plus 4 district councilmembers), which sets city ordinances, the budget, and land use; day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager.

Six candidates are on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Moreno Valley's directly elected Mayor, including incumbent Ulises Cabrera. Whoever gets the most votes wins outright -- there is no primary or runoff.

Moreno Valley elects its Mayor citywide, separately from the City Council -- unlike most nearby cities, where the mayor's title rotates among sitting councilmembers. Voters approved direct election of the office in 2014. It's a 2-year term: the Mayor presides at Council meetings and votes as a full member of the 5-person body (Mayor plus 4 district councilmembers) that sets city ordinances, the budget, and land use; day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager.

Cabrera, first elected mayor in 2022, has drawn independent scrutiny during this term: the City Council voted 3-2 to censure him in November 2022 following an investigation into a complaint from the then-city clerk, and he filed a November 2024 lawsuit against Flock Safety, the surveillance-technology company that employed him part time while he served as mayor, alleging he was asked to use his office to benefit the company. Both are covered in his profile below. No comparable independent reporting was found for any of his five opponents; their entries rely on the city's own certified candidate record alone.

Christopher Baca

Christopher Baca is a challenger running on the ballot designation "Community Volunteer." 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 "Community Volunteer."

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.

Ulises Cabrera

Ulises Cabrera is the incumbent, seeking a second term as Mayor. He was first elected in 2022. His record in office includes a November 2022 council censure and a November 2024 lawsuit against his part-time employer, Flock Safety, alleging he was asked to misuse his office -- both described in the contest overview above.

Strengths

Incumbency, and the name recognition and institutional experience that comes with a full term already served.

Trade-offs

A 2022 independent investigation found he made comments "that could have been perceived as threatening or intimidating" toward the then-city clerk; the Council censured him 3-2 on those findings.

Keep in mind

His Nov. 2024 lawsuit against Flock Safety, his part-time employer during his term, alleges he was asked to use his office to benefit the company; Flock denies wrongdoing. Both this and the 2022 censure are independently reported public record, not an opponent's claims.

Vanessa Renee Moore

Vanessa Renee Moore is a challenger running on the ballot designation "Business Owner." 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 "Business Owner."

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.

Rylee Joseph Peak

Rylee Joseph Peak is a challenger running on the ballot designation "City Commissioner." 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 "City Commissioner."

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.

Jaime Hurtado

Jaime Hurtado is a challenger running on the ballot designation "Business Owner." 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 "Business Owner."

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.

Patsy D. Brown

Patsy D. Brown is a challenger running on the ballot designation "Pastor / Professor / Administrator." 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 "Pastor / Professor / Administrator."

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 (92/100) · 8 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")
  • riversiderecord.org (opens in a new tab)The Riverside Record -- "Moreno Valley City Council Censures Councilman Ulises Cabrera" (Nov. 3, 2022): the Council voted 3-2 to censure Cabrera following a $24,000 independent investigation into a complaint from then-City Clerk Pat Jacquez-Nares, which found no unlawful discrimination, harassment, or retaliation but that Cabrera made comments "that could have been perceived as threatening or intimidating" and belittled her by ignoring her; Cabrera called the process politically motivated.
  • techcrunch.com (opens in a new tab)TechCrunch -- "Flock Safety quietly hired a sitting California mayor. Now he's suing Flock." (Jan. 8, 2025): Moreno Valley Mayor Ulises Cabrera worked as a paid Flock Safety Community Engagement Manager (Feb.-June 2024) while serving as mayor; his November 2024 lawsuit alleges a Flock employee asked him, about two weeks in, to use his mayoral position to benefit the company, and that he faced retaliation after raising the request with counsel and after flagging underreported surveillance cameras in Carmel-by-the-Sea; Flock denies the allegations and says it confirmed the arrangement complied with California conflict-of-interest law.

Last updated August 31, 2026.