# National City Council, District 3 Compare records and positions simply between Jerry Cano, Edward Nieto, or Ditas Yamane for National City Council, District 3 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat on National City's 5-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside the citywide-elected mayor. The term is four years. - Jurisdiction: City of National City - 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/national-city-council-3 - 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: September 3, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 89 out of 100 (Strong), across 8 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Jerry Cano** — Environmental Protection Specialist - **Edward Nieto** — Retired Governmental Accountant - **Ditas Yamane** — Councilmember/Businesswoman/Mother · Incumbent A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Incumbent Councilmember Ditas Yamane is District 3's first-ever officeholder, after several earlier election losses. She faces two challengers, Jerry Cano and Edward Nieto. The district was drawn in 2021 with a heavily Filipino population. There is no primary. Whichever candidate gets the most votes on November 3 wins the seat outright. This seat holds one of National City's four district seats on a 5-member City Council that also includes the citywide-elected mayor: city ordinances, the budget, and land-use decisions. The term is four years. National City adopted district elections in December 2021 after an attorney threatened a California Voting Rights Act suit over at-large dilution of Filipino and other API voters' influence; District 3 was drawn as a heavily Filipino district, per the San Diego Reader's reporting on the city's Filipino-Mexican political dynamics. ## Ditas Yamane The incumbent is a real-estate broker and longtime National City resident born in the Philippines. She lost council bids in 2010 and 2020. She also lost a mayoral bid in 2018 and a city treasurer bid in 2016. She then won District 3's first-ever election in 2022. That made her the first Filipino councilmember elected in the city in over a decade. She also serves on the Sweetwater Authority board. **Strengths:** One full council term since 2022 and a broader local network from repeated prior campaigns. She also holds a concurrent Sweetwater Authority board seat representing National City. **Trade-offs:** Four prior election losses before finally winning in 2022. Two were for council, one for mayor, and one for treasurer. That is a longer path to office than either challenger has attempted. **Keep in mind:** Her campaign site offers only a brief tagline about neighborhood safety. No detailed platform is posted. ## Jerry Cano A repeat candidate for this seat. California campaign-finance records show prior council runs in 2012 and 2016, both terminated committees. Their ballot designation is "Environmental Protection Specialist." Beyond that, no independent news profile, campaign website, or 2026 CAL-ACCESS committee was found for them. **Strengths:** Two prior council campaigns in 2012 and 2016. They give Cano more electoral experience in this specific race than fellow challenger Nieto. **Trade-offs:** Two prior losses, and no 2026 campaign committee found with the state. They may be self-funding below the filing threshold, or not yet registered. **Keep in mind:** No campaign website, news coverage, or voter-guide profile was found for them. That is an honest gap, not evidence about their level of support. ## Edward Nieto A first-time candidate for this seat, as far as California campaign-finance records show. No prior committee under their name was found. Their ballot designation is "Retired Governmental Accountant." Beyond that, no independent news profile or campaign website was found for them. **Strengths:** An active, registered 2026 campaign committee with the state, unlike fellow challenger Cano. **Trade-offs:** No prior campaign or elected office was found in National City. No CAL-ACCESS Form 460, 461 or 450 has been filed yet this cycle to show fundraising. **Keep in mind:** No campaign website, news coverage, or voter-guide profile was found for them. That is an honest gap, not evidence about their level of support. ## Review notes - Ditas Yamane's own re-election campaign site may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources. ## Sources 1. [County of San Diego Registrar of Voters — Candidate List, November 3, 2026 General Election](https://www.sdvote.com/content/dam/rov/en/election/nov-3-2026-gubernatorial-general-election/candidate-list.pdf) 2. [City of National City, City Clerk — Election 2026: confirms Mayor and City Council Districts 1 and 3 as the city's November 3, 2026 General Election races, and that districts were adopted in Dec. 2021](https://www.nationalcityca.gov/government/city-clerk) 3. [City of National City — Mayor and City Council: names the sitting Mayor and all four district council members (Molina D1, Rodriguez D2, Yamane D3, Bush D4) ahead of the 2026 election](https://www.nationalcityca.gov/government/mayor-and-council) 4. [Voice of San Diego — South County Report: "Voters Prefer Insiders" (2026-06-11): confirms National City held no June primary for its 2026 municipal races](https://voiceofsandiego.org/2026/06/11/south-county-report-voters-prefer-insiders/) 5. [San Diego Reader — "Filipinos and Mexicans struggle for power in National City" (Adam Behar, 2024-06-05): National City's Dec. 2021 switch to district elections, District 3 drawn as a heavily Filipino district, and Ditas Yamane's path to becoming the first Filipino councilmember elected in over a decade after prior losing runs for council, mayor, and treasurer](https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2024/jun/05/cover-philipino-flex/) 6. [Ditas Yamane's own re-election campaign site](https://ditasyamane.com/) 7. [California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS — filer/committee search: an ACTIVE 2026 committee for Ditas Yamane ("Yamane Council 2026; Re-Elect Ditas," Filer #1486832) and for Edward Nieto ("Nieto for National City Council 2026; Ed," Filer #1487658), neither with an e-filed Form 460/461/450 this cycle as of retrieval; Jerry Cano carries only terminated committees from 2012 and 2016 council runs, no 2026 committee found](https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/list.aspx) 8. [City of National City eFile — public campaign-disclosure search](https://efile.nationalcityca.gov/public/search/campaign/by-name) ## The rest of the ballot National City Council, District 3 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, "National City Council, District 3 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/national-city-council-3 (sources last retrieved September 3, 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.