# Mayor of National City Compare records and positions simply between Jacobb Castrejon, Ruble Mitchel Beauchamp, Marcus Bush, and 1 more for Mayor of National City at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person presides over City Council meetings and represents National City publicly. They vote as one of five members on the budget and city laws. An appointed city manager runs day-to-day government. National City's mayor is the only council member elected citywide. The others are elected by district. 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-mayor - 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: 93 out of 100 (Very strong), across 11 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Jacobb Castrejon** — Stem-Enrichment Instructor - **Ruble Mitchel Beauchamp** — Biological Consultant - **Marcus Bush** — Councilmember - **Jose Rodriguez** — Councilmember, City of National City A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Mayor Ron Morrison, in office most of the last three decades, announced a surprise retirement in mid-August 2026, just before the filing deadline — turning an expected Morrison-Rodriguez rematch into an open-seat race among four candidates, including two sitting councilmembers, Marcus Bush and Jose Rodriguez. National City's mayor presides over City Council meetings and represents the city publicly, but votes as one of five members on the budget and city ordinances — day-to-day government runs through an appointed city manager. It's the only council seat elected citywide rather than by district. The term is four years. No incumbent is running: this is a genuinely open seat. Bush and Rodriguez both list "Councilmember" as their ballot designation rather than "Mayor," since neither currently holds the office. Morrison has endorsed Bush; Rodriguez is endorsed by the county Democratic Party, the county's labor council, and County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre. ## Ruble Mitchel Beauchamp National City's sitting City Treasurer, an elected office he's held since 1994. A career biological consultant and botanist — he wrote "A Flora of San Diego County" (1986) — and a Navy veteran, per the South Bay Historical Society's biography of him. He has not held a City Council seat or the mayor's office. **Strengths:** 32 years as an elected official (City Treasurer since 1994) and a longtime National City resident with deep roots in local civic life. **Trade-offs:** No City Council or executive experience — a career in a financial, not policymaking, office leaves an open question about the switch to mayor. **Keep in mind:** He has no campaign website, news profile, or CAL-ACCESS committee found for this run — a documented information gap, not a claim about his level of support. ## Marcus Bush A District 4 councilmember first elected in 2020 and a former UNITE HERE Local 30 union organizer, now a project manager building affordable housing at MAAC. The first Afro-Latino, first Millennial, and first openly bisexual councilmember in San Diego County; endorsed by outgoing Mayor Morrison. **Strengths:** Six years on the council, affordable-housing project experience at MAAC, and Morrison's endorsement heading into an open seat. **Trade-offs:** No mayoral or citywide-executive experience; his current seat is District 4, not a citywide office. **Keep in mind:** A separate, unrelated recall committee against him as councilmember is active in state filings — distinct from this mayoral race, noted for transparency, not as a claim about the recall's merits. ## Jacobb Castrejon A grassroots organizer and STEM enrichment instructor who entered the race late, in August 2026. Beyond their ballot designation, no independent news profile, campaign website, or state campaign-finance filing was found for them despite a dedicated search — a documented gap in this race's information. **Strengths:** A UC San Diego social-psychology background and community-organizing experience, per coverage of their late campaign entry. **Trade-offs:** No prior campaign or elected office found in National City, and no policy platform beyond their candidacy announcement was located. **Keep in mind:** No CAL-ACCESS committee, campaign site, or independent news coverage was found for them after a real search effort — an honest gap, not evidence they lack support. ## Jose Rodriguez A District 2 councilmember since 2020 who lost the 2022 mayoral race to Morrison by 68 votes. His platform centers on affordable housing, more police officers, and street and park repairs. He was censured 3-2 by his own council colleagues in 2024 over alleged misuse of city resources, which he denies. **Strengths:** Six years on the council, a near-miss 2022 mayoral bid, and endorsements from the county Democratic Party, the labor council, and County Supervisor Aguirre. **Trade-offs:** A 2024 council censure over alleged misuse of city resources and disclosure of closed-session information, which he disputes. **Keep in mind:** The censure was a 3-2 council vote, not a criminal or ethics finding; he denies the underlying allegations, and this dataset states both the vote and his denial rather than one alone. ## 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. [Voice of San Diego — "Last-Minute Changes Shake Up South County Races" (2026-08-13): Mayor Ron Morrison's surprise retirement just before the filing deadline, Jacobb Castrejon's late entry into the Mayor's race, and Beauchamp as a lower-profile Mayor candidate](https://voiceofsandiego.org/2026/08/13/last-minute-changes-shake-up-south-county-races/) 6. [San Diego Union-Tribune — "Morrison's exit sets up bruising National City race between Bush and Rodriguez for mayor" (2026-08-23); paywalled beyond its opening paragraphs as retrieved](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/08/23/morrisons-exit-sets-up-bruising-national-city-race-between-bush-and-rodriguez-for-mayor/) 7. [Voice of San Diego — "Mayoral Hopeful Seeks New Era for National City" (2026-02-10): an in-depth profile of Jose Rodriguez's background, platform, and 2022 near-miss loss to Morrison, also covering Marcus Bush's entry into the race](https://voiceofsandiego.org/2026/02/10/mayoral-hopeful-seeks-new-era-for-national-city/) 8. [FOX 5 San Diego — County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre endorses Jose Rodriguez for National City Mayor](https://fox5sandiego.com/election/aguirre-endorses-rodriguez-national-city/) 9. [South Bay Historical Society — Ruble Mitchel "Mitch" Beauchamp biography: National City's sitting City Treasurer (elected office since 1994), a career biological consultant/botanist, author of "A Flora of San Diego County" (1986), and a Navy veteran](https://southbayhistoricalsociety.org/about-us/mitch-beauchamp/) 10. [California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS — filer/committee search for the four National City Mayor candidates: ACTIVE 2026 committees for Marcus Bush ("Bush for National City Mayor, 2026," Filer #1494661) and Jose Rodriguez ("Rodriguez for Mayor 2026; Jose," Filer #1483083), neither with an e-filed Form 460/461/450 this cycle as of retrieval; no 2026 committee found for Ruble Mitchel Beauchamp or Jacobb Castrejon](https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/list.aspx) 11. [City of National City eFile — public campaign-disclosure search](https://efile.nationalcityca.gov/public/search/campaign/by-name) ## The rest of the ballot Mayor of National City 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, "Mayor of National City — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/national-city-mayor (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.