# Norwalk City Council Compare records and positions simply between Nikolas Woods, Rachell Jaimes, Tony Ayala, and 3 more for Norwalk City Council at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds one of Norwalk's five at-large City Council seats. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land-use and zoning decisions. The term is four years. - Jurisdiction: City of Norwalk - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Seats: 2 - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/norwalk-council - 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: August 31, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 76 out of 100 (Mixed), across 12 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Nikolas Woods** - **Rachell Jaimes** - **Tony Ayala** — Incumbent - **Richard LeGaspi** - **Leonard Shryock** - **Daniel Moreno** A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Two of Norwalk's five City Council seats are up this cycle: incumbent Tony Ayala faces five challengers -- Rachell Jaimes, Richard LeGaspi, Daniel Moreno, Leonard Shryock, and Nikolas Woods -- for the two at-large seats, each elected to a 4-year term. This person holds one of five at-large seats on Norwalk's City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land-use and zoning decisions. The term is four years. The council doesn't elect its mayor directly -- members choose one of their own to serve as mayor each year, presiding over meetings but casting only one vote like every other member. Day-to-day operations run through a city manager the council appoints. The six candidates carry very different public records: one incumbent with 35 years in city government, one former councilmember returning after leaving the seat in 2020, one first-time candidate with a detailed public platform, and two candidates for whom this research found no public campaign presence at all. Weighing documented experience against a field that is, for some candidates, entirely undocumented is this race's central question. ## Tony Ayala Tony Ayala is the incumbent, first elected to the council in 2017 after 35 years in Norwalk city government, most recently as the city's Public Information Officer. His own bio names including the public in decisions and being open to revisiting past ones as his approach to the job. He served as Mayor in 2024-25 and Vice Mayor in 2020 and 2023, making him the only sitting councilmember on this year's ballot. **Strengths:** 35 years in Norwalk city government, including as Social Services Center Coordinator and Senior Center Manager, plus terms as Mayor and Vice Mayor. **Trade-offs:** The only incumbent on this ballot, so his 35-year city career and recent stint as Mayor come with an existing record of decisions to weigh. **Keep in mind:** He was Mayor in 2024-25 and Vice Mayor in 2020 and 2023; his own bio says effective public service means being open to new ideas and revisiting past decisions. ## Rachell Jaimes Rachell Jaimes is one of six candidates running for Norwalk's two open City Council seats. No stated platform could be found for them candidacy. Their name appears only on the city's own qualified-candidates list; no campaign website, social media account, or news coverage was found. **Strengths:** No documented professional, civic, or campaign background was found beyond their name on the city's own qualified-candidates list. **Trade-offs:** No stated platform was found -- a voter has no public statement of their priorities to weigh. **Keep in mind:** No campaign website, social media, local news coverage, or campaign-finance filing was found under their name as of this retrieval -- a documented absence, not a claim about their candidacy. ## Richard LeGaspi Richard LeGaspi is a Norwalk resident who previously sought a seat on the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified school board in 2021, when they were endorsed by then-Mayor Jennifer Perez. No stated 2026 council platform was found for their candidacy. They have registered a 2026 campaign committee, 'LeGaspi Norwalk City Council 2026' -- see Financial info. **Strengths:** A prior run for local office -- the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified school board in 2021 -- with an endorsement from then-Mayor Jennifer Perez. **Trade-offs:** No stated 2026 platform was found -- a voter has no public statement of their City Council priorities to weigh. **Keep in mind:** Their 2021 school board race's outcome was not confirmed in this research; cited only for the endorsement, not as a record of office held. ## Daniel Moreno Daniel Moreno is one of six candidates running for Norwalk's two open City Council seats. No stated platform could be found for their candidacy. Their name appears only on the city's own qualified-candidates list; no campaign website, social media account, or news coverage was found. **Strengths:** No documented professional, civic, or campaign background was found beyond their name on the city's own qualified-candidates list. **Trade-offs:** No stated platform was found -- a voter has no public statement of their priorities to weigh. **Keep in mind:** No campaign website, social media, local news coverage, or campaign-finance filing was found under their name as of this retrieval -- a documented absence, not a claim about their candidacy. ## Leonard Shryock Leonard Shryock previously served on the Norwalk City Council before not seeking reelection in 2020, per contemporaneous local reporting. No stated 2026 platform was found for their current run. They now teach math at Norwalk High School and hold a Master's in Educational Administration from Cal State, per their own public profile. **Strengths:** Prior City Council experience, and a current career teaching in the community as a Norwalk High School math teacher. **Trade-offs:** No stated 2026 platform was found -- a voter has no public statement of what they would prioritize this term. **Keep in mind:** They left the council after not seeking reelection in 2020, per contemporaneous local reporting, which did not report a reason for that decision. ## Nikolas Woods Nikolas Woods is a Lakeside Middle School teacher and 20-plus-year Norwalk resident making their first run for elected office. They're campaigning on public safety, street and infrastructure repair, fiscal transparency, and youth, senior, and small-business programs, per their own campaign site. They hold a bachelor's degree from CSU Dominguez Hills and a master's from San Jose State University. **Strengths:** A detailed nine-point platform and two decades living in Norwalk, with professional experience working with local families as a teacher. **Trade-offs:** No prior elected or appointed government experience -- their record is teaching and community ties, not City Hall administration. **Keep in mind:** Their platform names concrete goals across nine areas; as a first-time candidate they have no council voting record for a voter to check them against. ## Review notes - Richard LeGaspi, Nikolas Woods for Norwalk City Council, and Nikolas Woods (@woods4cc) may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources. ## Sources 1. [City of Norwalk — Notice of Election, November 3, 2026 (For Two Members of the City Council, full term of four years; no district language, confirming at-large seats; dated July 2, 2026)](https://www.norwalk.org/Documents/Departments%20&%20Services/City%20Clerk/Elections/Notice%20of%20Election_All%20languages-2026.pdf?t=202607021256160) 2. [City of Norwalk — Qualified Candidates, November 3, 2026 (the City Clerk's own 'Candidate List - public.pdf', naming all six qualified City Council candidates)](https://www.norwalk.org/Documents/Departments%20&%20Services/City%20Clerk/Elections/Candidate%20List%20-%20public.pdf?t=202608171135480) 3. [City of Norwalk — Getting Started: Candidate Information, General Municipal Election, November 3, 2026 (City Clerk's own candidate-info booklet: two at-large seats open, optional 200-word candidate statement, and FPPC direct-filing effective Jan. 1, 2025)](https://www.norwalk.org/Documents/Departments%20&%20Services/City%20Clerk/Elections/Getting%20Started-Candidate%20Information-2026.pdf?t=202602051614010) 4. [City of Norwalk — Mayor and City Council (official roster: five members elected at-large to four-year overlapping terms; Mayor chosen by the council for a one-year term)](https://www.norwalk.org/government/mayor_and_city_council/index.php) 5. [City of Norwalk — Councilmember Tony Ayala (official bio: first elected 2017; 35 years of city employment; Mayor 2024-25; Vice Mayor 2020 and 2023)](https://www.norwalk.org/government/mayor_and_city_council/ayala.php) 6. [Whittier Daily News — 'Elections 2020: This is the hottest issue in the race for the Norwalk...' by Mike Sprague (names Leonard Shryock as a sitting councilman not seeking reelection)](https://www.whittierdailynews.com/2020/02/04/elections-2020-this-is-the-hottest-issue-in-the-race-for-the-norwalk-city-council/) 7. [The Ballot Book — City of Norwalk 2026 candidates (unofficial, automated-monitoring aggregator; independently lists the identical six-candidate roster)](https://theballotbook.com/jurisdictions/823/candidates) 8. [The Ballot Book — City of Norwalk campaign finance: LeGaspi Norwalk City Council 2026 (registered committee; three logged late contributions; no Form 460 report yet)](https://theballotbook.com/jurisdictions/823/local_campaign_committees/11133) 9. [Nikolas Woods for Norwalk City Council — campaign site (nine-point platform; teacher at Lakeside Middle School; BA CSU Dominguez Hills, MA San Jose State University; 20-plus years in Norwalk)](https://votewoods.org) 10. [Nikolas Woods (@woods4cc) — campaign Instagram account announcing his candidacy Aug. 18, 2026](https://www.instagram.com/woods4cc/) 11. [Richard LeGaspi — own Facebook posts, July 2021 (seeking a seat on the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified school board; names the endorsement of then-Mayor Jennifer Perez)](https://www.facebook.com/posts/i-am-honored-to-have-the-support-of) 12. [Leonard Shryock — own Facebook profile (Math Teacher at Norwalk High; MS Educational Administration, California State University)](https://www.facebook.com/leonard.shryock) ## The rest of the ballot Norwalk City Council 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, "Norwalk City Council — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/norwalk-council (sources last retrieved August 31, 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.