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City of Palmdale · Statewide General Election

Palmdale City Council, District 5

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 Palmdale's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. A 4-year term.

Three candidates are running for Palmdale's open District 5 council seat: Raycine Ector, Cynthia "Cyndi" Garcia and V. Jesse Smith. Incumbent Andrea Alarcón took out nomination papers but did not return them by the Aug. 7, 2026 deadline or its Aug. 12 incumbent-only extension, so no incumbent is on this ballot. Palmdale elects its council by district directly each November; there is no primary for these seats.

Council seats carry 4-year terms. The winner joins four other district representatives as one of five votes on city ordinances, the budget, and land use, with day-to-day operations run by an appointed city manager rather than any single elected official.

With no incumbent on the ballot, this is a choice entirely among first-time council candidates, and public information about all three is thin. Smith is the only one with any independent record: he ran citywide for Mayor of Palmdale in 2018.

V. Jesse Smith

A pastor and repeat Palmdale office-seeker: he ran for Mayor of Palmdale in the November 2018 general election, finishing third with 21.4% against incumbent James Ledford and winner Steve Hofbauer (per Ballotpedia). No platform for this 2026 council run has surfaced in public records or local coverage as of Aug. 31, 2026. He filed his nomination papers Aug. 3, 2026, according to the Antelope Valley Press.

Strengths

The only District 5 candidate with any independent public record — a citywide Mayor's race in 2018 that drew about a fifth of the vote.

Trade-offs

That 2018 result is his only electoral track record, and it was a loss; no council or appointed government experience.

Keep in mind

No platform for this specific council race has surfaced; his 2018 mayoral run does not by itself say what he would do on the council.

Cynthia “Cyndi” Garcia

One of three candidates on the open District 5 ballot. No campaign platform or biography has surfaced in the city's records or in local press coverage as of Aug. 31, 2026. She filed her nomination papers Aug. 3, 2026, according to the Antelope Valley Press.

Strengths

None documented from official sources or local coverage as of this writing.

Trade-offs

No public record exists to weigh her against the other two candidates.

Keep in mind

She filed her nomination papers Aug. 3, 2026, per the Antelope Valley Press; no other detail about her candidacy has surfaced.

Raycine Ector

One of three candidates on the open District 5 ballot, and the first of the three to qualify (Aug. 4, 2026, after returning nomination papers July 29). No campaign platform or biography has surfaced in the city's records or in local press coverage as of Aug. 31, 2026.

Strengths

The first of the three District 5 candidates to qualify for the ballot, on Aug. 4, 2026.

Trade-offs

No public record beyond the qualification date exists to weigh him against the other two candidates.

Keep in mind

No platform, biography or prior public role has surfaced for him as of this writing.

Source review: Very strong (92/100) · 5 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context.

Last updated August 31, 2026.