# Palmdale City Council, District 5 Compare records and positions simply between V. Jesse Smith, Cynthia “Cyndi” Garcia, or Raycine Ector for Palmdale City Council, District 5 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat on Palmdale's 5-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The term is four years. - Jurisdiction: City of Palmdale - 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/palmdale-council-5 - 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: 92 out of 100 (Very strong), across 5 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **V. Jesse Smith** - **Cynthia “Cyndi” Garcia** - **Raycine Ector** A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. 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: they ran citywide for Mayor of Palmdale in 2018. ## V. Jesse Smith A pastor and repeat Palmdale office-seeker: Smith 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. They filed their 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 their 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; their 2018 mayoral run does not by itself say what they 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. Garcia filed their 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 Garcia against the other two candidates. **Keep in mind:** They filed their nomination papers Aug. 3, 2026, per the Antelope Valley Press; no other detail about their 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 Ector against the other two candidates. **Keep in mind:** No platform, biography or prior public role has surfaced for Ector as of this writing. ## Sources 1. [City of Palmdale City Clerk — 2026 City Council Final Candidate List](https://cityofpalmdaleca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21186/public_candidate_list_final_08_18_2026) 2. [Antelope Valley Press — "Alarcón won't run to keep council seat" (Aug. 8, 2026, updated Aug. 11, 2026)](https://www.avpress.com/news/alarc-n-won-t-run-to-keep-council-seat/article_5c56a4fe-7dfa-406d-a71d-cc051b18c540.html) 3. [Ballotpedia — V. Jesse Smith (Mayor of Palmdale, California, candidate 2018)](https://ballotpedia.org/V._Jesse_Smith) 4. [City of Palmdale — City Elections (nomination timeline, District 5 incumbent non-filing notice)](https://www.cityofpalmdaleca.gov/322/City-Elections) 5. [City of Palmdale — Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure (NetFile)](https://ssl.netfile.com/pub2/Default.aspx?aid=CPD) ## The rest of the ballot Palmdale City Council, District 5 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, "Palmdale City Council, District 5 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/palmdale-council-5 (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.