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City of Port Hueneme · Statewide General Election

Port Hueneme City Council

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 one of Port Hueneme's five at-large City Council seats: the city budget, land use, and public-safety priorities for this small Ventura County beach city. A 4-year term, staggered so only part of the council is up each cycle. The council doesn't elect its mayor directly -- members choose one of their own to serve as Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem each year, typically each December, per the city's own City Council page.

Three incumbents and two challengers are running for three of Port Hueneme's five at-large City Council seats on November 3: incumbents Steven A. Gama, Laura Hernandez, and Mayor Martha R. McQueen-Legohn, against challengers James Importante and Julio Kollerbohm. The top three vote-getters win outright — no runoff.

This is one of three seats on Port Hueneme's five-member City Council, a small Ventura County beach city of roughly 22,000 people: the city budget, land use, and public-safety priorities. A 4-year term, elected at-large (citywide, not by district) on a staggered schedule, so only three of the five seats are up this cycle — Councilmembers Jess Lopez and Misty Perez hold the other two and are not on this ballot. The Council doesn't elect its own Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem directly; members choose two of their own each year, typically each December, per the city's own City Council page. McQueen-Legohn currently holds the Mayor's chair and Hernandez the Mayor Pro Tem's.

With five names on the ballot for three seats, whichever three candidates draw the most votes win — the same at-large, no-runoff system the city used in 2022, when the Ventura County Star described it as "the top three vote-getters will claim a spot at the dais." A vote for a losing candidate does not transfer or count toward anyone else.

Steven A. Gama

A terminal operator and risk-management professional, Gama has served on the Council since 2018 and is seeking a third term. In a 2022 candidate Q&A with the Ventura County Star, he described leading the formation of Port Hueneme's HOA Coalition on water-conservation policy and argued that housing costs are largely outside a City Council's direct control. He filed the short campaign-finance Form 470 for 2026, attesting that he neither raised nor spent more than $2,000 this cycle.

Strengths

Eight years on the Council already, having won both his 2018 and contested 2022 re-election races.

Trade-offs

No independent news coverage evaluates his record since 2022, and no committee or itemized filing shows who — if anyone besides himself — funds his 2026 campaign.

Keep in mind

His most detailed public statements date to the 2022 campaign Q&A; this dataset found no comparable 2026 platform statement from him.

Laura Hernandez

A small-business owner with a master's degree in public administration and a former manager for the Ventura County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services, Hernandez has served on the Council since 2019 (per her own account) and is seeking a third term. In 2025 she sued Police Chief Michael Federico for defamation in small-claims court, alleging he spread false claims that she interfered in police investigations and created a hostile workplace at City Hall; Federico countersued her for invasion of privacy and doxing after she included his home address in a court filing. Both suits ended without a ruling on the merits by late 2025, but as of May 2026 Federico was separately seeking roughly $39,000 in city reimbursement for his legal fees from the dispute — a request the Council, with Hernandez recused, had voted down in closed session.

Strengths

Nearly seven years on the Council, prior emergency-management experience, and a 2026 committee funded so far by $500 of her own money.

Trade-offs

The Federico dispute is unresolved and could still cost the city money regardless of outcome; because both suits ended without a ruling, neither side's claims were adjudicated.

Keep in mind

Her account — denying intent to endanger Federico, calling his fee request "excessive" — is her own, per the Star; no comparable dispute was found for any other candidate.

Martha R. McQueen-Legohn

A senior adjunct professor and retired Department of Defense civil servant with a doctorate in organizational leadership, McQueen-Legohn won a Council seat as a first-time challenger in 2022 — unseating then-incumbent Richard Rollins — and now serves as Mayor, a position her Council colleagues chose her for rather than one voters elect directly. She is seeking a second term.

Strengths

Currently serving as Mayor, the rotating post her Council colleagues chose her for, plus a doctorate in organizational leadership and a Defense Department background.

Trade-offs

Her formed 2026 committee reported $0 raised and $0 spent as of its mid-year filing — too early to say who, if anyone, is funding her re-election.

Keep in mind

Her most detailed public statements date to the 2022 campaign, when she ran as a challenger; this dataset found no comparable 2026 platform statement from her.

James Importante

A Ventura County government management analyst with more than 20 years in local government — including earlier roles in Marana, Arizona and Placer County — Importante is a Port Hueneme native making his first run for the Council. Per his own campaign site, he currently administers Ventura County's Living Wage Ordinance and Campaign Finance Ethics Reform Ordinance and previously led the county's cannabis-business licensing program; he also serves on the city's Measure U Citizens Oversight Committee and the board of Hueneme Housing, Inc. His stated platform centers on economic development, responsible growth, and long-term financial planning as cannabis tax revenue — a significant local funding source — declines.

Strengths

Two decades of local-government experience, including economic-development and land-use work relevant to a council seat, plus a real, itemized 2026 committee.

Trade-offs

As a non-incumbent he has no voting record; his biography comes from his own campaign site, and this dataset could not confirm his county job title independently.

Keep in mind

Councilwoman Hernandez — one of the three incumbents he runs alongside — personally gave $300 to his campaign, per his Form 460, a notable cross-endorsement.

Julio Kollerbohm

Kollerbohm's filed ballot designation is "Digital Media Manager." This dataset found no independent biographical detail — where he works, his background, or a stated platform — beyond that designation and the county's and city's own candidate filings, despite checking Ventura County Star's site search and attempting to locate a campaign website for him.

Strengths

None independently confirmed beyond his filed ballot designation.

Trade-offs

No campaign materials, endorsements, or independent coverage were found for him this session.

Keep in mind

He filed the short Form 470, attesting to under $2,000 raised or spent — consistent with a minimal campaign; as a non-incumbent he has no council record.

Source review: Very strong (91/100) · 10 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context; advocacy or endorsement sources are treated as attributed perspective.

Review note: Importante for City Council 2026 may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

  • clerkrecorder.venturacounty.gov (opens in a new tab)Ventura County Elections Division -- Contest/Candidate Proof List, Contests On Ballot (Nov. 3, 2026 General Election, printed 8/18/2026): Port Hueneme's 'For Member of the City Council' contest, Vote For 3, all five qualified candidates and their filed ballot designations
  • ci.port-hueneme.ca.us (opens in a new tab)The City of Port Hueneme's own City Council Election Information page: republishes the same five-candidate roster with matching qualification dates and states the office is 'three City Councilmember seats, each with a four-year term'
  • ci.port-hueneme.ca.us (opens in a new tab)The City of Port Hueneme's own City Council page: names all five sitting Councilmembers (Mayor Martha R. McQueen-Legohn, Mayor Pro Tem Laura D. Hernandez, Councilmembers Steven A. Gama, Jess Lopez, and Misty Perez) and confirms an at-large, staggered 4-year-term Council with the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem chosen by the Council each year, typically in December
  • ci.port-hueneme.ca.us (opens in a new tab)The City of Port Hueneme City Clerk's own Campaign Disclosure Filings page: a per-candidate index of scanned FPPC filings (Form 501/410/460/470) linking to the underlying documents
  • vcstar.com (opens in a new tab)Ventura County Star -- 'Election 2022: 8 Port Hueneme City Council candidates talk homelessness, other issues' (Brian J. Varela): each 2022 candidate's own Q&A responses, including incumbents Steven Andrew Gama and Laura D. Hernandez (both first elected 2018) and challenger Martha R. McQueen-Legohn, who won a seat that year unseating then-incumbent Richard Rollins
  • vcstar.com (opens in a new tab)Ventura County Star -- 'Hueneme chief wants city to pay $39K in suit against council member' (Tony Biasotti): Councilwoman Laura Hernandez's 2025 small-claims defamation suit against Police Chief Michael Federico, his countersuit for invasion of privacy/doxing, both dropped or dismissed by late 2025, and Federico's since-denied claim for city reimbursement of about $39,000 in legal fees
  • voteimportante.com (opens in a new tab)Importante for City Council 2026 -- James Importante's own campaign website (About James, Priorities pages): his stated biography, current Ventura County government role, and platform
  • ci.port-hueneme.ca.us (opens in a new tab)City of Port Hueneme City Clerk -- Laura Hernandez, FPPC Form 460 Semi-Annual Statement (Jan. 1 - June 30, 2026): $500 raised (a self-contribution), $404 spent on fundraiser supplies, $96 cash on hand
  • ci.port-hueneme.ca.us (opens in a new tab)City of Port Hueneme City Clerk -- Martha R. McQueen-Legohn, FPPC Form 460 Semi-Annual Statement (Jan. 1 - June 30, 2026): a formed committee reporting $0 raised and $0 spent as of this mid-year filing
  • ci.port-hueneme.ca.us (opens in a new tab)City of Port Hueneme City Clerk -- James Importante, FPPC Form 460 Semi-Annual Statement, Amended (Jan. 1 - June 30, 2026): $325 raised ($25 self-contribution plus $300 from Councilwoman Laura Hernandez), $75 spent on campaign-website hosting, $250 cash on hand

Last updated August 30, 2026.