# Port Hueneme City Council Compare records and positions simply between Laura Hernandez, Julio Kollerbohm, James Importante, and 2 more for Port Hueneme City Council at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds one of Port Hueneme's five at-large City Council seats. They vote on the city budget, land use, and public safety priorities. Port Hueneme is a small Ventura County beach city. Terms are four years. They are staggered, so only part of the council is up each cycle. The council does not elect its mayor directly. Members choose one of their own to serve as Mayor each year. That person also serves as Mayor Pro Tem. This usually happens each December. - Jurisdiction: City of Port Hueneme - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Seats: 3 - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/port-hueneme-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: September 7, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 91 out of 100 (Very strong), across 10 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Laura Hernandez** — Incumbent - **Julio Kollerbohm** — Digital Media Manager - **James Importante** — Program Management Analyst - **Steven A. Gama** — Incumbent - **Martha R. McQueen-Legohn** — Incumbent A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Three incumbents and two challengers are running for three of Port Hueneme's five at-large City Council seats on November 3. The incumbents are Steven A. Gama, Laura Hernandez, and Mayor Martha R. McQueen-Legohn. The challengers are James Importante and Julio Kollerbohm. The top three vote-getters win outright. There is 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 winner votes on the city budget, land use, and public-safety priorities. The term is four years, and the office is 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 Gama is a terminal operator and risk-management professional. They have served on the Council since 2018 and are seeking a third term. They gave a 2022 candidate Q&A with the Ventura County Star. In it they described leading the formation of Port Hueneme's HOA Coalition on water-conservation policy. They argued that housing costs are largely outside a City Council's direct control. They filed the short campaign-finance Form 470 for 2026. It attests that they neither raised nor spent more than $2,000 this cycle. **Strengths:** Eight years on the Council already. They won both their 2018 race and their contested 2022 re-election race. **Trade-offs:** No independent news coverage weighs Gama's record since 2022. No committee or itemized filing shows who, if anyone besides themselves, funds their 2026 campaign. **Keep in mind:** Gama's most detailed public statements date to the 2022 campaign Q&A. No comparable 2026 platform statement from them was found. ## Laura Hernandez Hernandez is a small-business owner with a master's degree in public administration. They are a former manager for the Ventura County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services. Per their own account they have served on the Council since 2019. They are seeking a third term. In 2025 they sued Police Chief Michael Federico for defamation in small-claims court. They alleged he spread false claims that they interfered in police investigations. They also alleged he said they created a hostile workplace at City Hall. Federico countersued them for invasion of privacy and doxing. He did so after they included his home address in a court filing. Both suits ended without a ruling on the merits by late 2025. As of May 2026 Federico was separately seeking roughly $39,000 in city reimbursement for his legal fees from the dispute. The Council, with Hernandez recused, had voted that request down in closed session. **Strengths:** Nearly seven years on the Council and prior emergency-management experience. Hernandez's 2026 committee is funded so far by $500 of their own money. **Trade-offs:** The Federico dispute is unresolved and could still cost the city money either way. Because both suits ended without a ruling, neither side's claims were decided. **Keep in mind:** Hernandez's account is their own, per the Star. They deny intent to endanger Federico and call his fee request "excessive." No comparable dispute was found for any other candidate. ## Martha R. McQueen-Legohn McQueen-Legohn is a senior adjunct professor and retired Department of Defense civil servant. They hold a doctorate in organizational leadership. They won a Council seat as a first-time challenger in 2022, unseating then-incumbent Richard Rollins. They now serve as Mayor. Their Council colleagues chose them for that job. Voters do not elect it directly. They are seeking a second term. **Strengths:** McQueen-Legohn currently serves as Mayor, the rotating post their Council colleagues chose them for. They also hold a doctorate in organizational leadership and have a Defense Department background. **Trade-offs:** McQueen-Legohn's formed 2026 committee reported $0 raised and $0 spent as of its mid-year filing. That is too early to say who, if anyone, is funding their re-election. **Keep in mind:** McQueen-Legohn's most detailed public statements date to the 2022 campaign, when they ran as a challenger. No comparable 2026 platform statement from them was found. ## James Importante Importante is a Ventura County government management analyst with more than 20 years in local government. That includes earlier roles in Marana, Arizona and Placer County. He is a Port Hueneme native making his first run for the Council. Per his own campaign site, he now runs Ventura County's Living Wage Ordinance and Campaign Finance Ethics Reform Ordinance. He previously led the county's cannabis-business licensing program. His stated platform centers on economic development, responsible growth, and long-term financial planning. Cannabis tax revenue, a significant local funding source, is declining. He also serves on the city's Measure U Citizens Oversight Committee and the board of Hueneme Housing, Inc. **Strengths:** Two decades of local-government experience, including economic-development and land-use work that fits a council seat. He also has a real, itemized 2026 committee. **Trade-offs:** As a non-incumbent he has no voting record. His biography comes from his own campaign site. His county job title could not be confirmed on its own. **Keep in mind:** Councilwoman Hernandez is one of the three incumbents he runs alongside. She personally gave $300 to his campaign, per his Form 460. That is a notable cross-endorsement. ## Julio Kollerbohm Kollerbohm's filed ballot designation is "Digital Media Manager." No independent biographical detail was found beyond that designation. The county's and city's own candidate filings are the only other record. Nothing was found on where they work, their background, or a stated platform. The Ventura County Star's site search was checked and a campaign website for them was sought. **Strengths:** None independently confirmed beyond Kollerbohm's filed ballot designation. **Trade-offs:** No campaign materials, endorsements, or independent coverage were found for them. **Keep in mind:** Kollerbohm filed the short Form 470, attesting to under $2,000 raised or spent. That is consistent with a minimal campaign. As a non-incumbent they have no council record. ## Review notes - 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. ## Sources 1. [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](https://clerkrecorder.venturacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/cfmcfmr001_contcanddataproof_08-18-2026-on-ballot-alpha-order-applied.pdf) 2. [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'](https://www.ci.port-hueneme.ca.us/1010/City-Council-Election-Information) 3. [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](https://www.ci.port-hueneme.ca.us/27/City-Council) 4. [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](https://www.ci.port-hueneme.ca.us/1182/Campaign-Disclosure-Filings) 5. [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](https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2022/10/10/midterms-general-election-2022-port-hueneme-city-council-race-candidates/8207413001/) 6. [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](https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/port-hueneme/2026/05/14/hueneme-police-chief-wants-city-to-pay-for-suit-against-council-member/90051086007/) 7. [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](https://www.voteimportante.com/about) 8. [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](https://www.ci.port-hueneme.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/10178/460---Hernandez_Semi-Annual-Jan-Jun-2026_red) 9. [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](https://www.ci.port-hueneme.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/10195/460---McQueen-Legohn_Semi-Annual-Jan-Jun-2026_red) 10. [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](https://www.ci.port-hueneme.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/10188/460---Importante_Semi-Annual-Jan-Jun-2026-Amended_red) ## The rest of the ballot Port Hueneme 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, "Port Hueneme City Council — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/port-hueneme-council (sources last retrieved September 7, 2026). 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