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City of Ridgecrest · Statewide General Election

Ridgecrest City Council

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 two at-large seats up this cycle on Ridgecrest's 5-member City Council (a directly elected Mayor plus 4 Council seats), elected citywide rather than by district, to 4-year terms at general municipal elections held every 2 years, which staggers the seats. Of the two incumbents whose seats are up, John "Skip" Gorman filed for re-election; Scott Hayman did not.

Six candidates qualified for two of Ridgecrest's five at-large City Council seats on the November 3 ballot, per Kern County's own candidate list: incumbent John "Skip" Gorman is seeking re-election, against five newcomers -- Brenda Licitra, Ron Strand, Debilyn Kinzler, Lawrence C. Gaceta, and Tammy "Charion" Bouyer. A seventh filer, Daniel Neal, did not ultimately qualify. Fellow incumbent Scott Hayman, whose seat is also up this cycle, did not file for re-election.

The two winners each serve a four-year term on Ridgecrest's five-member City Council -- a directly elected Mayor plus four at-large Council seats -- setting city ordinances, the budget, and land-use decisions citywide.

With one incumbent seeking re-election against five newcomers -- and the seat of a second incumbent who chose not to run also up for grabs -- this field guarantees at least one new face on the Council regardless of outcome.

John P. "Skip" Gorman

He currently serves on Ridgecrest's City Council, per the city's own Council roster, and is seeking re-election, running under the ballot designation "Incumbent." No specific 2026 platform was confirmed beyond his qualified candidacy filing.

Strengths

Current service on the City Council, confirmed by the city's own official roster.

Trade-offs

No specific 2026 platform could be confirmed from available reporting -- a real gap for a sitting councilmember.

Keep in mind

He's the only one of two incumbents whose seats are up this cycle who filed for re-election; his Council colleague Scott Hayman did not.

Brenda Licitra

She works as an engineering technician, per her own ballot filing, and has not previously served on the council. No specific 2026 platform was confirmed beyond her qualified candidacy filing.

Strengths

An engineering technician and one of five newcomers in this six-candidate field, offering voters an alternative to the sitting incumbent.

Trade-offs

No service in elected or appointed city government, and no specific platform could be confirmed from available reporting.

Keep in mind

Her ballot designation, "Engineering Technician," doesn't reference current city office, unlike the incumbent on this ballot.

Ron Strand

He lists his occupation as retired city manager, per his own ballot filing, and has not previously served on Ridgecrest's council. No specific 2026 platform was confirmed beyond his qualified candidacy filing.

Strengths

A retired city manager -- relevant municipal-government experience, though not confirmed to be Ridgecrest's own city government.

Trade-offs

No prior service specifically on Ridgecrest's City Council, and no specific platform could be confirmed from available reporting.

Keep in mind

His ballot designation, "Retired City Manager," is the only independently confirmed fact about his candidacy this pass.

Debilyn Kinzler

She works as a community college professor, per her own ballot filing, and has not previously served on the council. No specific 2026 platform was confirmed beyond her qualified candidacy filing.

Strengths

A community college professor and one of five newcomers in this six-candidate field, offering voters an alternative to the sitting incumbent.

Trade-offs

No service in elected or appointed city government, and no specific platform could be confirmed from available reporting.

Keep in mind

Her ballot designation, "Community College Professor," doesn't reference current city office, unlike the incumbent on this ballot.

Lawrence C. Gaceta

He works as a senior logistics analyst, per his own ballot filing, and has not previously served on the council. No specific 2026 platform was confirmed beyond his qualified candidacy filing.

Strengths

A senior logistics analyst and one of five newcomers in this six-candidate field, offering voters an alternative to the sitting incumbent.

Trade-offs

No service in elected or appointed city government, and no specific platform could be confirmed from available reporting.

Keep in mind

His ballot designation, "Senior Logistic Analyst," doesn't reference current city office, unlike the incumbent on this ballot.

Tammy "Charion" Bouyer

She works as an insurance representative, per her own ballot filing, and has not previously served on the council. No specific 2026 platform was confirmed beyond her qualified candidacy filing.

Strengths

An insurance representative and one of five newcomers in this field. She's the only candidate here with a registered campaign committee in the city's own NetFile portal.

Trade-offs

No service in elected or appointed city government, and no specific platform could be confirmed from available reporting; her committee has not filed any disclosure documents yet.

Keep in mind

Her ballot designation, "Insurance Representative," doesn't reference current city office, unlike the incumbent on this ballot.

Source review: Strong (87/100) · 3 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • kernvote.com (opens in a new tab)Kern County Elections Division -- "Contest/Candidate Proof List," November 3, 2026 General Election (report code CFMR001, printed 8/17/2026); Delano City Council is contest 7031, Maricopa City Council is contest 7041, Ridgecrest Mayor is contest 7060, Ridgecrest City Council is contest 7061, Shafter City Council is contest 7071. Reached via a live browser session, navigating a fresh tab straight to each page's own URL fragment (#page=N) -- direct curl/WebFetch 403s behind an Akamai WAF, and the embedded viewer freezes after one render/scroll per tab, so each contest's roster was captured from a separate fresh tab.
  • ridgecrest-ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Ridgecrest -- City Council (current officeholders: Mayor Travis Endicott, Vice Mayor Solomon Rajaratnam, Mayor Pro Tem Kyle Blades, and Councilmen John "Skip" Gorman and Scott Hayman -- confirms names/titles exactly against the county candidate list, and that Endicott is not among this cycle's two Mayor candidates)
  • netfile.com (opens in a new tab)City of Ridgecrest -- public NetFile campaign-finance portal (agency code "rdg"), linked from the City Clerk's Office page. Its full candidates/officeholders index carries exactly two registered committees, Tamara Bouyer (matches Council candidate Tammy "Charion" Bouyer) and Eric Bruen (not a candidate in either Ridgecrest contest on the county's list); Bouyer's own filings page returns "No filings found."

Last updated September 3, 2026.