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City of Ridgecrest · Statewide General Election

Ridgecrest Mayor

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

Ridgecrest directly elects its own Mayor at-large citywide to a 2-year term, per Kern County's own candidate list (which titles this contest "City of Ridgecrest, Mayor-2 Year Term"). The Mayor is one of five members of Ridgecrest's City Council -- the Mayor presides at Council meetings but otherwise casts the same single vote as any other member. Sitting Mayor Travis Endicott did not file for re-election, so this is an open-seat race.

Two candidates qualified for Ridgecrest's open Mayor's seat on the November 3 ballot: Megan Washington, a substitute teacher, and Jeremy "JV" Vaughan, who lists his occupation as defense strategist. Sitting Mayor Travis Endicott did not file for re-election.

The winner serves a two-year term as one of five members of Ridgecrest's City Council, presiding over Council meetings and serving as the city's ceremonial head, but otherwise casting the same single vote as any other member -- no independent veto or expanded authority. Ridgecrest is a general law city near China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station in the Indian Wells Valley.

With no incumbent on the ballot and neither candidate having previously held city office, this is a genuinely open contest between two newcomers rather than a referendum on incumbency.

Megan Washington

She works as a substitute teacher, per her own ballot filing, and has not previously held city office. No specific 2026 platform was confirmed beyond her qualified candidacy filing.

Strengths

A local substitute teacher entering the race for an open seat with no 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, "Substitute Teacher," is the only independently confirmed fact about her candidacy this pass.

Jeremy "JV" Vaughan

He lists his occupation as defense strategist, per his own ballot filing, and has not previously held city office. No specific 2026 platform was confirmed beyond his qualified candidacy filing.

Strengths

A defense strategist -- plausibly relevant background for a city adjacent to China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, though no specific platform tying the two together was confirmed.

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, "Defense Strategist," is the only independently confirmed fact about his candidacy this pass.

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.