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Ripon City Council

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City of Ripon

Ripon City Council

This person would hold one of Ripon's five at-large City Council seats. They vote on city laws, the budget, and land use. Ripon is a San Joaquin County city of about 16,013 residents. It is a general-law city with a Council-Administrator government. The term is four years. Three seats are elected one cycle, and two the next. This November's two seats are held by Vice Mayor Dean Uecker. Councilmember Michael Restuccia holds the other. The Mayor and Vice Mayor titles rotate among the five councilmembers. The council picks them itself, not by separate election. Mayor Gary Barton is not up this cycle.

Two long-serving incumbents filed for new terms on Ripon's five-member City Council. They are Vice Mayor Dean Uecker and Councilmember Michael Restuccia. Their one challenger is Frank Madrigal, a compliance consultant. This is Madrigal's first run for local office.

Ripon is a general-law city, incorporated in 1945, operating under a Council-City Administrator form of government, with about 16,013 residents per the 2020 Census. All five Council seats are elected identically -- at-large and citywide, to 4-year terms -- with three seats up one election cycle and the other two up the next; this November it's the two seats currently held by Uecker and Restuccia. Mayor Gary Barton, Leo Zuber, and Daniel de Graaf hold the other three seats and are not up until 2028.

Restuccia filed for re-election just three days after the July 13 filing window opened; Uecker filed two weeks later. Madrigal, the only newcomer in the race, filed the day before the August 7 deadline closed, avoiding what could otherwise have been an uncontested two-seat election.

How Ripon picks its Mayor

Ripon's Mayor and Vice Mayor aren't separately elected offices. All five City Council seats are elected the same way, at-large and citywide, and the council chooses one of its own members to hold each title -- typically on a rotating basis. Restuccia himself held the Mayor's title as recently as December 2022; Daniel de Graaf, one of the three councilmembers not up this cycle, took a turn starting December 2024; Gary Barton holds it now. Uecker has been selected Mayor four separate times over his roughly two decades on the council, most recently serving as Vice Mayor, per Manteca Bulletin reporting.

Michael Restuccia

Michael Restuccia is the incumbent. Their ballot designation is "Incumbent." They have held the council-selected Mayor's title before. That was most recently in December 2022. They are President and CEO of Restuccia Enterprises. That is a Ripon management and training business. They are also a paid Director of Bank of Stockton. Its parent is 1867 Financial Corporation.

Dean D. Uecker

Dean D. Uecker is the incumbent Vice Mayor. His ballot designation is also "Incumbent." He has served on Ripon's City Council for roughly two decades. His fellow councilmembers have chosen him as Mayor four separate times. That count comes from Manteca Bulletin reporting. In March 2026 he drew outside attention. He had publicly endorsed a candidate in neighboring Manteca's mayoral race.

Frank L. Madrigal

Frank L. Madrigal is a first-time candidate for elected office. Their ballot designation is "Compliance Consultant." Currie & Brown, Inc. employs them as an Associate. That firm does compliance consulting and project management. They also consult for Next Evolution Water Solutions, Inc./NELOGIS. That is a government contracting company. They are paid for that work through a retainer. Of the three candidates, only Madrigal filed a paid candidate statement with the county.

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A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

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