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Santa Paula City Council, District 4

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City of Santa Paula

Santa Paula City Council, District 4

This person would hold one of five district seats on Santa Paula's City Council. They vote on city laws, the budget, and land use. Santa Paula is a Ventura County city of about 30,657 residents. The Council appoints a City Manager, Dan Singer, to run day-to-day operations. The term is four years. Santa Paula has no directly elected Mayor. Each December, the Council picks one member for a one-year ceremonial term. That person presides over meetings. Carlos Juarez currently holds that title, chosen by colleagues in December 2025. Jenny Crosswhite serves as Vice-Mayor. Santa Paula is moving from at-large to district elections. Districts 1 and 5 were first elected by district in November 2024. Gabby Ornelas holds District 1, and Leslie Cornejo holds District 5. Neither is up again until 2028. Districts 2, 3, and 4 are up this cycle.

This is an open seat because incumbent Carlos Juarez, Santa Paula's Mayor, is not running. Four candidates are competing for it. They are Merisa Garcia, Angel Garza, Nancy Grass, and John Marquez.

This person would hold one of five district seats on Santa Paula's City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use for this Ventura County city of about 30,657 residents. The Council appoints a City Manager (Dan Singer as of this cycle) to run day-to-day operations. The term is four years. Santa Paula has no separately, directly elected Mayor -- the Council selects one of its own members each December to hold the largely ceremonial title for a one-year term; Carlos Juarez, District 4's current representative, holds it now, selected by his colleagues in December 2025.

Santa Paula is transitioning from at-large to district elections: Districts 1 and 5 were first elected by district in November 2024 and aren't up again until 2028. District 4 is one of three districts up this cycle, alongside Districts 2 and 3. Juarez -- a retired Santa Paula Police Department lieutenant first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022 -- does not appear on the county's or the city's own certified candidate list for any 2026 district; no direct statement from him about not seeking re-election was found this session, but his absence from every qualified-candidate list this dataset checked is why this seat is treated as open rather than his.

Merisa M. Garcia

Merisa Garcia's ballot title is Human Resources Director. They organized their campaign committee on Aug. 18, 2026.

Angel Garza

Angel Garza's ballot title is Analyst. They organized their campaign committee on Aug. 5, 2026.

Nancy L. Grass

Nancy L. Grass's ballot title is Business Owner, Educator. They organized their campaign committee on Jul. 23, 2026, the earliest of the four candidates.

John Marquez

John Marquez's ballot title is Community Volunteer. They organized their campaign committee on Aug. 5, 2026.

Your pick

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

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