Skip to main content

City of Stanton · Statewide General Election

Stanton City Council, District 3

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

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 your district's seat on Stanton's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside an appointed city manager who runs day-to-day operations. Stanton also directly, citywide elects a Mayor to a separate 4-year term (not on this district's ballot); not all seats are elected the same year. A 4-year term.

Three candidates are running for Stanton City Council District 3's open seat: Debora Donathan, Dewayne A. Normand, and Marlon-Ray Velasco. Incumbent Gary Taylor -- also the city's sitting Mayor Pro Tem -- did not file for re-election. Whichever candidate gets the most votes on November 3 wins outright; there's no runoff.

This person holds District 3's seat on Stanton's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside an appointed city manager who runs day-to-day operations. Stanton also directly, citywide elects a Mayor to a separate 4-year term (not on this district's ballot) -- David Shawver's 2026 mayoral race was cancelled after he drew no opponent. Not all council seats are elected the same year; only Districts 1 and 3 are up in 2026. A 4-year term.

This is Stanton's only open council seat in 2026 -- the other race, District 1, has the incumbent on the ballot. Beyond Normand's confirmed Planning Commission role, no campaign site, news coverage, or other independent source could be found for any of the three candidates' specific platforms despite a real, per-candidate search effort. Documented below as a gap, not filled in with speculation.

Debora Donathan

Filed her candidacy under the ballot designation "Educator." No campaign site, news coverage, or other independent source describing her specific school, subject area, or platform could be found in this pass despite a real search effort.

Strengths

An educator's background suggests direct familiarity with families and youth services in the district.

Trade-offs

No campaign statement or platform was found, so voters have no confirmed sense of her priorities beyond her listed designation.

Keep in mind

No CAL-ACCESS record was checked for her campaign in this pass -- see Financial info.

Dewayne A. Normand

Filed his candidacy under the ballot designation "City of Stanton Planning Commissioner." The city's own Planning Commission roster confirms Normand is a sitting Commissioner, an appointment that runs through November 2028. No campaign site, news coverage, or other independent source describing his occupation or platform could be found in this pass despite a real search effort.

Strengths

Sitting Planning Commissioner -- direct, hands-on experience with the city's land-use and development decisions that come before Council.

Trade-offs

No campaign statement or platform was found, so voters have no confirmed sense of his priorities beyond his commission role and filed designation.

Keep in mind

No CAL-ACCESS record was checked for his campaign in this pass -- see Financial info.

Marlon-Ray Velasco

Filed his candidacy under the ballot designation "City of Stanton Commissioner/Supervisor." The county's document does not specify which city commission he serves on, and no campaign site, news coverage, or other independent source describing his specific role, occupation, or platform could be found in this pass despite a real search effort.

Strengths

A city commissioner/supervisor background suggests some existing familiarity with municipal governance, though the specific body isn't confirmed in this pass.

Trade-offs

No campaign statement or platform was found, so voters have no confirmed sense of his priorities beyond his listed designation.

Keep in mind

No CAL-ACCESS record was checked for his campaign in this pass -- see Financial info.

District 3's outgoing officeholder, Gary Taylor, did not file for re-election. Per the city's own biography page, Taylor has lived in Stanton since 1985, holds a BA from Cal State Fullerton and an MA in Management from Webster University, retired in 2018 after 20+ years in retail sales management, served on the Planning Commission from 2012, and was elected to Council in 2018, later becoming Mayor Pro Tem; his stated priorities have been public safety, Beach Boulevard development, and resident responsiveness. No source found in this pass states why he chose not to seek re-election.

Source review: Strong (89/100) · 5 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • ocvote.gov (opens in a new tab)OC Registrar of Voters -- Contest/Candidate Proof List, General Election 11/3/2026 -- City of Stanton section (pages 156-159 of 188, downloaded directly and parsed locally with pypdf since a plain fetch returns undecodable PDF stream data): confirms Member City Council District 1 (2 qualified candidates) and District 3 (3) as the city's two November 2026 council races, each Vote for 1, with incumbent flags and every candidate's filed ballot designation; no other City of Stanton contest appears anywhere in the 188-page document
  • stantonca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Stanton -- Election Information and Voter Services page: confirms Council Member, District 1 and District 3 as the two council seats up in November 2026, each a 4-year term; states the Mayor's seat is directly, citywide elected and was on the filing calendar but that the mayoral election was subsequently CANCELLED per a city resolution dated 8/18/2026 because incumbent David J. Shawver was the only qualified candidate; lists the five qualified council candidates by district
  • stantonca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Stanton -- City Council page: confirms the 5-member council/manager structure -- Mayor David J. Shawver (at-large), Mayor Pro Tem Gary Taylor (District 3), and council members Donald Torres (District 1), Victor Barrios (District 2), and John D. Warren (District 4) -- and that Districts 1 and 3 seats expire in 2026
  • stantonca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Stanton -- Mayor Pro Tem Gary Taylor, District 3 biography page: BA Cal State Fullerton, MA Webster University; Stanton resident since 1985; retired Senior Retail Sales Manager; Planning Commission member since 2012, elected to Council in 2018; stated priorities are public safety, Beach Boulevard development, and resident responsiveness -- Taylor is the outgoing District 3 incumbent, who did not file for re-election in 2026
  • stantonca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Stanton -- Planning Commission roster page: confirms Thomas Frazier as sitting Vice-Chair and DeWayne A. Normand as a sitting Commissioner, corroborating both candidates' filed ballot designations in the District 1 and District 3 council races

Last updated August 31, 2026.