taftmidwaydriller.com (opens in a new tab)Taft Midway Driller -- "Filing period open for Taft City Council election" (Jul. 27, 2026): three Councilmen -- Josh Bryant, Carlos Chavira, and Ron Waldrop -- have 4-year terms expiring this year; Bryant (mayor pro tem, first elected 2014, in his third term) confirms he is running again, Chavira (first elected 2022, one term) did not respond, and Waldrop (on the council 1998-2002 and 2010-2014, in his third term) says he is "considering" reelection. Confirms Mayor Dave Noerr and Councilman Orchel Krier's terms don't end until 2028
taftmidwaydriller.com (opens in a new tab)Taft Midway Driller -- "Local election update: Some incumbents may run unopposed" (Aug. 3, 2026): a week before the filing deadline, Bryant confirms he's running again, Chavira confirms he will not seek a second term, and Waldrop remains "considering" reelection
taftmidwaydriller.com (opens in a new tab)Taft Midway Driller -- "Crowded city council races in Taft, Maricopa" (Aug. 10, 2026), about 48 hours before the filing deadline: two incumbents (Bryant, Waldrop) and three challengers -- Dennis Schertz (Taft Planning Commission member), Bob Leikam (a past Planning Commission member), and Jeremy Gregory (served on the Taft Union High School District board and, more recently, the West Kern Community College District board) -- are in the running for three seats; states "the top 3 vote getters on Nov. 3 will be elected" and that Chavira decided not to seek a second term
taftmidwaydriller.com (opens in a new tab)Taft Midway Driller -- "Five candidates running for three council seats" (Aug. 17, 2026), sourced to "the final candidates lineup ... released by the City of Taft last week after the deadline to file passed at 5 p.m. Wednesday": confirms the final field -- incumbents Josh Bryant (business owner, chief business officer at Taft Union High School, seeking a fourth term) and Ron Waldrop (business owner, seeking a fourth term) against challengers Bob Leikam (retired business owner, past Taft Planning Commission member), Jeremy Gregory (retired law enforcement officer, served on the West Kern Community College District and Taft Union High School District boards), and Dennis Schertz (business owner, currently a Taft Planning Commission member); "the election will be held on Nov. 3"
cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)A negative-result campaign-finance search: California's Cal-Access campaign-finance search (cal-access.sos.ca.gov) returned only an empty, unrenderable page for a direct query this session, the same recurring bot-detection failure mode already documented elsewhere in this dataset. Cal-Access covers only state-level committees in any case, not local city-council candidates

Last updated September 1, 2026.

City of Taft

Taft City Council

This person would hold one of three seats up this cycle on Taft's five-member City Council, elected at-large in this Kern County city of roughly 8,500 residents. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The term is four years. The other two seats -- Mayor Dave Noerr and Councilmember Orchel Krier -- aren't up until 2028.

Five candidates are running for three citywide seats on Taft's City Council. Incumbents Josh Bryant and Ron Waldrop face challengers Bob Leikam, Jeremy Gregory, and Dennis Schertz. Vote for up to three, and there is no primary.

Council seats carry 4-year terms. Winners join two seats not up this cycle -- Mayor Dave Noerr and Councilmember Orchel Krier, whose terms run through 2028 -- to make Taft's five-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, in this Kern County city of roughly 8,500 residents. A third incumbent, Carlos Chavira, held one of the three seats up this cycle but chose not to seek a second term, leaving it open to challengers.

With two incumbents and three challengers competing for three at-large seats, the practical choice is less which incumbent to keep -- neither faces a direct threat to their own seat, since Chavira's open seat guarantees at least one new member either way -- and more which of the three challengers, all current or former city Planning Commission or school/community-college board members, should fill it. This dataset found no candidate statements, campaign platforms, or comparative news coverage beyond the Taft Midway Driller's biographical reporting: no campaign websites or social-media pages were found for any of the five, and Kern County's own candidate-statement documents (which would carry each candidate's own stated platform) were unreachable behind kernvote.com's bot-blocking WAF.

Josh Bryant

Josh Bryant is the incumbent mayor pro tem, seeking a fourth term. He was first elected in 2014 and is a business owner. He also serves as chief business officer at Taft Union High School.

Ron Waldrop

Ron Waldrop is an incumbent seeking a fourth term. He is a business owner who has served on the council across three separate stints. His stints ran 1998 to 2002, 2010 to 2014, and since 2022.

Bob Leikam

Bob Leikam is a challenger and a retired business owner. They previously served on the Taft Planning Commission. No further details about their background or platform were found.

Jeremy Gregory

Jeremy Gregory is a challenger and a retired law enforcement officer. They served on the Taft Union High School District board. They also served on the West Kern Community College District board but resigned in 2026.

Dennis Schertz

Dennis Schertz is a challenger and a business owner. They currently serve on the Taft Planning Commission. No further details about their background or platform were found.

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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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