# Temecula City Council, District 5 Compare records and positions simply between Yuan Hawkes, Laurel LaMont, Russell Shirley, and 1 more for Temecula City Council, District 5 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat on Temecula's City Council. The council has five members. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The term is four years. The Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore are ceremonial titles. The council picks these from among its own district-elected members each year. They are not separately elected offices. - Jurisdiction: City of Temecula - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/temecula-council-5 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: September 3, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 85 out of 100 (Strong), across 9 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Yuan Hawkes** - **Laurel LaMont** - **Russell Shirley** - **Zak Schwank** — Incumbent A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Incumbent Zak Schwank faces three challengers -- Yuan Hawkes, Russell Shirley, and Laurel LaMont -- for Temecula's District 5 City Council seat. It's the only Temecula council race on this ballot: Districts 1 and 3 each drew just one candidate and were filled by direct council appointment in August, without an election. The winner holds one of five district seats on Temecula's City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use, over a four-year term. The Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore are ceremonial titles the council selects from among its own district-elected members each year -- they aren't separately elected offices, and day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager. Districts 1 and 3 each drew only a single qualified candidate -- Matt Rahn and Brenden Kalfus, respectively -- and on August 11, 2026 the City Council unanimously appointed both directly to office under a state law (Elections Code Section 10229) that lets a city skip the election and seat an unopposed nominee outright. Districts 2 and 4 aren't up again until 2028, so District 5 is the only Temecula council race on this ballot. Facts about all four District 5 candidates come from their own Candidate Statements, filed with the City Clerk and quoted below -- this research could not confirm any of the four with an independent news source beyond that filing and, for Schwank, Wikipedia's account of his council tenure. ## Zak Schwank The incumbent, seeking another term after 8 years representing District 5, per his own candidate statement -- independently corroborated by Wikipedia, which dates his council service to December 2018 and notes a stint as the council-selected Mayor from December 2022 to January 2023. His statement lists a debt-free city budget, fighting a proposed SDG&E high-voltage power line project (the "Powerlink"), public safety, traffic, homeless outreach and encampment cleanup, and parks as priorities, and cites endorsements from CAL FIRE Firefighters and former Temecula mayors and councilmembers. **Strengths:** 8 years of District 5 representation, a debt-free city budget he cites as a shared council accomplishment, and endorsements from firefighters and former city officials. **Trade-offs:** No independent news coverage or biography beyond his own filed statement and a Wikipedia summary of his council record was found in this research pass. **Keep in mind:** His statement opens "As your mayor and council member," but independent sources name Jessica Alexander as Temecula's 2026 Mayor -- likely leftover language from his 2022-23 mayoral stint, not a current claim. ## Yuan Hawkes A challenger with a PhD in Molecular Genetics from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a background as a cancer research scientist, per their own candidate statement. A 19-year Temecula resident, they have served as a Temecula Community Services Commissioner (2022-25) and a Springs Charter School Board Director (2019-22). Their stated priorities are reducing traffic (signal coordination, telework incentives, roundabouts), preserving open space and pushing back on overbuilding, and reducing regulation on local businesses. **Strengths:** Recent local commission experience (Community Services Commissioner, 2022-25) and a specific, detailed traffic-reduction platform. **Trade-offs:** Not a sitting officeholder, and no independent biography or news coverage was found beyond their own filed statement. **Keep in mind:** Their scientific/research background is a different kind of preparation than elected experience -- voters may weigh that differently than an incumbency record. ## Russell Shirley A challenger who describes themselves as a firefighter paramedic and veteran, per their own candidate statement. They frame their campaign around public safety, traffic and infrastructure, and "responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars," and describes themselves explicitly as "not a career politician." **Strengths:** Shirley has a first-responder background. They frame it as direct experience with public safety and crisis decision-making. **Trade-offs:** No independent biography, news coverage, or detailed policy platform was found beyond their own filed statement. **Keep in mind:** Their statement leans on general themes like accountability, transparency, and public safety. It lacks the specific proposals some other candidates in this race offer. Weigh what is said against what is left unsaid. ## Laurel LaMont A challenger who describes themselves as a working single mother who raised their son in Temecula, a Trader Joe's crew member, and the founder of a group called "Upward Community," per their own candidate statement. LaMont says they have spent years studying housing policy, land use, and local government, and regularly participate in local government meetings. Their stated priorities are transparent and accountable government, housing for people who work locally, and safe, walkable and bikeable neighborhoods. **Strengths:** LaMont states a multi-year record of following local housing and land-use policy. Their platform is explicitly grounded in lived experience as a working parent. **Trade-offs:** LaMont is not a sitting officeholder. They work outside city government in a non-elected role. No independent biography or news coverage was found beyond their own filed statement. **Keep in mind:** Their platform centers on housing affordability and land use. That is a useful contrast against the other three candidates' more safety- and infrastructure-focused platforms. ## Sources 1. [City of Temecula -- "Election & Voter Information" page: the July 1, 2026 Notice of Election set three council seats (Districts 1, 3, 5) for the Nov. 3, 2026 General Municipal Election, but Districts 1 and 3 each drew a single qualified nominee (Matt Rahn, filed 7/31; Brenden Kalfus, filed 7/21), and on Aug. 11, 2026 the City Council unanimously appointed both directly to office under Elections Code Section 10229, cancelling those two elections. Only District 5 proceeds to the Nov. 3 ballot, contested by Yuan Hawkes (qualified 7/23), Russell Shirley (7/30), Zak Schwank (7/30), and Laurel LaMont (8/3). Also confirms Temecula is a general-law, council-manager city with a 5-member by-district Council and a council-selected (not directly elected) Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore. Reached by a direct curl fetch with a browser User-Agent after the ordinary WebFetch tool 403'd every temeculaca.gov URL attempted.](https://temeculaca.gov/election) 2. [City of Temecula -- "Notice of Election," General Municipal Election, Nov. 3, 2026 (signed by City Clerk Randi Johl, dated July 1, 2026): originally set three Council seats -- Districts 1, 3, and 5, each a full four-year term -- with a nomination period of July 13 - Aug. 7, 2026, and cites Elections Code Section 10229 as the authority for appointing a candidate outright if an office draws no more than one nominee. Superseded for Districts 1 and 3 by the Aug. 11, 2026 Council action described in temeculaca-election-2026.](https://temeculaca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/23451) 3. [City of Temecula -- Zak Schwank's filed Candidate Statement, City Council District 5: "served the residents of District 5 on the Temecula City Council for the past 8 years"; a debt-free city budget, fighting the proposed SDG&E Powerlink project, public safety, traffic, homeless outreach and encampment cleanup, and parks/trails as priorities; endorsed by CAL FIRE Firefighters and former Mayors and Council Members. Opens "As your mayor and council member" -- read here as a residual line from his Dec. 2022-Jan. 2023 stint as the council-selected Mayor (per Wikipedia) rather than a claim to the office in 2026, since independent sources (wikipedia-temecula-2026) name Jessica Alexander as the sitting 2026 Mayor -- flagged, not silently resolved.](https://temeculaca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/23536/Candidate-Statements) 4. [City of Temecula -- Yuan Hawkes's filed Candidate Statement, City Council District 5: a PhD in Molecular Genetics (Univ. of Illinois at Chicago) and former cancer research scientist; 19-year Temecula resident; Temecula Community Services Commissioner (2022-25), Springs Charter School Board Director (2019-22), Toastmasters Area Director/Club President, HOA President, homeschool educator; priorities of reducing traffic (signal coordination, telework incentives, roundabouts), preserving open space/pushing back on overbuilding, and reducing business regulation.](https://temeculaca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/23536/Candidate-Statements) 5. [City of Temecula -- Russell Shirley's filed Candidate Statement, City Council District 5: a firefighter paramedic and veteran; priorities of public safety, traffic/infrastructure, preserving Temecula's "family-friendly community," and fiscal accountability; describes himself as "not a career politician."](https://temeculaca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/23536/Candidate-Statements) 6. [City of Temecula -- Laurel LaMont's filed Candidate Statement, City Council District 5: a working single mother who raised her son in Temecula; a Trader Joe's crew member and founder of "Upward Community"; describes years spent studying housing policy, land use, and local government, and regular participation in local government meetings; priorities of transparent/accountable government, housing people who work locally, and walkable/bikeable neighborhoods.](https://temeculaca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/23536/Candidate-Statements) 7. [Wikipedia -- "Zak Schwank": a Temecula City Council member representing District 5 since December 2018 (independently corroborating his statement's "past 8 years"); helped establish the Temecula Bike Train (c. 2011); served as the council-selected Mayor from December 13, 2022 to January 1, 2023. Carries a notability disclaimer, and is a self-editable reference, not a news source.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zak_Schwank) 8. [Wikipedia -- "Temecula, California": confirms council-manager government with a mayor "appointed annually by the city council" rather than directly elected, and names the current council as of 2026 -- Mayor Jessica Alexander, Mayor Pro Tem Matt Rahn, and Councilmembers Brenden Kalfus, Zak Schwank, and James Stewart -- independently corroborating the rotating-mayor structure and Schwank's and Rahn's current officeholding.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temecula,_California) 9. [City of Temecula NetFile — public campaign-disclosure search](https://netfile.com/public/tem/campaign/search-entities) ## The rest of the ballot Temecula City Council, District 5 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "Temecula City Council, District 5 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/temecula-council-5 (sources last retrieved September 3, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.