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City of Ventura · Statewide General Election

San Buenaventura City Council, District 4

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 would represent one of Ventura's seven City Council districts: city ordinances, the budget, and land use for this Ventura County city of about 110,763 residents (the county seat). The Council appoints a City Manager (Bill Ayub, a former Ventura County Sheriff, as of this cycle) to run day-to-day operations. A 4-year term, staggered so three or four seats are up every two years -- Districts 1, 4, 5, and 6 are up this cycle; Districts 2, 3, and 7 aren't up again until 2028. Ventura has no separately, directly elected Mayor -- the Council selects one of its own members each December to hold the title for a two-year term and preside over meetings. Dr. Jeannette Sanchez-Palacios (District 4, on this year's ballot for re-election) currently holds it, selected by her colleagues in December 2024, with Doug Halter (District 2) as Deputy Mayor. Ventura moved from at-large elections to seven single-member districts in 2018 after a threatened California Voting Rights Act challenge.

Incumbent Mayor Jeannette Sanchez-Palacios seeks a second council term against three challengers: Kyle R. Clark, who filed no ballot designation or statement; business owner and pastor Scott Shoemake; and teacher Richard T. Rosin, who frames his campaign as a rejection of the "status quo."

This person would represent one of Ventura's seven City Council districts: city ordinances, the budget, and land use for this Ventura County city of about 110,763 residents (the county seat). The Council appoints a City Manager -- Bill Ayub, a former Ventura County Sheriff, as of this cycle -- to run day-to-day operations. A 4-year term, staggered so three or four seats are up every two years. Ventura has no separately, directly elected Mayor -- the Council selects one of its own members each December to hold the title for a two-year term and preside over meetings. Dr. Jeannette Sanchez-Palacios currently holds it, selected by her colleagues in December 2024, with Doug Halter (District 2) as Deputy Mayor.

District 4 covers Ventura's Midtown. It's one of four districts up this cycle, alongside Districts 1, 5, and 6; Districts 2, 3, and 7 aren't up again until 2028. Ventura moved from at-large council elections to seven single-member districts in 2018, after a threatened California Voting Rights Act challenge.

Jeannette Sanchez-Palacios

The incumbent and current Mayor. Her ballot designation reads "City of Ventura Councilmember." Her candidate statement says she has spent over 20 years in public service in Ventura, has represented District 4 since 2021, and cites funding street repairs and public safety, expanding housing options, backing arts programs, and creating student internships in local government; she also serves on the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging.

Strengths

Incumbency, the Council-selected Mayor's title, and endorsements her statement names: fellow councilmembers, a county supervisor, two school-board presidents, and three state/federal officials.

Trade-offs

That breadth of institutional support is exactly the target of an opponent (Rosin) campaigning against the "status quo."

Keep in mind

No independent, non-campaign evaluation of her specific council votes or her record as Mayor was found this session.

Kyle R. Clark

His ballot designation reads "No Ballot Designation" -- he chose not to list an occupation. He did not pay to file a candidate statement, so no biography or platform is available from that source.

Strengths

None found this session beyond having qualified for the ballot.

Trade-offs

The least documented candidate in this shard -- no ballot designation, no statement, and no independent coverage found.

Keep in mind

Declining both a ballot designation and a statement is a candidate's own choice, not evidence of anything about his campaign -- it just means this dataset has almost nothing to go on for him.

Scott Shoemake

His ballot designation reads "Business Owner/Clergy." His candidate statement describes him as a pastor and business owner who has lived in Ventura's Saticoy neighborhood for over a decade, served on a School Site Council, and volunteered through the Thomas Fire recovery; his stated priorities are public safety, support for local businesses, and protecting beaches, parks, trails, and open space.

Strengths

A combined business-owner and local-clergy background gives him ties to two different community networks, plus direct School Site Council experience.

Trade-offs

A first-time candidate with no prior elected office.

Keep in mind

No independent biography or news coverage beyond his own statement was found this session.

Richard T. Rosin

His ballot designation reads "Teacher/Father." His candidate statement says he was raised in District 4 since 1975, holds a B.S. in Kinesiology and a Master's in Education, taught at Ventura High School, and has spent more than 20 years teaching in the Oxnard Union High School District; he is also a U.S. Army veteran and a father of three, and campaigns against downtown high-rise development and for street repair funded by existing tax dollars.

Strengths

Multi-generational roots in the specific district he's running to represent, and a long local teaching career.

Trade-offs

A first-time candidate with no prior elected office, running against an incumbent Mayor.

Keep in mind

No independent biography or news coverage beyond his own statement was found this session.

Source review: Very strong (93/100) · 10 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context.

  • clerkrecorder.venturacounty.gov (opens in a new tab)Ventura County Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters -- "Contest/Candidate Proof List" (report CFMR001, dated Aug. 18, 2026, on-ballot contests only): confirms the City of San Buenaventura (City of Ventura) has exactly four contests this cycle -- City Council Districts 1, 4, 5, and 6 -- and names each district's incumbent and full qualified candidate roster
  • clerkrecorder.venturacounty.gov (opens in a new tab)Ventura County Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters -- November 3, 2026 General Election Contest/Candidate Proof List, off-ballot companion document (single-filer and appointed-in-lieu contests under Elections Code Section 10229): carries no City of San Buenaventura entry of any kind, ruling out a Section 10229 cancellation for any of the four council districts
  • cityofventura.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Ventura -- Elections page: "the next General Municipal Election will be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026 for Districts 1, 4, 5, and 6"; also states the 2026 expenditure ceiling ($55,000) and single-source contribution limits ($425 if the ceiling is accepted, $225 if rejected)
  • cityofventura.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Ventura -- "November 3, 2026 Election" page: nomination period July 13 - Aug. 7, 2026, with a note that the period is extended five days (to Aug. 12) for any district whose incumbent doesn't run for re-election; links to the City Clerk's Roster of Candidate Activity and the four per-district Candidate Statement PDFs
  • cityofventura.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Ventura -- City Council page: names the current Mayor (Dr. Jeannette Sánchez-Palacios, District 4) and Deputy Mayor (Doug Halter, District 2), and lists all seven councilmembers by district, including District 6's Jim Duran -- the incumbent who did not seek re-election in 2026
  • cityofventura.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Ventura City Clerk -- "Roster of Candidate Activity, November 3, 2026" (as of Aug. 12, 2026): a per-candidate filing and "Qualified for Ballot" table matching the county's certified roster exactly for all fourteen on-ballot candidates, and additionally showing three people (Katherine "KC" Rodriguez, District 6; Heather May, District 4; Jan Zavolosieck, District 5) who filed a Form 501 but never completed nomination papers and so did not qualify
  • ojaivalleynews.com (opens in a new tab)Ojai Valley News -- 'See who's officially on the ballot for Ventura council, school board, education races' (Grant Phillips, updated Aug. 11, 2026): independently lists the certified Area 2 pairing (Mike Teasdale, incumbent; Debra McIntyre-Sciarrino) and Area 4 pairing (Scott Dettorre, Kristina Pine), with matching geographic descriptions -- Area 2 as Conejo Valley, Area 4 as eastern county including Simi Valley and Moorpark
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia -- "Ventura, California," Government section: council-manager government, seven single-member council districts adopted in 2018 after a threatened California Voting Rights Act challenge, 4-year staggered terms, a Council-elected Mayor and Deputy Mayor serving 2-year terms, and the 2020 Census population (110,763); its infobox also names City Manager Bill Ayub, sourced in the page's own wikitext to a Dec. 2023 KVTA News report on his appointment
  • public.netfile.com (opens in a new tab)Ventura's own NetFile public campaign-finance portal (public.netfile.com/pub2/?AID=VNT, linked from the city's own Elections page): a negative-result check -- the portal is a client-rendered single-page app with no static content or reachable public API found this session, so no itemized Form 460/497 contribution or expenditure figures are available for any of the fourteen candidates. Documents the absence of a reachable local financial-disclosure source, not any candidate's actual finances.
  • cityofventura.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Ventura City Clerk -- "District 4 Candidate Statements 2026": official, paid Statements of Qualifications filed by Richard T. Rosin, Jeannette Sánchez-Palacios, and Scott Shoemake; Kyle R. Clark did not pay to file one ("N/A" on the roster's Candidate Statement Deposit column), so no statement exists for him

Last updated September 1, 2026.