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City of Ventura · Statewide General Election

San Buenaventura City Council, District 6

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.

An open seat: incumbent Jim Duran did not file for re-election, drawing this cycle's most contested Ventura council field -- six candidates, including business owner Noe Aguilar Vega, public works inspector Steven Almcrantz, community-college commissioner Danny Carrillo, energy policy consultant Karba Eckley, teacher James Loughrie, and nonprofit executive Kevin Daly.

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 (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.

District 6 covers Southeastern Ventura. It's one of four districts up this cycle, alongside Districts 1, 4, and 5; 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. Incumbent Jim Duran did not pull nomination papers to run again; the city's own Elections page confirms his absence triggered a five-day nomination-period extension, to Aug. 12, specifically for this district -- the reason its field is six candidates rather than a typical two or three.

Noe Aguilar Vega

His ballot designation reads "Local Business Owner"; his candidate statement lists "Business Owner/Chief Executive Officer." He's 32 and a lifelong Ventura resident who started working for his grandfather's business in high school, later rose to a management role at the Summerland wastewater treatment plant overseeing public funds, budgets, and capital projects, and received the California Special Districts Association's President's Award before taking over his grandfather's business in 2022.

Strengths

Direct experience overseeing public-agency budgets and capital-improvement projects from the inside, paired with current small-business ownership.

Trade-offs

A first-time candidate with no prior elected office, in a six-candidate field.

Keep in mind

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

Steven Almcrantz

His ballot designation reads "Public Works Inspector." His candidate statement adds a Bachelor's degree in Public Administration and Political Science, and says his career has involved overseeing hundreds of public infrastructure and community-improvement projects -- streets, sidewalks, traffic signals, parks, and beaches; he lists public safety, infrastructure repair, and transportation as priorities.

Strengths

A public-sector infrastructure background directly relevant to the kind of projects a councilmember votes to fund.

Trade-offs

A first-time candidate with no prior elected office, in a six-candidate field.

Keep in mind

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

Danny Carrillo

His ballot designation reads "College Personnel Commissioner"; his own statement lists "Ventura College Commissioner." A U.S. Marine Corps veteran with a B.S. in Business, he currently serves as a Ventura County Community College District Commissioner and previously served on the city's Measure O oversight committee and as a Library Commissioner; his statement emphasizes public safety, infrastructure, and an open-door approach to constituents.

Strengths

The broadest record of prior civic-board service among the six candidates -- a current community-college district commission seat plus past city committee and commission service.

Trade-offs

None of that service is on the City Council itself, so it's adjacent experience rather than a voting record on city matters.

Keep in mind

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

Karba Eckley

Her ballot designation reads "Energy Policy Consultant." Her candidate statement says she's 36, leads energy programs for public agencies across California, previously worked on environmental and sustainability initiatives at Patagonia, and has served on the city's General Plan Advisory Committee and the Montalvo Area Community Council; she lists affordability, road maintenance, and small-business partnerships as priorities and states she's endorsed by current and former Council members.

Strengths

Direct professional experience with public-agency budgets and infrastructure funding, plus recent service on the committee that shaped the city's General Plan through 2050.

Trade-offs

A first-time candidate with no prior elected office.

Keep in mind

Her statement claims endorsements from current and former Council members without naming them -- unlike Sanchez-Palacios's, which names hers -- so this dataset couldn't verify which officials.

James Loughrie

His ballot designation reads "Teacher." His candidate statement says he's a 20-year Special Education teacher, a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteer, and a Montalvo Area Community Council member. His platform is the most specific among this cycle's Ventura candidates: he names three concrete proposals -- focusing spending on road and sidewalk repair, a 650-foot buffer ordinance between sober-living houses, and banning e-bikes from city parks.

Strengths

The most specific, concrete platform of any candidate in this shard -- named proposed ordinances rather than general priorities.

Trade-offs

A first-time candidate with no prior elected office; his named proposals -- the sober-living-house buffer and e-bike ban -- would each need their own legal review if enacted.

Keep in mind

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

Kevin Daly

His ballot designation reads "Non Profit Executive." 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 -- the city's own roster shows he qualified earliest among the six, on July 29, 2026.

Trade-offs

The least documented candidate in this six-person field -- no statement, and no independent coverage found.

Keep in mind

Declining a statement is a candidate's own choice, not evidence of anything about his campaign -- it just means this dataset has little to go on for him beyond his ballot designation.

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 6 Candidate Statements 2026": official, paid Statements of Qualifications filed by Noe Aguilar Vega, Steven Almcrantz, Daniel "Danny" Carrillo, Karba Eckley, and James Loughrie; Kevin Daly 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.