Breakdown: Riverside County Local Elections

Hello everyone! With the upcoming general election this November, it’s important that you stay informed about your local elections. Here is some information about candidates in the council member and mayoral races for Riverside, Indio, Moreno Valley, and Temecula.  

To learn more about candidate statements, click here. For each section, there will be a page number indicating where that candidate’s statement can be found. 

Starting with Riverside, these candidates are running for the position of Non-Partisan Governing Board Member of the Riverside Unified School District. Here are the candidates and the areas they are running for. Statements can be found on pages 38-40.  

1. Karen Coleman– Trustee Area 2 
2. Dale Kinnear– Trustee Area 2 
3. Chani Beeman – Trustee Area 3 
4. Amanda Vickers – Trustee Area 3 
5. Jesse Teed – Trustee Area 4 
6. Marla A. Matime – Trustee Area 4 
7. B. “Lynna” Gernertt – Trustee Area 4 
8. Marcelle Williams – Trustee Area 4 

Moving on to the Moreno Valley Unified School District, here are the candidates for Non-Partisan Governing Board Member. Statements can be found on pages 32-33. 

1. Johanna Leiva – Trustee Area 2 
2. Susan J. Smith – Trustee Area 2 
3. Rhodes Williams – Trustee Area 5 
4. Ruth Self-Williams – Trustee Area 5 

Now for the position of Non-Partisan Governing Board Member for the Temecula Valley Unified School District. Statements can be found on pages 43-46.  

1. Melinda Anderson – Trustee Area 1 
2. Allison Barclay – Trustee Area 1 
3. Angela Talarzyk – Trustee Area 2 
4. Emil Roger Barham – Trustee Area 2  
5. Gary Oddi- Trustee Area 2 
6. Joseph Komrosky – Trustee Area 4 
7. David Sola – Trustee Area 4 
8. Jon Cobb – Trustee Area 5 
9. Steven Schwartz – Trustee Area 5 

Here are the candidates for Indio’s varying positions. Statements can be found on pages 80-81. 

1. Glen Miller – Non-Partisan City of Indio Council Member District 1 
2. Benjamin “Ben” Guitron, IV – Non-Partisan City of Indio Council Member District 5 
3. Lupe Ramos Amith – Non-Partisan City of Indio Council Member District 5 
4. Cynthia Hernandez – City Clerk 
5. Megan K. Scarborough – City Clerk 
6. Rob Rockwell – Treasurer 

And finally, here are the mayoral candidates for the City of Moreno Valley. The cities of Riverside, Temecula, and Indio will not have new candidates on the ballot for the mayor position. Statements can be found on Page 90. 

Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement for any of the following candidates. It is simply to inform you of the eligible candidates and their message to you 

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1. Ulises Cabrera 
2. Hector Diaz 
3. Dr. Patsy Brown 
4. Daryl Terrell 

Judge Jackson Lucky breaks down the importance of voting in his keynote address during the Riverside County Law Library’s Law Day Panel (2024). 

“We can see all the time on the news the national issues of the presidential election, the crisis we have as a nation, the issues that we have as a nation that affect us on a grand scale. But when it comes to things like, how do we deal with our neighbors? What kind of protection do we have in the place for the smaller things? Whether we are allowed to go to a park at a particular time, whether we are allowed to have a demonstration on a particular day, at a particular place… Those are things that really come down to local governance. It’s going to be our cities and our counties, our municipalities, that give us access to have that kind of voice. And it’s our participation in local elections that has a meaningful effect, because a lot of people feel-and I think incorrectly- but they do feel that ‘well when I vote in a national election, I am one voice among millions.’ But when you vote in a local election you’re one voice among hundreds, maybe thousands, and maybe millions. And there are plenty of local elections where it has come down to singled digit votes, sometimes even a single vote that decides who gets elected or what policies are put into place or what measures pass or what bonds fund particular activities within a community. And so, it’s that local participation that really makes the difference on our day-to-day democracy and how we get to live our lives… You want to get out there and vote, you want to get out there and participate because if you feel that your voice isn’t loud enough to be heard nationally, number one I think you’re probably wrong, but number two, it’s definitely loud enough to be heard locally” (6:35-8:57). 

Written by Andrea Larios, Intern at the Riverside County Law Library

References – 

“Cabrera for Mayor of Moreno Valley.” Ulises for Mayor 2024, ulisesformayor.com/.  

“Contest/Candidate Proof List.” Voteinfo.Net, 11 Sept. 2024, voteinfo.net/sites/g/files/aldnop371/files/2024-09/9%2011%202024%20official%20candidate%20list%20-eng.pdf.   

Diaz, Hector. “Hectordiazformayor.” HectorDiazForMayor, hectordiaz4mayor.com/.  

“Dr. Patsy Brown’s Hour of Power.” In Him Global Media, subsplash.com/inhimglobalmedia-ca-9288/media/ms/+7n4rt6t.  

“November 5, 2024 Election.” Voteinfo.Net, voteinfo.net/november-5-2024-election.  

RCLawLib. “RCLL Law Day Panel 2024.” YouTube, YouTube, 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLBiJz1rIlw.   

report, Staff. “Daryl Terrell, Moreno Valley Mayor, 2024 Election Questionnaire.” Press Enterprise, Press Enterprise, 7 Oct. 2024, www.pressenterprise.com/2024/10/07/daryl-terrell-moreno-valley-mayor-2024-election-questionnaire/.   

Vote, RivCo. “2024 Candidate Statements .” Voteinfo.Net, 2024, voteinfo.net/sites/g/files/aldnop371/files/2024-09/ENGLISH-NOV24STatements-ALL.pdf.