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Modesto voters will confront a November ballot crowded with local races for city council and school and irrigation boards – in addition to state and national government races and 14 statewide measures.

And six in 10 voters throughout Stanislaus County – specifically in Modesto, Ceres, Patterson, Riverbank and Waterford – will confront local measures affecting their pocketbooks and important local services.

Modesto City Council

  • South Modesto voters will choose between District 2 incumbent Eric Alvarez and challengers Juan Telles and Jon Rodriguez.
  • North-central Modesto voters will decide between District 5 incumbent Jeremiah Williams and challenger Jared Sylvia.
  • Nick Bavaro becomes the first council member to run unopposed for consecutive terms since Modesto adopted geographic voting districts in 2009. Voters in the city’s southeast District 4 section will see his name on the Nov. 3 ballot, but no one else’s.

See the council district locator to check which voting district you’re in.

Modesto City Schools

  • Salida, Del Rio and northwest Modesto voters will choose between Area 1 Trustee Cindy Marks and challenger Nefi Lopez. 
  • South Modesto voters will decide between Area 7 incumbent Adolfo Lopez and challenger Fabiola Garcia.
  • Debra Brady and Michelle Tomlinson are vying to represent southeast Modesto. Area 5 incumbent Jolene Daly isn’t seeking reelection.
  • Neither is incumbent Chad Brown in Area 3, covering northeast Modesto and west Riverbank. Stephanie Poulsen is unopposed and will take over that seat.

See the map toward the bottom of this webpage to check your voting area.

Modesto Irrigation District

  • Most Modesto voters will decide between Division 2 incumbent Janice Keating and challengers Mike Moradian and John Van Oostende.
  • Northeast Modesto and west Riverbank voters will choose between Division 3 incumbent Robert Frobose and challenger Dominic Giorgi.
  • Voters west of Modesto and in northwest Modesto and Salida will decide between Division 4 incumbent John Boer and challenger Brad Johnson.

Check the map on this webpage to verify your voting division.

Local ballot measures

  • Voters in both Ceres and Patterson will weigh 1-cent sales tax increases for general city services such as law enforcement and park maintenance. Measure P in Ceres could raise $9.4 million a year for city coffers, and Measure L in Patterson is projected to bring in $9 million.
  • Measure M in Riverbank would give voters power to approve development west of the city. Opponents of the 1,000-acre River Walk proposal forced this initiative onto the ballot, but the Riverbank City Council is expected to vote on River Walk before November, preempting the citywide vote. Under intense pressure from organized opponents, city planning commissioners last week voted 4-1 to recommend that the council drop the project.
  • Voters in Modesto City Schools’ high school district will decide whether to extend a previous bond to upgrade and improve high schools, costing property owners $24 annually for every $100,000 of assessed value. Measure K would raise about $14 million a year to pay off $250 million in bonds.
  • Voters in northeast Modesto’s Sylvan Union School District will weigh Measure N, a $70 million bond costing property owners $25 annually for every $100,000 of assessed value. 
  • With Measure O, Waterford voters will decide whether its city council members should be elected by geographic districts. The mayor would continue to represent the city at large – a common voting structure for municipal governments.

Both school bonds require 55% voter approval, while all other local measures require simple majorities, or 50% plus one vote.

Other local races

  • Kelley Coelho and Jim Reape will challenge incumbent Amy Bublak for the Turlock mayor’s seat. Two other City Council seats are contested as well.
  • Geoff Powers and Sam Rush will challenge incumbent George Carr for Hughson mayor.
  • Matthew Harden will challenge incumbent Casey Graham for Newman mayor.

See the Stanislaus County clerk-recorder’s website for dozens of other races for city councils, school boards, irrigation districts, municipal advisory councils and more.

State and national offices

The November ballot will also decide some races whose first voting round came in the June 2 primary.

  • House of Representatives District 5 – Incumbent Tom McClintock, a Republican, and Democrat Michael Masuda.
  • House of Representatives District 13 – Incumbent Adam Gray, a Democrat, and Republican Kevin Lincoln.
  • Senate District 4 – Republican Alexandra Duarte and Democrat Jaron Brandon.
  • California Assembly District 9 – Incumbent Heath Flora, a Republican, and Democrat Matthew Adams.

California voters also will confront 14 statewide measures, including a billionaire tax, an $11 billion affordable housing bond and voter ID requirements. Here’s a breakdown by our CalMatters partners.

Garth Stapley is the accountability reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the nonprofit Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact him at garth@themodestofocus.org.

Garth Stapley is the accountability reporter for The Modesto Focus.