HOW TO RUN FOR CITY AND TOWN COUNCIL (2026)
Our guide to the forms required to run for office in Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley
Note: This is an update of an article originally written for the 2022 and 2024 elections and the current installment in “Running for Council,” demystifying the process of running for City Council and Town Council. Council seats in Districts 3, 4, and 5 are up for election in November 2026 in Twentynine Palms, and Districts 1, 3, and 5 are up for election in Yucca Valley. Specific deadlines are not yet posted — we will update this article once they are.
Other articles in the series:
ON RUNNING FOR COUNCIL: STEVEN BILDERAIN (2022)
ON RUNNING FOR CITY COUNCIL: Octavious Scott (2024)
Thinking of running for City Council in Twentynine Palms or Town Council in Yucca Valley? Getting ready to knock on doors, hang out at the farmer’s market, speak to service clubs and work on your Facebook page and Instagram account? In addition to the public aspects of campaigning for office, there is a series of documents that all candidates are required to file with the City Clerk. In the interest of encouraging everyday citizens to run for office, we’re offering potential candidates a heads-up on what to expect.
Multiple candidates running for City Council and Town Council are a sign of engaged communities in a vibrant democracy. However, citizen engagement took a back seat in the Morongo Basin in 2022 when in Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley, six incumbents ran for office and five of them ran unopposed. The only incumbent facing opposition lost.
In 2024, competitive races returned to Twentynine Palms, with contested elections in both Districts 1 and 2. In Yucca Valley, incumbents Jeff Drozd (District 2) and Robert Lombardo (District 4) both ran unopposed. Elections are YOUR chance to take an active role in the future of your city and town.
Twentynine Palms
In Twentynine Palms, there are three Council seats on the ballot and three Planning Commission seats appointed after the election, constituting majorities in both bodies. The districts up for election in 2026 are 3, 4, and 5. District 3 is held by Mayor Daniel Mintz, who has served on the Council since 2010 and is now in his fourth term. District 5 is held by McArthur Wright, who has served since 2014. Both Mintz and Wright ran unopposed in 2022.
District 4 is held by Mayor Pro Tem Octavious Scott, who first won his seat in 2022 by unseating incumbent Mayor Karmolette O'Gilvie by just eight votes — the only competitive race in these three districts in recent memory, and a vivid reminder that every vote counts. No formal re-election announcements have been made by any of the three sitting councilmembers.
Thinking about running? As of March 30, District 3 has 1,867 registered voters, District 4 has 1,704, and District 5 has 1,491 — these are the residents you'll need to reach to be successful. District boundaries were updated in 2022, so be sure to double check your district. You may want to use this tool to look up your district.
Yucca Valley
In Yucca Valley, there are three Council seats on the ballot and three Planning Commission seats appointed after the election. Similar to Twentynine Palms, these seats constitute the majority. The districts up for election in 2026 are 1, 3, and 5. District 1 is currently held by Mayor Pro Tem Jim Schooler, who was first elected in 2018 when Yucca Valley adopted its district-based election system. District 3 is held by Mayor Merl Abel and District 5 is held by Rick Denison, both of whom have served since 2014 — before the town was divided into districts.
None of these three seats has faced a challenger since the district system was adopted in 2018. The last time voters had a competitive choice in what are now Districts 3 and 5 was 2014, when nine candidates ran in a town-wide at-large race. As of March 30, District 1 has 2,540 registered voters, District 3 has 2,790, and District 5 has 2,631 — these are the residents you'll need to reach to win.
You may want to use this tool to look up which which district you reside in. Let’s hope 2026 will see democracy at work with competitive races in Yucca Valley in 2026.
Forms and Dates
Keep in mind that this is a general guide only. We highly recommend contacting your City or Town Clerk for an appointment if you are planning to run. The Clerk will provide you with the documents for 2026 and make the time to review the requirements with you.
Twentynine Palms: Cindy Villescas, (760) 367-6799, cvillescas@29palms.org
Yucca Valley: Brooke Dudra1, (760) 369-7209, townclerk@yucca-valley.org
Basics to know before you run:
Your first question might be “Who’s eligible?” To run for Council you must meet the following requirements:
Citizen of the United States
Registered voter and resident of Twentynine Palms or Yucca Valley
18 years or older
Resident of the district in which you plan to run
In Twentynine Palms, City Council members will be paid $700 per month once newly elected Councilmembers are seated in December. In Yucca Valley, Town Council members are paid $950 per month. Council members also have the option of participating in the City and Town benefit packages. Regular meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month in Twentynine Palms; in Yucca Valley the Town Council meets on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at 5 p.m. Additional meetings may be held as needed. The term of office for both Councils is four years.
Required Candidacy Materials
Declaration of Candidacy The required form on which the candidate declares what office they are running for, how their name appears on the ballot, and whether or not they want a short three-word description to follow their name.
Nomination Papers Nomination period dates have not yet been posted by the City of Twentynine Palms or the Town of Yucca Valley. Watch for an update here, and contact your City or Town Clerk directly for the latest information. Candidates need to collect at least 20 to 30 signatures of registered voters residing in the district in which they are running to support their candidacy. These signatures must be collected using forms supplied to the candidate by the City or Town Clerk. Once turned in, the signatures are compared with voter registration lists to determine validity. It is likely that some of the collected signatures will be deemed invalid. Some people think they’ve registered to vote, but haven’t, others have moved and failed to update their address, and in some cases, signatures simply don’t match. Therefore, it’s always best to collect more than the minimum number of signatures required.
Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501, Fair Political Practices Commission, FPPC) Outlines rules for soliciting and receiving donations and for expending personal funds in support of your candidacy. Required to be filed prior to soliciting any contributions or spending any funds.
Statement of Economic Interest (FPPC Form 700) Generally, candidates are required to declare investments, interests in real property, and business positions held on the date of filing the declaration of candidacy. In addition, certain types of income received in the year prior to filing the declaration of candidacy must be reported. This declaration of personal financial interests is necessary to ensure candidates are acting in the public’s interest and not their own. Going through this process also serves as a reminder of potential conflicts of interest. The City or Town Clerk will review the exact reporting requirements with you.
Candidate Statement Form and Candidate Statement This is the written statement supplied by the candidate that is printed in the Voter Information Guide and the form that accompanies it. Candidate statements for local office are 200 words or fewer and must follow strict content guidelines. Statements are limited to the candidate’s own background, qualifications, and platform. The candidate is prohibited from mentioning other candidates in their statement. Candidates are required to cover the costs of printing and translating their statement, usually around $150. Candidate statements are optional.
Overall, City and Town Council candidates can expect to pay approximately $200 to $400 in filing fees and associated costs. This is in addition to expenditures on materials promoting their candidacy.
If you do decide to run, be sure to contact editor@deserttrumpet.org so we can interview you and include you in our candidate forum — watch this space for the date!
The Desert Trumpet has enough funds to operate through June. We need your paid subscriptions to publish the coverage you depend on. Basic subscriptions are $50 per year or $5 per month.
Become a sustaining subscriber by increasing your subscription to $100 or more per year! Want to make a one-time donation or are you able to give more than $100? Donate via Paypal!
Leave your thoughts in the comments below. Please note that we do not allow anonymous comments. Please be sure your first and last name is on your profile prior to commenting. Anonymous comments will be deleted.
Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it.
Corrected after publication April 5th, the prior City Clerk was Lesley Copeland.