1-minute voter guide: National City
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Two National City council members are up for re-election this year, and voters in the South Bay city will decide whether to increase taxes for streets and parks.
State of play: Councilmember Jose Rodriguez is running for re-election in the city's second district against Randi Castle-Salgado, a real estate agent and planning commissioner.
- Councilmember Marcus Bush's term is up in District 4, and Daniel Perez, a loan officer and real estate agent who ran for the position unsuccessfully in 2018 and 2020, is running against him, as is Victor Arreola, a nonprofit executive.
Between the lines: Rodriguez ran for mayor in 2022 against then-incumbent Mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis, a fellow Democrat. Mayor Ron Morrison, an independent, won the three-person race.
- Bush switched his endorsement from Sotelo-Solis to Rodriguez in 2022, one of many progressive and labor union defections toward Rodriguez in a heated race.
Driving the news: National City voters will also weigh in on a parcel tax expected to raise $1.7 million per year for road and park improvements.
- That measure was put on the ballot not by a council vote, but after Rodriguez led a citizens' initiative to collect signatures from 10% of the city's nearly 28,000 registered voters.
By the numbers: National City elections are officially nonpartisan, so party affiliations are not listed on the ballot, but about half of city voters are Democrats.
- Independents represent the next largest share, and Republicans are in third, outnumbered by Democrats by nearly 3 to 1.
Go deeper: Check out our complete election guide.