Here’s who’s running in the June 8 Riverside City Council election

Nine candidates have qualified for the June 8 election to fill three seats on the Riverside City Council.

Most of those on the ballot — six people — are running for the Ward 2 seat that longtime City Councilperson Andy Melendrez is leaving. Melendrez, first elected in 2006, announced in January he would not run again after serving four consecutive terms. He unsuccessfully ran for mayor in November.

Two people qualified for the Ward 4 race and one for the Ward 6 contest, according to the city’s elections website.

Ward 2 takes in Canyon Crest, Eastside, Sycamore Canyon and UC Riverside. Ward 4 encompasses the Alessandro Heights, Casa Blanca, Mission Grove and Orangecrest neighborhoods. Ward 6 is composed of Arlanza, part of Arlington, La Sierra and the Galleria at Tyler area.

Here are the candidates:

Ward 2

• Aram Ayra, nonprofit director
• Clarissa Cervantes, businesswoman/researcher
• Jose “Tony” Huerta, educator/athletics coach
• Joe Paredes, business owner
• Austin D. Skipper, consultant
• Anthony Tyson, Realtor

Ward 4

• Chuck Conder, Riverside City Councilmember
• Monrow Mabon, pastor/attorney

Ward 6

• Jim Perry, Riverside City Councilmember

Though Perry has no opponent, his name will be on the ballot and an election will be held in Ward 6, said Eva Arseo, interim city clerk. Write-in candidates could seek that seat, she said.

In each race, a winner will be declared if any candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, Arseo said. If no one emerges with a majority of the ballots cast, a runoff between the top two vote-getters would be held in November.

Riverside City Council members are paid an annual salary of $41,376.

This is the last time Riverside residents will elect council members in an odd year, Arseo said. Going forward, city elections will be held in even years, following passage of a measure in fall that schedules future council races when there are statewide elections.

The 2021 winners, because of the change, will be awarded five-year terms instead of the usual four-year terms.

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