The nominations period has closed for local candidates filing to run in the upcoming Nov. 3 general election, with a range of hopefuls vying for Morgan Hill’s mayor, City Council, and school board seats, as well as regional seats representing Morgan Hill at the county level.
Incumbent Mayor Mark Turner will face at least three challengers for the mayor’s seat: Kristopher Clayton, a carpenter; Deborah M. Africa, a retired registered nurse; and Jacob Montoya, whose nomination papers are still pending review as of the time of writing.
Two City Council seats are also up for reelection.
District B, currently represented by Yvonne Martinez Beltran, comprises the northern corner of Morgan Hill, bordered to the southwest by Monterey Road and to the southeast by Dunne Avenue. District D, which includes the westernmost neighborhoods of the city stretching Railroad Avenue and across the freeway and encompassing most of the neighborhoods west of Highway 101, is represented by Mayor Pro Tem Marilyn Librers.
Beltran faces a challenge from Steven Hayes II, a retired Gilroy fire captain and paramedic, while Librers will be defending her council seat from Dolores Alvarado, CEO of San Jose-based Community Health Partnership, according to the Morgan Hill City Clerk’s office.
Four of the seven trustees leading the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Education are also up for reelection.
Area 1 Trustee Nancy Altman is challenged by Jason Amezcua, a college educator, former county whistleblower and member of the Leadership Morgan Hill Board of Directors.
In Area 2, Board President John Horner is challenged by Gabriela Winter, a 40-year resident and self-described homemaker.
In Area 3, Board Vice President Sarah Northrup Gadus will defend her seat from Art Cohen, business consultant; and Cesar Gamboa, district translator at Gilroy Unified School District.
The Area 4 incumbent, Pamela Gardiner, does not appear on the county registrar’s unofficial list of candidates and has not independently confirmed whether she planned to file for reelection. The deadline to file was Aug. 7. For races where a qualified incumbent does not file, there is a five-day extension during which other candidates may file, closing August 12.
At the time of writing, two candidates have entered the Area 4 race: Claudia Ortiz, a local business owner; and Glen Webb, retired teacher, school district administrator and former Live Oak High School principal.
Raeena Lari, the County Board of Education trustee representing Area 7, which includes the Morgan Hill and Gilroy Unified School Districts as well as Evergreen School District and parts of Oak Grove School district, is facing a challenge from Karla Dominguez Vega, a student support specialist from P.A. Walsh.
Valley Water director John Varela, representing the district’s largest subdistrict encompassing Morgan Hill, Gilroy, San Martin and parts of south San Jose is running for reelection against challenger Jimmy Forbis, former city administrator of Gilroy.
Morgan Hill voters will also be asked to weigh in on Measure A, a proposal to change the position of city treasurer from an elected to an appointed position. The current city treasurer, Cindy Rogers Murphy, was elected in 2024 unopposed. Her four-year term ends in 2028.
Know your districts
Voters who do not know what City Council District or MHUSD Trustee Area they live in can use the county registrar’s “Look Up Your Districts” site at rovservices.sccgov.org/. Voters can enter their address, and the site will identify all city council, school district and special district areas in which they may vote.
