Stockton City Council District 5 voters will see two names on their November ballots, although only one candidate is still actively seeking the seat.
Incumbent Councilmember Brando Villapudua is seeking a second four-year term representing south-central Stockton. His challenger, Desiree Lynch, formally withdrew from the race in August after she was arrested amid an investigation into election fraud, but her name will remain on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Lynch qualified for the general election by finishing second in a crowded June primary. Villapudua received 34% of votes, while Lynch received about 31% among five candidates.
A judge later rejected an effort by a District 5 voter to remove Lynch from the November ballot, finding that she had qualified for the runoff through votes cast in the primary.
The circumstances leave voters with an unusual selection process.
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The City Council is Stockton’s governing body. It consists of seven members — six councilmembers and the mayor. Councilmembers set city policy, approve the municipal budget, allocate funding for public services and infrastructure, and make decisions affecting public safety, economic development and neighborhood services. They are limited to two four-year terms.
Councilmembers currently earn $30,832.62 annually, or $2,569.40 monthly. Their salaries are scheduled to increase to $40,000 annually, or $3,333.33 monthly, on Jan. 1. Council service is part time, with no benefits.
Villapudua, first elected in 2022, told Stocktonia in written responses that his first term has been largely about learning how projects move through City Hall and getting started on work that can sometimes take years to complete.
“I am proud of the progress we have made, but I am not going to pretend the work is finished. It isn’t,” Villapudua said. “I am seeking another term because I want to finish what we started.”
He identified public safety, homelessness and neighborhood conditions as District 5’s most pressing issues and said the three are interconnected.
Villapudua said if granted another term, he would focus on streets, lighting, blight, illegal dumping and parks. Regarding homelessness, he called for a “structured relocation model” that would combine managed locations, sanitation and services with enforcement once alternatives are available.
“We can be compassionate and still have standards,” he said. “Those two things do not have to compete with each other.”
Villapudua made similar issues central to his primary campaign. He said then that ongoing projects required continued advocacy and experience at City Hall.
His first term has also included consequential and sometimes controversial council decisions.
In August 2025, Villapudua cast the lone vote against establishing police substations in Weston Ranch and Sierra Vista, both in District 6. The council approved the proposal 6-1. The locations were expected to use primarily existing police staffing while adding an estimated $150,000 to $170,000 annually in net city costs.
Villapudua has said he supports the concept of neighborhood substations but questioned whether the city had adequately addressed staffing, costs and long-term operations.
The Sierra Vista substation opened in early 2026. The city later shifted plans for the Weston Ranch substation from a shopping center to the Weston Ranch Library. Stocktonia found no subsequent city announcement indicating the location has opened.
Villapudua’s conduct at City Hall has also become an issue during his term.
In April 2025, his six council colleagues voted unanimously to censure him after determining that a gesture made from the dais during a January meeting and directed toward a member of the public was obscene and violated council decorum rules. Villapudua did not participate in the vote because he was the subject of the proceedings.
At the time, Villapudua said the process had distracted from community issues. He apologized for the impact of the incident and said he would continue representing District 5.
When asked by Stocktonia whether there was a vote, policy position or decision from his first term that he would adjust, Villapudua did not identify anything specific.
“There are certainly situations I would handle differently,” he said, adding that he has learned more about communicating and working together in the past four years.
“There are times when I probably could have communicated better or worked harder to bring people together before taking a position,” Villapudua said. “But I don’t regret standing up for District 5 or asking difficult questions.”
Before withdrawing from the race, Lynch said she was running because change is needed.
She told Stocktonia ahead of the June primary that homelessness, crime and government accountability were her central issues. She said District 5 needed “real solutions” and criticized Villapudua over his performance and his conduct in office.
During the summer, Lynch, a registered nurse, called for addressing public safety along with mental healthcare, addiction treatment and supportive services in the district. She said accountability and services should work together when addressing violence and homelessness.
But her campaign changed course in August amid questions about whether she lived in District 5.
Lynch initially announced on Aug. 14 that she was ending her campaign, citing concerns about her health, her family and their safety. Four days later, she reversed that decision and said she would remain in the race.
She was arrested Aug. 19 following an investigation by the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office and was released on bond later that day.
Prosecutors allege Lynch used addresses where she did not live to register to vote and qualify to run in District 5. She formally withdrew from the election Aug. 24 and said through her attorney, Allen Sawyer, that she would focus on her family and the criminal case against her.
Lynch now faces six felony charges, including three counts of perjury and charges involving false voter registration and candidacy paperwork. Prosecutors also charged her with possession of an assault weapon they said was found during the search of a north Stockton residence.
Although Lynch formally withdrew from the race in August, political activity around the contest has continued. Vice Mayor Jason Lee, who endorsed Lynch earlier in the campaign, has publicly urged voters to “vote Brando Villapudua out of office.”
Lynch has not yet entered a plea in the case. At a hearing on Oct. 8, a judge granted her temporary permission to travel to Atlanta for a wedding and continued her arraignment to Nov. 16 — two weeks after Election Day — so her defense could review discovery documents.
If Lynch receives the most votes, the outcome would depend in part on whether she is legally eligible to take office. City Attorney Donald Larkin told Stocktonia on Aug. 25 that if a court later determined the winner was ineligible, the city would follow the court’s order or judgment.
If the District 5 seat became vacant, the City Council would appoint a replacement from among District 5 electors under the City Charter, Larkin said.
The runner-up would not automatically receive the seat. The appointee would serve until Dec. 31 following the next general election, when voters would elect someone to serve the remainder of the term.
Stocktonia staff reporter Hannah Workman contributed to this article.