After the close of the extended candidate filing deadline for the November 2026 election, the races for available council seats in the cities of Riverbank and Oakdale are set.

Two seats are open on the Riverbank City Council, each for a four-year term.

Incumbent Luis Uribe is seeking reelection to his District 1 seat and is being challenged by Nai Nicholas Sosongkham, Sherry Fenn and Jeannette Reyes.

The deadline for District 3 filing was extended when appointed incumbent John Pimentel did not file. Two candidates will square off for the D3 seat in November, with Carissa Commons and Sammi Martinez both on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Also featured in Riverbank will be Measure M. Voters will be asked to cast ballots on a ‘Citizen Initiative Measure’ to require voter approval of urban development on agricultural or open space lands west of the city limits.

The measure, if adopted by a ‘yes’ vote, would then require that a “majority of city voters approve at an election any decision of the Riverbank City Council that would authorize or facilitate development of urban uses on agricultural or open space lands located west of the current city limits of the City of Riverbank.”

In Oakdale, council members are not elected by district but rather in an at-large race. There are two seats available on the Oakdale council, each for a four-year term. Incumbent Kayleigh Gilbert filed for reelection but appointed incumbent Richard Murdoch did not, extending the filing deadline through Aug. 12.

Candidates that qualified for the ballot and will vie for the two posts include Sal Hernandez, Christopher Chavez, Benjamin Amaral, Mary Buchanan, Fred Smith – who previously served on the council – and incumbent Kayleigh Gilbert.

The top two vote getters in November will win the seats.

Incumbent Oakdale Mayor Cherilyn Bairos is unopposed in her bid for reelection. Bairos was the only candidate to pull and file papers for the Mayor’s post in Oakdale and will not face a challenger in November for another four-year term.