With the deadline looming Friday for the close of the candidate nomination period, Ceres Planning Commissioner Gary M. Condit has signaled his intent to run for mayor.
The surprise announcement, made on Facebook Monday evening, adds a third candidate to the mayoral race. Mayor Javier Lopez was already being challenged in his re-election bid by Councilwoman Rosalinda Vierra who has two years remaining in her term. If elected, her council seat would need to be filled by appointment or special election.
Seven months ago Condit was appointed to a four-year term on the Ceres Planning Commission, a panel which has met just five times this year with 12 cancellations.
Condit hails from a political family. His grandfather, Gary A. Condit served in Congress from 1989 to 2003; father Chad Condit ran unsuccessful campaigns for Congress in 2012 and state Assembly in 2022; brother Channce and uncle Buck Condit serve on the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors; and older brother Couper Condit served briefly on the Ceres City Council in 2020 and resigned 10 months into his term with no explanation.
In 2013, eyebrows were raised when a bus bench in front of the Ceres Post Office advertised “Gary Condit – Ceres mayor 2019” when he was just a sixth-grader. The sign was reportedly the idea of political consultant Don Langman as a way of encouraging the third-generation Condit to run for local office much in the same way that his grandfather did.
Condit, a 2019 graduate of Ceres High School who earned his associate degree in Administration of Justice from Modesto Junior College in 2021, is employed as an analyst with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department. He is working toward a BA in Business Marketing.
In his announcement statement, Condit said “in recent years, we’ve witnessed troubling declines in areas critical to our city’s well-being. Our Ceres Police Department and Dispatch Center have faced understaffing challenges which compromise public safety, City Hall has been mired in financial mismanagement with budgetary freezes and irresponsible spending and we need to enhance our city’s appearance and eliminate illegal dumping.
“As your next Mayor, I am committed to bringing fresh and responsible leadership to City Hall.”
Condit picked up nomination papers yesterday afternoon.
All three Ceres City Council incumbents whose seats are up are declared candidates, meaning the 5 p.m. Friday deadline is firm.
It appears that District 4 City Councilman Daniel Martinez may skate into office for a second term with no opposition thus far.
Martinez was appointed to the Ceres Planning Commission in October 2021 and elected to the City Council in November 2022 to fill out the remainder of Couper Condit’s four-year term. Condit resigned in October 2021 just 10 months after he was elected. He was replaced by appointee Mike Kline who could only serve until the 2022 election decided the permanent replacement. Kline decided not to run. Martinez won the election with 63.5 percent of the vote over John R. Osgood (19.81 percent) and David Carreon (16.69 percent).
Ceres City Council District 4 is largely situated east of Highway 99 in the southeast quadrant of Ceres with a small finger reaching over the freeway to take in the area north of Industrial Way and Walnut Avenue, as far west as Soda Canyon Drive and generally south of Hackett Road.
Running for re-election, District 3 Ceres City Councilman Bret Silveira is being challenged by Cerina Otero, a member of the Ceres Planning Commission.
To qualify as a candidate for Ceres City Council, one must reside within the Ceres city limits, and be a registered voter in the district they are running in. Candidates must have nomination papers signed by no less than 20 and no more than 30 signatures of registered voters living within the city limits. Candidates are advised to get a few more than 20 signatures in case the county finds out that “nominators” are actually not registered voters. The city clerk handles the process nomination papers but the county conducts the election.
Prospective candidates for elected offices have until Friday to get their nomination papers filled out and returned to the appropriate office in order to be on the Nov. 5 ballot.
The start to the municipal campaign season got underway on July 15 with prospective candidates picking up nomination papers from City Clerk Fallon Martin at Ceres City Hall.
As of Tuesday, incumbent City treasurer Kayla Martinez was the only candidate for that office. She is the wife of Councilman Martinez.
Registered voters who are considering running for Ceres City Council should consult the council district map to determine which district they reside in. That map is available for viewing on the city’s website at https://ci.ceres.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/5386/Ceres-Adopted-Map-103-Parcel-2
Three seats on the Ceres Unified School District Board of Trustees will be decided on Nov. 5. They are the Trustee Area 1 seat, occupied by Brian de la Porte who is a lone candidate as of Tuesday; Trustee Area 4 seat occupied by Faye Lane which has garnered the candidacy of student Alondra Reyes; and Trustee Area 7 occupied by Hugo Molina who appears to be unopposed as of Tuesday.
In the city of Hughson, two seats on the City Council are open this fall. Unlike their larger counterparts, Hughson still elects their councilmembers at large and not by district.
Picking up papers to run for re-election is incumbent Alan McFadon. The other seat that is open is presently occupied by Sam Rush who has not picked up papers nor indicated if he plans to run.
Hughson will elect a new mayor in 2026.
Hughson residents who seek to run must pick up candidate documents from the Hughson City Clerk at Hughson City Hall, 7018 Pine Street, Hughson.
Nomination papers for non-city races are available at the Stanislaus County Elections Office, 1021 I Street, Suite 101, in Modesto.
Voters in Ceres and the mostly western half of Stanislaus County voters will be deciding if Congressman John Duarte, R-Modesto, returns to the 13th Congressional District or is replaced by Adam Gray, a Merced Democrat and former state Assemblyman who lost two years ago. The eastern half of the county – including Hughson and most of Modesto – mostly falls within the 5th Congressional District occupied by Tom McClintock. McClintock is being challenged by perennial Democrat candidate Michael “Mike” Barkley of Manteca.
Eastern Stanislaus County residents – including Hughson – will vote in the 9th Assembly District. Currently Heath Flora, a Ripon Republican, holds the seat and remains popular with his voters. He is being challenged by Tami Nobriga, who is an American Independent Party candidate, retired advertising businesswoman and conservative Christian.
Locally, voters of the 22nd State Assembly District will be deciding if Juan Alanis, R-Modesto, goes back to Sacramento or if he should be replaced by Democrat Jessica Self. Self, who is a public defender, ran for the office two years ago and was defeated by Alanis in a margin of 58.1 percent to 41.9 percent. The district includes Ceres as well as Keyes, Modesto, Turlock, Empire, Denair, Patterson, Gustine, Newman, Hilmar, Ballico, Snelling, Grayson, Crows Landing, Diablo Grande and Stevinson.
Voters in the Hughson Unified School District will be electing two board trustees. Incumbent Trustee Darin Chiesa is a candidate in Trustee Area 1 and incumbent Daniel Sexton is running for re-election in Trustee Area 3.
Two members on the Keyes Union School board are up for re-election. Incumbents Jeffrey Greener is running for re-election in Trustee Area 1 and incumbent Mike Bernal has filed for Area 4.
Voters in the Keyes Community Services District will be deciding on two board members for four-year terms and one board member for the two-year term. Kristina D. Vasquez, an appointed incumbent, is a candidate for the four-year seat. So far there is no candidate for the short term.
In the Yosemite Community College District Trustee Area 7, which includes Ceres, running are incumbent board trustee Antonio Aguilar and his challenger, M. Geri Vargas of Ceres who is a retired executive assistant.
Other open races include:
• Two seats on the rural Ceres Fire Protection District. No candidates had signed up as of Tuesday.
• Three seats on the rural Hughson Fire Protection District. Incumbents Mark A. Hughes, Dave Absher and Anthony Douds have all filed to run.
• Three seats on the Westport Fire Protection District board. Candidates are incumbents John A. Varni and Stacy Cardoso and farmer Joe S. Nunes.
• Two seats on the Riverdale Park Tract Community Services District of which there are no candidates thus far.
• Two seats on the Monterey Park Tract Community Services District, one a four-year seat and the other a two-year seat. No candidates had materialized as of Tuesday.
• Two seats on the Turlock Irrigation District board of directors (Division 1 and Division 4). Neither district covers Ceres.
Voters in California will be deciding who will represent them in the U.S. Senate. Democratic Party candidate Rep. Adam Schiff is running against Republican Steve Garvey, a well-known former professional baseball player. Whoever wins will replace short-term appointee Senator Laphonza Butler.
The biggest contest is, of course, the presidential election in what has been the strangest candidate season in history. President Joe Biden went through the primary season as the Democratic Party nominee but was ousted due to political pressure. Headed into the Democratic National Convention it appears that Vice President Kamala Harris is taking his place, although some predict a floor fight for delegates to come up with another candidate. Harris announced her running mate yesterday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Former President Donald Trump and his vice presidential pick, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio were nominated as the Republican ticket weeks ago.
