A valley town at the foot of the Sierra Cascade line — founded by John and Annie Bidwell in 1860, home to Chico State since 1887, and wrapped around one of the largest municipal parks in the country.
Lifelong Chico resident and fourth-generation co-owner of Shubert's Ice Cream & Candy, which she runs with her brother Nathan. Active with the Omega Nu sorority's scholarship work for local students. First elected in 2018; mayor since December 2024. She and her husband Mike have five children and three grandchildren.
Third-generation Chicoan and Chico State graduate who spent his career in shopping-center management — a vice president at LaSalle Partners, later managing the original North Valley Plaza and Chico Mall. Served on the city's Architectural Review board and Planning Commission before being appointed to the council in 2021, then elected in 2022 and 2024.
Chico State graduate with a master's from Gonzaga and a 36-year law-enforcement career, retiring as Chico's Chief of Police in 2020; he still works with the Butte County District Attorney's Office. Chaired the Jesus Center board for eight years and has taught policing at two universities and the Butte Academy.
Raised in Butte County from infancy; before taking office he worked and volunteered with the Chico Housing Action Team, Safe Space Winter Shelter, and Butte Environmental Council. Elected in 2022 as District 4's first representative — and, by his own account, the only Fair View High graduate elected to public office so far.
Earned a criminal-justice degree at Chico State in 2022 and is finishing a political-science master's there. Has worked for California State Parks on the Sacramento River parks and Bidwell Mansion, served as a California Climate Action Corps fellow, and taught recycling and composting curriculum in local elementary schools.
Grew up on a vineyard in Modesto and spent most of his career as a technology executive in the San Jose area. Elected in 2022 — in his words, because "I saw a lot of things in Chico that needed fixing and thought I could help." He and his wife Kim have three grown children and six grandchildren.
Transportation planner with an environmental-science degree from Humboldt State and a certificate in high-speed rail management from San Jose State. Served on Chico's Planning Commission and Climate Action Commission and on the Butte Environmental Council board before winning her seat in 2024.
Next city election: November 3, 2026. Council districts 2, 4, 6 are on the ballot — a majority-shifting election.
The city has certified the ballot: 6 candidates in 3 districts. Butte County's certified list is dated Aug 27, 2026.
South Central Chico
Lifelong Chico resident and fourth-generation co-owner of Shubert's Ice Cream & Candy, which she runs with her brother Nathan. Active with the Omega Nu sorority's scholarship work for local students. First elected in 2018; mayor since December 2024. She and her husband Mike have five children and three grandchildren.
Fire-resilience program coordinator for the Colusa County Resource Conservation District, managing fuels-reduction and watershed projects. Raised in southeast Texas and a Texas A&M graduate; came west with Bike & Build, then AmeriCorps in Sonoma County and a chainsaw crew at Lassen Volcanic National Park, and moved to Chico in 2017. Has volunteered with the Chico Housing Action Team on Everhart Village and with BCCER's Outdoor Classroom, and hosts a weekly women's music show on KZFR. Running on roads, affordable housing and downtown.
Downtown, Central Chico, Normal
Raised in Butte County from infancy; before taking office he worked and volunteered with the Chico Housing Action Team, Safe Space Winter Shelter, and Butte Environmental Council. Elected in 2022 as District 4's first representative — and, by his own account, the only Fair View High graduate elected to public office so far.
Small business owner, per her ballot designation with Butte County Elections. ChicoSol identified her as a local farmer when she addressed the council on cannabis cultivation in April 2026.
Northeast Chico, Upper Bidwell Park area
Grew up on a vineyard in Modesto and spent most of his career as a technology executive in the San Jose area. Elected in 2022 — in his words, because "I saw a lot of things in Chico that needed fixing and thought I could help." He and his wife Kim have three grown children and six grandchildren.
Attorney in private and pro bono practice in Chico since 1999, admitted to the California bar that year. Grew up in St. Joseph, Missouri; political-science degree from the University of Missouri and a J.D. in environmental law from Lewis & Clark. Sits on the city's Bidwell Park and Playground Commission (chair for two years, vice-chair for two), was vice-chair of the Human Resources Commission 2007–2010, and is president of the Marsh Junior High site council. Running on parks, public safety, responsible growth and the local healthcare system.
Register or check your registration at registertovote.ca.gov (deadline: 15 days before election day; same-day conditional registration after that). Confirm your district and ballot status at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov. Every registered voter gets a mail ballot from Butte County Elections about a month out.
Rough guide by neighborhood — for the definitive answer, look up your address or see the official district map.
Read forward: growth has slowed five-fold since the Camp Fire surge was absorbed — roughly 104,500 people by 2028 at the current rate — so the binding constraint on the next decade is housing capacity, not population. The wind season that set all of this in motion returns every October.
Physicists read cities as systems with laws — double the people and the roads grow by less, the wages by more; a state's cities line up by rank; a grid has a measurable order; earthquakes keep a fixed ratio of small to large — and as systems of flows, each with a rate and a time to settle after a shock. The study, as an instrument: twelve flows, models you can move, and every number searchable →
Roster, portraits and member-provided bios from chicoca.gov · district boundaries and per-district population from the city's GIS (2021 redistricting) · meeting agendas from Granicus · the certified candidate list and Form 501 filings from the City Clerk's election page · ballot designations from Butte County Elections' certified list · candidate profiles from each campaign's own website (linked on the card) · political lean as characterized by local election reporting (ChicoSol, NSPR, Enterprise-Record) · census math on ACS via Census Reporter · parcel math on Butte County's roll. Corrections welcome.