The battle to replace David Penaloza in Ward Six of the Santa Ana City Council now features two Democrats – Giovanni Chavez and Isuri Ramos.
Both Chavez and Ramos are registered Democrats but they each represent a different faction of their party.
Chavez has the support of Penaloza, which likely means that he supports law enforcement. Ramos, on the other hand, has the support of anti-police Santa Ana City Council Member Jessie Lopez. She also works for Chispa, an organization that is a prominent advocate for police reform, accountability, and the reduction of police union influence in Orange County. In other words they are anti-police.
Ramos does not yet have a campaign website but she is actively participating in candidate interviews for the upcoming election, including a primary endorsement interview with the California Working Families Party that took place on January 26, 2026.
A Santa Ana resident who served with Ramos on the Santa Ana Planning Commission described her as a “communist.”
While Ramos is going after left-wing endorsements Chavez has landed a ton of endorsements including:
Federal & State Leaders
- U.S. Congressmember Robert Garcia
- U.S. Congressmember Derek Tran
- U.S. Congressmember Gil Cisneros
- Lieutenant Governor of California Eleni Kounalakis
- California State Treasurer Fiona Ma
- Senator Josh Newman (Ret.)
- Senator Joe Dunn (Ret.)
- Assembly Majority Whip Mark Gonzalez
- Assemblymember Avelino Valencia
- Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva
- Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris
- Assemblymember Jessica Caloza
- Assemblymember Juan Carrillo
- Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco
- Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens
- Assemblymember Nick Schultz
- Assemblymember José Luis Solache, Jr.
Organizations
- California Young Democrats
- Youth Save Democracy
- Roofers Local 220
- International Union of Painters & Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 36
- Avance Democratic Club of Orange County
- Coalition PAC
- College Democrats at UC Irvine
Local Leaders
- Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley
- Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua
- Santa Ana Councilmember David Penaloza
- Buena Park Mayor Connor Traut
- Buena Park Vice Mayor Lamiya Hoque
- Buena Park Councilmember Carlos Franco
- San Clemente Mayor Chris Duncan (Ret.)
- Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr (Ret.)
- Walnut Mayor Andrew Rodriguez (Ret.)
- Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs (Ret.)
- Mill Valley Mayor Max Perrey
- Hercules Vice Mayor Alexander Walker-Griffin
- Anaheim Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava
- Garden Grove Councilmember Ariana Arestegui
- Garden Grove Mayor Pro Tem Kim Nguyen Penaloza (Ret.)
- Costa Mesa Councilmember Manuel Chavez
- Irvine Councilmember William Go
- Irvine Councilmember Melinda Liu
- Laguna Niguel Councilmember Stephanie Oddo
- La Palma Councilmember Janet Keo Conklin
- BART Director Victor Flores
- Rancho Santiago Community College District Trustee Zeke Hernandez
- Santa Ana Unified School District Board Member John Palacio (Ret.)
- Centralia School Board Member Jerry Flores
- Fullerton School District Board President Aaruni Thakur (Ret.)
- Anaheim Elementary School District Trustee Ryan Ruelas
- South Orange County Community College District Trustee Ryan Dack
- Midway City Sanitary District Director Sergio Contreras
- Santa Ana Community Development Commissioner Ana Laura Padilla
- Santa Ana ETAC Commissioner Mario Alvarado
- Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Commissioner Alejandra Rodriguez
So far it seems there are no Republicans in the race for Ward 6. While progressives are excited about Ramos she faces an uphill battle against Chavez.