District 3 Seat Will be up For Grabs Again in 2026

[Credit City of Pasadena]

Voters in District 3 will elect a Councilmember in the coming March 5 election.

And in two years they will do it again.

Voters living in District 3 will go back to the polls to elect a City Councilmember in 2026 according to language posted on the City Clerk’s website.

“NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Primary Municipal Election will be held in the City of Pasadena on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, for the following officers: For Mayor (full term of four years) For four Members of the City Council, Districts 1, 2, 4, and 6 (each for a full term of four years) For one Member of the City Council, District 3 (to fill the remaining two years of the unexpired term, in compliance with City Charter Section 404).”

Incumbent Justin Jones is squaring off against Brandon Lamar for the seat in the March election.
The 2026 vote will put the District 3 elections vote on the usual schedule. The City Council seat is usually decided alongside council seats in districts 5 and 7.

The City Council has twice appointed Jones to the seat to fill two vacancies left by the death of John Kennedy in 2022
.
Kennedy won reelection shortly before he died.

The appointments covered the term he was completing, and the term he won in the 2022 June Primary.

The City Charter currently calls for the City Council to appoint a replacement when an incumbent cannot complete his term.

The process has been used numerous times to fill vacant seats.

After Jones’ appointment, some local residents began complaining about the process.

Lamar lost to Kennedy in the June primary.

The appointment process will be examined as part of the current charter reform process.

Adding up the two appointment processes and the two elections means that if the winner of the March 5 election seeks reelection in 2026, they will have gone through the City’s nominating process of collecting signatures four times and officially running for office twice in two years.

The City Council could also discuss term limits as part of the process.