Measure Z is a damning defeat for a tax-happy Riverside City Council

It’s been about a week since Election Day and ballots are still being counted. Even so, there are some fairly clear takeaways from the Riverside city elections.

The biggest is the overwhelming rejection of Measure Z, which was placed on the ballot back in March via the unanimous of the Riverside City Council. "We're just putting it on the ballot," Councilmember Sean Mill said at the time. "The people of Riverside will make the decision and I trust that they will do what they see fit."

Mill’s explanation that the council was merely putting it on the ballot, of course, was a copout. The council wasn’t merely putting a tax increase on the ballot, but was actively forcing an issue in hopes voters would fall for it. Pitched to voters as a “renewal” of the 1% city sales tax approved ten years ago (also called Measure Z), the measure was actually an attempt to increase the city’s sales tax further and eliminate the sunset of the 2016 measure.

The 2016 measure’s 1% sales tax apparently isn’t enough for the council, so the city pitched voters on an extra 0.25%. And far from a “renewal,” the 2016 measure wasn’t set to expire for another ten years. What the 2026 measure sought to do was eliminate that expiration date.

Voters clearly saw through the city’s gamble and the talking points of the firefighter union backing the measure. As of this writing, 59% of Riverside voters rejected Measure Z. That’s a damning defeat for any tax measure and a repudiation of the Riverside City Council.

Meanwhile, the council races went largely as expected.

In Ward 2, with progressive Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes opting against seeking another term as she runs for California Assembly, it looks like two similarly-minded candidates will face off in November. Local water board member Gracie Torres, backed by the city’s public employee unions and many members of the council, has held the top spot with 38% of the vote. The notably more progressive Aram Ayra is in second, with 35% of the vote. Conservative businessman Mike Vahl came in third with 23% of the vote and Christen Montero received a bit under 4%.

In Ward 4, incumbent Chuck Conder just missed the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff with 46% of the vote. Challengers Rich Vandenberg and Jessica Qattawi almost evenly split the rest, though Vandenberg has edged out Qattawi with just under 29% of the vote to just over 25% for Qattawi.

Conder has long been a more conservative voice on the council, supporting outsourcing and pushing back against a theatrical ceasefire resolution, but recently retreated from his longtime anti-tax stance by backing Measure Z. In fact, Conder’s council webpage still shows signs of the old Conder, reading, “I believe the city must always live within its means. Chuck will oppose new debt, new taxes, and pay raises for the City Council. This will protect funding for vital city services like Fire and Police protection.” It turns out that was not only bad policy but a political error, too, as he will have to head to a general election with a majority of voters rejecting him in the primary.

Finally, in Ward 6, Councilman Jim Perry’s exit leaves an open seat to fill. Luis Hernandez is currently leading with 48.45%, even closer to the threshold needed to avoid a runoff. The progressive Hernandez is holding off two opponents, Oz Puerta of the Arlington Business Partnership and Alvord Unified School District board member Norma Berrellez. Berrellez has seemingly been AWOL from the campaign trail and it’s not obvious why she was running in the first place.

I asked him about it and whether he thought it was misleading. On May 18, he wrote back, “If my LinkedIn or campaign materials created confusion by listing my full ABP tenure alongside my current Executive Director title, I understand the concern and will clarify that language. My intent was not to mislead anyone.” You can see for yourself that, as of June 8, he has not, in fact, corrected his campaign site.

Taken all into consideration, then, it seems Riverside voters punished City Hall, including the incumbent Conder, over Measure Z while delivering few surprises in the council races.

Sal Rodriguez can be reached at salrodriguez@scng.com

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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 9:39 PM.