Reyes faces Evans and Beard in Nov. 3 rematch
Adelanto, Calif. (High Desert News Online) — On November 3, 2026, Adelanto voters will elect a new mayor from one of the three well-known names: incumbent Gabriel Reyes is running against Councilwoman Stevevonna Evans and repeat mayoral candidate Ronald Beard. The election happens while the High Desert city works through growth, aging roads and utilities, contracted police and fire services, park developments, and the problem of municipal funds required to support the provision of almost 39,000 people. As per the August 21 San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters Candidate Update, all three qualified for the ballot.
2026 election has some of the same contenders as the 2022 race where Reyes, Evans, and Beard contested. Reyes won that five-person race with 1,696 votes (48.32%), Evans got 604 votes (17.21%) and Beard 399 votes (11.37%). The turnout for the Adelanto mayoral race in 2022 was 24.77%.
According to the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters, there are three candidates meeting the requirements for Adelanto mayor candidacy. Two of the three candidates filed statements. The report of August 21 identifies Reyes as incumbent, Evans as a city council woman, and Beard as a customer service representative.
The candidate profiles below place incumbent candidates first for clarity. The placement should not be read as the preference for High Desert News Online.
Incumbent Mayor Gabriel Reyes
Ballot designation: Mayor / Business Owner
Current position: Mayor of Adelanto
Approximate length of tenure by November 2026: Eight years
Gabriel Reyes is running for a third four-year term as Adelanto mayor. In November 2018, he won his first election with 1,539 votes (35%), with Beard as one of his opponents. In the race of five candidates in 2022, he was re-elected with 48.32%. His current term covers the period of most of the city’s infrastructure, public safety, and budget work done and started.
Adelanto is governed in a council-manager form. Even though the mayor is directly elected and heads the City Council meetings, the mayor is just one vote in the council rather than the chief executive responsible for daily operations. The administration responsibility mainly lies on the city manager, therefore, the projects and developments implemented or continued during the Reyes’ term have to be considered as efforts of the whole City Council, its staff, contractors and partner agencies and not just the mayor.
2026 filing of the county does not contain any campaign mailing address, telephone number, email, website or social media account of Reyes. At the same time, he is considered as an incumbent and filed a candidate statement.
Public City Hall contact information – not the campaign contact information:
Telephone: (760) 998-4123
Email: GReyes@adelantoca.gov
Challenger Councilwoman Stevevonna Evans
Ballot designation: Councilwoman
Current position: Adelanto City Council
Approximate length of City Council service by November 2026: Six years nonconsecutive terms
Stevevonna Evans first won a position on Adelanto City Council in 2018 as a second place finisher in a race with nine candidates, getting 1,266 votes. After serving 2018-2022 term, she entered the mayoral race in 2022 and became second with 17.21% of the vote to Reyes. Then, she was back in City Council after winning in November 2024, with 2,801 votes (29.37%).
According to her 2024 campaign material, her background consists of small business and nonprofit sector work, and she was active in working on rental housing policies, cannabis oversight and police-community relationship. This information was provided by herself in her own campaign material.
According to the 2026 filing of the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters, Evans is a councilwoman and filed a candidate statement. The filing does not contain a public campaign phone number, email, mailing address, website or social media account.
Public City Hall contact information – not the campaign contact information:
Phone: (760) 985-5884
Email: sevans@adelantoca.gov
Challenger Ronald Beard
Ballot designation: Customer Service Representative
Current position as an elected city of Adelanto officer: Not found
Ronald Beard is a known name in the Adelanto elections. Public records reviewed did not reveal any elected city office held by him in Adelanto. He has challenged for mayor position in 2018 and received 680 votes (15.47%), and 2022, when he got 399 votes (11.37%). Also, county records show that in 2018 Beard contested in the special City Council election.
For 2026, the Registrar of Voters confirmed his ballot designation as Customer Service Representative. Contrary to Reyes and Evans, he did not file a candidate statement, and there is no mailing address, phone number, email, campaign website or social media in the filing of the county.
Contact: No public information found.
A city with almost 39,000 residents
Adelanto is still one of the larger Victor Valley cities despite its smaller population than that of nearby Victorville. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the population of Adelanto to be 38,798 people on July 1, 2025, which is about 2% larger compared to 2020 census. Adelanto had 38,046 residents in 2020 and 31,765 in 2010 and shows long-term growth towards 40,000-resident city.
The Census Bureau provides the city with 52.87 square miles of land area and population density of about 720 per square mile in 2020. Planning documents use a municipal planning area of about 54 square miles.
Adelanto is located in western Victor Valley, generally in the west and northwest of Victorville. U.S. 395 is one of the primary transportation routes in the region, while Air Expressway links Adelanto with George Air Force Base and Southern California Logistics Airport.
Water planning suggests 8,500 metered connections serving almost 39,000 people in 2024. Adelanto water system serves three pressure zones with sphere of influence extended beyond the city borders.
Income, commute and economic factors
The economic factors affect Adelanto population. According to the Census data, the median household income for 2020-2024 was $68,685, and the per-capita income of $20,204. Almost 17.2% of population was estimated to live below the poverty line defined by the federal standards.
One of the regional issues is the commute. Adelanto workers have average commute time to work of 47 minutes due to the city’s role of a residential area for workers from the Victor Valley, Inland Empire and Southern California regions.
Adelanto’s economic activity has evolved around manufacturing, logistics, public facilities, correctional facilities and cannabis. In 2024 SCAG toured Adelanto and noticed that the city officials highlighted the industrial operations and cannabis manufacturing and, in addition, mentioned the infrastructure, flood control, pedestrian safety and accessibility.
Municipal workforce of Adelanto
According to the California State Controller’s Office, Adelanto employed 37 City of Adelanto staff for 2024 with wages of about $2.47 million and retirement and health contributions of about $520,000. The numbers include only city staff, but do not include larger workforce provided through the contracts with San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, County Fire or other contractors. The contracting is important to compare Adelanto’s official workforce with others, since police and fire departments remain the county staff rather than the city staff in most cases.
Elected and administrative leadership of Adelanto
As of 2026, the Adelanto City Council includes the following:
– Mayor Gabriel Reyes
– Mayor Pro Tem Daniel Ramos
– Councilwoman Stevevonna Evans
– Councilman Angelo Meza
– Councilwoman Amanda Uptergrove
The California Secretary of State’s list for 2026 includes Jessie Flores as city manager, Brenda Lopez as city clerk and Todd Litfin as city attorney. The police chief Kenneth Lutz and the fire chief Kelly Anderson run agencies providing Adelanto’s public safety services. The city manager is responsible for daily operations and implementation of the policy of the City Council.
Major accomplishments and actions of Adelanto since 2022
This mayoral term had seen a number of major initiatives of the city. These accomplishments have to be viewed as achievements of the whole city, including the City Council, administration, county agencies, engineers, contractors and grant partners and cannot be considered as the achievements of any particular official.
Nearly balanced General Fund budget
For the fiscal year 2025-26, Adelanto estimated General Fund revenues of about $23.52 million and expenditures of $23.48 million, resulting in a narrow budget surplus. Revenues were supposed to increase by about $2.2 million compared to the prior year. The budget acknowledged the ongoing difficulties, including higher contract costs and greater reliance on locally-generated revenue since the external assistance becomes less predictable. Public safety is still a significant item in the budget due to the contract with county for policing and firefighting services.
Police services: San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department contract
Adelanto has a contract with the Sheriff’s Department rather than running an independent municipal police force. For fiscal year 2025-26, the package of the sheriff’s services included:
– 0.5 lieutenant
– 3 sergeants
– 2 detective/corporal positions
– 14.61 relief deputy sheriffs
– 2 non-relief deputy sheriffs
– 2 sheriff’s service specialists
– 3 office specialists
– 1 motor-pool services assistant
Also, the package includes seven marked patrol vehicles, one marked slick-top, two unmarked vehicles and other support services.
Police expenditures in the budget of 2025-26 were around $8.1 million, thus making the law enforcement one of the major expenses in General Fund budget.
Fire and emergency medical services
Adelanto has a contract with San Bernardino County Fire Protection District. For 2025-26 fiscal year, the Board of Supervisors of the County approved the annual fire and EMS contract of $6,686,139, about $458,000 more compared to the previous year, effective until June 30, 2028. The budget of Adelanto’s fire services totals around $6.75 million for fiscal year 2025-26. County Fire Station 322 provides the city’s fire services as a part of its north desert service structure. Staffing documents for Adelanto contract included six captains, six engineers, six firefighter-paramedics and partial chief allocation, showing the personnel structure of the contracted fire service.
Bellflower Park becomes a major recreation investment
One of the most noticeable public works is Bellflower Park project being constructed in the area of Bellflower Street and Chamberlaine Way. California State Parks allocated a $1 million federal grant for Bellflower Park as a part of the select group of 15 California communities. The state budget legislation provided $500,000 for Adelanto’s Bellflower Park. In 2026, Phase I of the park project is in construction procurement process. Plans for Phase I include walking areas, playground and fitness equipment, basketball courts, picnic areas, shade structures, lighting, bicycle racks, restrooms and supporting utilities. Engineer’s estimate of Phase I is about $1.7 million.
Road safety and transportation planning
In May 2026, Adelanto completed a citywide Safety Action Plan to prevent fatalities and serious injuries in car crashes, identifying the high-risk corridors and intersections and outlining improvements in roadway design, pedestrian safety and speed management. The plan is especially relevant for the city spread over major streets used by commuters, commercial vehicles and connecting U.S. 395 with growing residential and industrial areas. Adelanto continues to carry out pavement rehabilitation and road projects, including the 2026 Air Expressway project with an engineer’s estimate of about $3.5 million.
Water and wastewater infrastructure
The water infrastructure is still one of the main long-term responsibilities of the city. Updated planning includes nearly 8,500 metered connections, three pressure zones and approximately 54 square miles of the municipal area with future pipelines, storage, pressure and water supply improvements needed as development is continuing. Water main and wastewater planning continues too, which is critical as development and building projects proceed with adequate water distribution and wastewater capacity.
Grants and recognition associated with Adelanto
Not all the recognition goes to the City Hall. In 2024, the Southern California Association of Governments awarded Carmen Ramirez Award for Equity to Inland Equity Community Land Trust’s Plan Adelanto project of affordable homeownership, recognizing that project for providing reduced-price housing for low-income families. The award was given to the community land trust and the project, not to the City of Adelanto. The best recognitions Adelanto gets now are related to the successful project funding, including $1 million Bellflower Park grant and other state allocations for community improvements. No major “City of the Year” award was identified in the official records reviewed for the city.
From orchards to High Desert city
The history of Adelanto goes back further than its current subdivisions, industries and municipal government. The modern city was founded in 1915 by E. H. Richardson, the inventor of Hotpoint electric iron. Richardson purchased the desert lands and built the master planned community with one-acre lots and area designated for veterans suffering from respiratory issues.
Agriculture served as the initial economic base, then the city was engaged in fruit orchards, cider production and poultry farming in the Great Depression era. During the World War II, an Army airfield was constructed, which later became George Air Force Base, stimulating housing development, road construction, commerce and population growth in the Victor Valley. Adelanto incorporated in 1970 and became the charter city in the early 1990s giving more control over municipal affairs. The base closure in December 1992 forced the city to focus on residential development, industrial development, correctional facilities and other land intensive uses. The affordable housing compared to the southern California cities led to population growth from approximately 31,800 in 2010 to more than 38,000 in 2020 and almost 38,798 in 2025.
Commercial cannabis becomes a part of fiscal situation
Adelanto joined other High Desert cities in the embrace of commercial cannabis as the economic development strategy after regulatory changes in California. The industry became a significant part of the fiscal situation, as the cannabis-related fees are included in the budget of fiscal year 2025-26. Although cannabis brings the city possibilities in fees, employment and investments, it is also associated with risks due to volatility and regulatory changes.
What voters decide in 2026
The Adelanto mayoral race features three candidates with different connection to the City Hall. Reyes tries to extend eight-year tenure starting in 2018 with a record of park funding, infrastructure planning and nearly balanced budget, while facing costly police and fire contracts and ongoing infrastructure demands. Evans is entering the race as a sitting council member with the mayoral campaign experience and almost six years of elected service in two terms. Beard is challenging the incumbent as a candidate without any elected tenure in Adelanto, but with substantial campaign experience. So, the choice is made from three candidates with different backgrounds and approaches to the city’s leadership.
Campaign contact information
Mayor Gabriel Reyes
Public city office phone: (760) 998-4123
Public city email: GReyes@adelantoca.gov
Campaign contact listed by Registrar: None
Campaign website listed by Registrar: None
Stevevonna Evans
Public city office phone: (760) 985-5884
Public city email: sevans@adelantoca.gov
Campaign contact listed by Registrar: None
Campaign website listed by Registrar: None
Ronald Beard
Campaign contact listed by Registrar: None
Campaign website listed by Registrar: None
No public information was found for Beard besides the filing notes.
November 3rd is Election Day
The upcoming election on November 3rd will decide who will lead Adelanto city managing the issues of costly public safety services, ability to provide infrastructure, economic development and municipal finance. For the city transforming from the desert planned community to an agricultural community, military city and finally growing High Desert city, the new mayor will inherit not only the development opportunities, but the need for basic infrastructure. As of August 21, the filing of the county listed Reyes, Evans and Beard as three qualified candidates for mayor. Since candidate lists may change before ballots are ready, please check the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters for the latest official information.
