r/Whittier • u/Fun-Commission-2460 • 3d ago
Politics Mayoral candidates
Can someone give a rundown on everyone running for mayor?
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u/ag-xyz 3d ago edited 3d ago
Only 4 candidates have officially registered for the race:
- Joe Vinatieri (ig: joev4whittier) The incumbent, conservative, you've probably heard of him
- Rolando Cano (ig: whittiercano) Has ran (unsuccessfully) for mayor several times, more liberal, very outspoken on IG. Got into some sort of fight/altercation with the Fernando Lopez guy this past weekend.
- James Becerra (ig: jamesebecerra) Previously chair of the Historic Resources Commission. Seems more liberal/anti-ICE, but his online presence is basically nothing so hard to say.
- Christopher Anaya (ig: anayaforwhittier, broken?) Can't tell much of anything about this guy, but he seems younger/anti-ICE?
Only Joe has raised money so far. Cano has never raised money in his previous campaigns. Becerra did recently register a committee to start raising money (and he seemingly held a fundraiser last Thursday according to his website), but it's unclear how much he has.
My far-out prediction: Since Joe + Becerra seem to be the only candidates raising money, they probably will be the top candidates come election day. Though Cano is popular online, I'm not sure how that'll translate to actual votes, especially since his previous runs were unsuccessful.
And as a side note: People have said that Fernando Lopez (Zen's Tea House owner) and Javier Garcia (whittierparents guy) will run for mayor, but they haven't filed with the city (you can search on this website). Technically they have several more months to do so, but since it's basically free to register, I don't think they are serious about it.
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u/Emotional-Ad-1076 1d ago
Thank you for all your research! This is a good help for people who really want change in Whittier
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u/blank-_-face 3d ago
The lack of good candidates is kind of crazy. It’s MAGA Joe and then a bunch of random wackos.
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u/miginus 3d ago edited 3d ago
I don’t think Joe is eligible to run for mayor again. Unless I’m wrong?
EDIT: I thought I had read he wasn’t eligible for another term but I can’t find that. So I probably am wrong.
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u/Ok_Muffin_4518 2d ago
The Whittier parent guy running? That dude is on a sick one
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u/numbers863495 2d ago
Wasn't he like, MAGA a year ago?
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u/Salty_Revolution_774 1d ago
His argument for saving the trees was to prevent the “Chinese communist tourism”. Now he’s using his “Latino” card to gain momentum during the raids.
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u/Ok_Muffin_4518 1d ago
Maybe not too sure. Just started seeing him recently when he goes on these live rants
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u/alejroaches 17h ago
I don’t remember seeing anything. Maybe I’m wrong. But I’ve gotten to know him, he cares deeply & is a force.
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u/Live-Gas7226 3d ago
What does mayor of Whittier actually do? Anyways divide and conquer has been working for millennia. One solid Hispanic mayoral candidate with spotlight and backing would smoke old man Joe in this Hispanic city. Instead we got this hodgepodge of potential candidates smdh
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u/valerya0 3d ago
Where can we donate to candidates?
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u/ag-xyz 3d ago
Only Vinatieri + Becerra have public-facing donation links. You can find Joe's on his website, and Becerra's on his website.
No other mayoral candidates seem to be raising money. Though if you reach out to them directly, they may have other options
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u/BreathAlert7691 3d ago
The next scheduled Whittier general election will be held on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. This is straight forward voter suppression. We need a Mayor that will stop this crap.
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u/Rock_Hound_1958 3d ago
Yeah, Vinatieri is ru.ning for his 3rd successful term. Some guy named Javier is coming in at a distant 2nd A homeless lady is coming in at number 3, unless she can figure a way to rig the election. I could be wrong about the whole thimg though, it's just a wild, and I mea, WILD guess. Who wants to know. I'll put 100 bucks on Vinisteri. Any takers? Ha! I thought so. Why would you even ask this question? Bored?
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u/Intelligent_Praline4 3d ago
Didn’t some dude running for mayor just get beat up in uptown