Gloria PartidaIncumbent
Candidate for City Council Member, Davis, District 4 · Councilmember/Business Owner
Gloria Partida worked for 30 years as a neurobiologist, most recently as a lab manager in UC Davis's Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, researching retinal neurons, before retiring in 2019. She holds a B.S. in zoology from UC Davis. Before her research career, she was active with Mothers of East LA in Los Angeles, and in the 1980s she was part of a community effort that established inclusive education in Davis schools for students with special needs. In 2013, after her oldest son was severely beaten in a hate crime, she co-founded the Davis Phoenix Coalition, which works against bullying and supports LGBTQIA families. She has held local elected office since 2018, including as mayor from July 2020 to 2022 and currently as vice mayor, and chairs the New Hope Community Development Commission and serves on the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management Board and Yolo County Housing Authority.
Positions in brief
Partida has focused on securing enforceable affordable-housing commitments in major development negotiations and on preserving Davis's community character amid growth pressure.
As a member of the council's negotiating team for the Willowgrove development agreement, Partida pushed for enforceable affordability commitments before the project went to the November 2026 ballot, and supported clarifying the city's inclusionary housing ordinance to ensure affordable units actually get built. She has said that constraining housing growth has, in practice, reshaped who can live in Davis. She describes her broader approach as preserving what the community loves while advocating for fairness and transparency in local government.
On the issues
Supports securing enforceable affordable-housing commitments in major development projects.
Source →Has said that limiting housing production has changed who can afford to live in Davis.
“by constraining growth and by making it impossible to live here, we have also changed the fabric of our community”
Source →Advocates for fairness and transparency in local government while preserving community character.
“I will preserve what we love about our community and advocate for fairness and transparency.”
Source →Has worked to combat bullying and support LGBTQIA families through the coalition she co-founded.
Source →
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