Valenzuela campaigns on safety, roads and low taxes in Yuma race

Henry Valenzuela is framing his City Council campaign as a defense of long-time Yuma residents, working families and the neighborhoods he says city government has to serve first. With the June 22 deadline to register for the July 21 primary approaching, he is trying to turn that message into a concrete choice for voters worried about safety, spending and the city’s pace of growth.

Valenzuela said he has spent his life in Yuma and wants city hall to stay focused on core services: public safety, infrastructure, youth development and keeping government costs low. His campaign message leans heavily on fiscal restraint, with Valenzuela arguing against higher taxes and fees while pressing for safer neighborhoods, better-maintained roads and parks, and more support for young people and youth sports.

The race will be part of a busy 2026 election in the city. Yuma says voters will choose a mayor, three council members and the presiding municipal judge. The official primary ballot includes council candidates Henry Valenzuela, Carol Smith and Ronald Van Why, along with write-in candidates Derek Egeberg and Priscila Ruedas. The mayoral contest includes incumbent Douglas Nicholls and write-in candidate Carlos Adams, while Nohemy Echavarria is running for judge.

The campaign is unfolding as election deadlines arrive fast. The last day to register for the July 21 primary is June 22, 2026, at 11:59 p.m., and early voting begins June 24, when early ballots are also mailed. Yuma County’s public logic-and-accuracy test for the election is set for June 17 at 10:00 a.m., followed by the state test on June 18 at 2:35 p.m.

Valenzuela’s emphasis on roads, parks and public safety lands in the middle of a larger budget debate already shaping city politics. Yuma’s proposed FY 2027 budget totals about $570.8 million across all funds and is described by the city as structurally balanced. The city says major priorities include public safety staffing and facility improvements, street and neighborhood infrastructure upgrades, parks and recreation, and planning for economic development and future growth.

The FY 2027 Capital Improvement Program calls for about $220 million in planned investments, including redevelopment of Hotel Del Sol, expansion of the Desert Dunes Water Reclamation Facility, East Mesa Park improvements and major pavement replacement work. In May 2025, council set the maximum FY 2026 budget at $547,121,059, about $26 million more than the prior year, and the mayor said nearly half would go to capital improvement projects. Against that backdrop, Valenzuela’s campaign is trying to make the election about stewardship, local roots and who city government is really working for.