Gilbert Garcia is Mayor of Orange Cove, appointed to the role by a 4-0 vote of the City Council on May 26, 2026. He had been serving as Mayor Pro Tem and covering mayoral duties after then-Mayor Diana Guerra Silva missed eight consecutive council meetings over three months; the council ultimately declared her seat vacant. Garcia is filling the remainder of her term, which runs through December 31, 2026, and has said he intends to run for the seat outright in the November 2026 election. At his appointment, he said: “I do thank my fellow council members for believing in me that I can do this position.” Garcia reportedly grew up in Orange Cove and operates a local catering and shaved-ice business, though this occupational detail has not been independently confirmed against a primary source.
His elevation to mayor left his own council seat vacant. In June 2026, the council interviewed three applicants for the seat but voted 3-1 to leave it empty until the November election, with Garcia reportedly raising concerns about one candidate’s association with a failed effort to renew Measure O, a local public safety tax. The council reversed course in late July 2026 and appointed Jaime Casillas to the seat on a 3-1 vote.
As mayor, Garcia has taken a visible role on a local environmental dispute: in June 2026 the council unanimously passed a resolution opposing a SoCalGas hydrogen-blending demonstration project after more than 650 residents signed a petition citing health and safety concerns. Garcia signed the petition himself and said at the meeting, “We’re here to listen to you, the residents. We’re not here to listen to outsiders.” No controversies specific to Garcia’s own conduct have surfaced; the only irregularity connected to his time in office is his predecessor’s removal for prolonged absences, which created the vacancy he filled.
