Team Maywood wins all three City Council seats

Mayra Aguiluz, Eduardo “Eddie” De La Riva, and Maritza Cruz have won the race for three seats on the Maywood City Council, holding strong leads over six challengers as ballots continue to be counted.

The victory marked a win for “Team Maywood,” a slate made up of incumbents Eddie De La Riva and Mayra Aguiluz and newcomer Maritza Cruz, a city planning commissioner. The three ran together, promising responsible spending and improvements to city infrastructure.

As of the latest count on Nov. 11, Aguiluz leads with 2,559 votes (22.34%), followed closely by De La Riva with 2,509 votes (21.91%).

Cruz remains in third place with 1,972 votes (17.22%), ahead of fourth-place candidate Thomas Ramon Martin, who has received 1,312 votes (11.45%).

The remaining candidates trail, with Edith Rodriguez receiving 799 votes (6.98%), Gabriela A. Bernal with 733 (6.40%), Gustavo Villa with 687 (6.00%), Aleyda Lemus with 583 (5.09%), and Veronica Peral Bernabe with 300 (2.62%).

The top three vote-getters will win seats on the council.

Cruz's lead over Martin has grown from 402 votes on Nov. 4 to 660 votes in the latest count, strengthening her hold on the third and final council seat.

All three leading candidates have gained vote share since early returns, while Martin's share has declined from 11.66% to 11.45%.

Team Maywood entered the election with the backing of the local Democratic establishment and organized labor. De La Riva and Aguiluz were endorsed by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, and UNITE HERE Local 11. De La Riva also received an endorsement from Supervisor Janice Hahn while Aguiluz received an endorsement from the progressive California Working Families Party. Maywood Mayor Heber Marquez also backed the entire slate.

Marquez, whose term ends in November, did not seek re-election. In a phone interview, he said he wanted to focus on teaching, citing the demands of public office and a desire to make room for new leaders.

Martin, a former Maywood City Councilmember, sought a return to office after serving from 1997 to 2017, according to archived city records. He resigned in 2017 amid growing concerns over City Hall mismanagement, wasteful spending, and political infighting, according to the Los Angeles Times. His campaign criticized the city's current leadership and called for cleaner streets and improved public safety.

Lemus, Rodriguez, and Bernal ran as a slate under the slogan “Three Women, One Community.”

De La Riva declared victory on Instagram, celebrating another four years on the City Council alongside his Team Maywood running mates.

In a Nov. 4 post, he wrote, “4 more years para el Conejito de Miel & Team Maywood!” and thanked his supporters, adding that a more formal statement would follow.

“It did get a little dirty”

The campaign was marked by corruption allegations against De La Riva and attacks on Martin over his ties to a former mayor convicted of bribery and other crimes.

De La Riva's opponents circulated a campaign mailer highlighting a 2020 civil lawsuit that accused him of involvement in an attempt to extort $350,000 from a cannabis testing business owner seeking a city permit.

De La Riva denied the allegations in a Nov. 2 Instagram post, accusing his political opponents of spreading “lies.”

“I have NEVER been investigated or charged with any crimes,” he wrote, emphasizing that the lawsuit was a civil matter.

Court records show that a judge dismissed the lawsuit against De La Riva, the City of Maywood, and the other defendants after ruling in their favor in October 2025. The court found insufficient evidence to support the plaintiffs’ racketeering claim, noted that their extortion claim had already been dismissed, and ruled that their remaining claims failed to meet legal filing requirements.

De La Riva fired back, tying Martin to former Maywood Mayor and convicted felon Ramon Medina. He pointed to Medina’s criminal record and financial support for Martin, which campaign finance records show totaled $2,635.32, including $180 in nonmonetary contributions.

Medina was convicted of three felonies in January 2026 after pleading no contest to one count of accepting a bribe and two counts involving conflicts of interest in government contracts.

When prosecutors filed charges in 2021, they accused Medina of accepting campaign contributions from people seeking city contracts in exchange for helping them secure those contracts and reimbursing their contributions with public funds. 

Among numerous allegations of corruption, prosecutors claimed that an engineering consultant contributed more than $10,000 in nonmonetary support to Medina's 2015 campaign in exchange for help securing a city contract. The consultant's company subsequently received a contract worth more than $56,000 without a competitive bidding process, according to the complaint.

Several other charges, including conspiracy, embezzlement, and grand theft, were dismissed.

Maywood has a long history of bitter political rivalries, corruption scandals, and mudslinging in local elections. Reflecting on this year’s race, Marquez said he was relieved the campaign had not turned more bitter.

“It did get a little dirty,” Marquez said. “I'm glad it didn't get as dirty as it, unfortunately, has gotten in the past.”

Election results remain unofficial until certified by Los Angeles County.