# Big Bear Lake (local, San Bernardino County)

URL: https://www.californiapeople.org/local/big-bear-lake

- title: Big Bear Lake
- type: city
- jurisdiction: City of Big Bear Lake
- region: Mountains

## Key findings
- **Three open seats; no incumbents running.** District 2 (Rick Herrick leaving): Sonia Ibarra vs. Kara Flietstra. District 3 (Randall Putz leaving): Ernie Mendoza vs. Michael Beveridge. District 4 (Perri Melnick leaving): Suzy Gilleon vs. Cody Lewis. [^1]
- A majority of the five-member council will be new. The long-running fight is **short-term vacation rentals**: residents put a rental-limit initiative on the 2022 ballot over the council's objections. [^2]
- Departing Councilman Randall Putz appears on the ballot as the Democratic candidate for **Assembly District 34**. [^3]
- The **San Bernardino Mountains Community Hospital bond (Measure Q)** and the **Rim of the World parks parcel tax (Measure R)** cover other mountain communities (see districts).

## Council District 2
Candidate list from the SB County Sentinel at the close of filing (Aug 7, 2026); a few late or withdrawn filings may differ, so check your sample ballot.

### Sonia Ibarra
- I found no independent reporting on this candidate.

### Kara Flietstra
- I found no independent reporting on this candidate.

## Council District 3
### Ernie Mendoza
- I found no independent reporting on this candidate.

### Michael Beveridge
- I found no independent reporting on this candidate.

## Council District 4
### Suzy Gilleon
- I found no independent reporting on this candidate.

### Cody Lewis
- I found no independent reporting on this candidate.

## Sources
[^1]: SB County Sentinel, mayoral and council match-ups (Aug 7, 2026). https://sbcsentinel.com/2026/08/more-clarity-on-november-mayoral-and-city-council-match-ups/
[^2]: SB County Sentinel, residents' rental initiative (May 2022). https://sbcsentinel.com/2022/05/big-bear-residents-seize-authority-from-city-council/
[^3]: KVCR voter guide. https://kvcr.org/voter-guide/san-bernardino
[^4]: SB County Sentinel, tourism and rentals in the 2022 race (Oct 2022). https://sbcsentinel.com/2022/10/tourism-regulations-a-factor-in-2022-big-bear-lake-election/