Freeman, wife of City Manager Mike Futrell, alleges the city defamed her without investigation or due process and attempted to silence her protected speech and civic engagement.
Luis Hernandez is on track to win the Ward 6 City Council seat vacated by the resignation of Councilmember Jim Perry, according to preliminary results from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.
One day into election ballot counting, results remain largely the same — with Measure Z projected to fail and Torres, Conder and Hernandez leading their respective council races.
Early returns show nearly 60% of voters opposing the city's proposed sales tax increase, which would have raised the rate from 1% to 1.25% and removed its 2036 expiration date.
The U.S. Postal Service says postmarks are applied at processing facilities, not when mail is collected, meaning a ballot dropped in a collection box on Election Day may not be postmarked until the next day and could go uncounted.
At forums hosted by the Raincross Gazette, candidates for Wards 2, 4 and 6 found common ground on warehousing — and sharp disagreements on what comes next.
With Riverside far behind on state housing targets, candidates in three ward races outlined their approaches to growth, density and neighborhood character.
