Elections › District 4 › Diana Sanchez Bentz
Diana Sanchez BentzDistrict 4
City Council, District 4 · Paralegal
Qualified — on the ballot
Nov 3, 2026 ballot Qualified for the November 3, 2026 ballot in District 4 (listed among the City Clerk's qualified candidates). She filed Form 501 and was issued nomination papers July 21, 2026, and submitted them August 6.
Latest2026-11-04 — Updated Nov. 3 results keep Bentz, Tovar, Armendariz in lead for three Gilroy City Council seats full chronology ↓
Latest from the campaign
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About
Diana Sanchez Bentz chairs the City of Gilroy's Open Government Commission, the resident body that oversees compliance with the city's Open Government Ordinance (her term runs through 2027, per the city's commission roster). A Gilroy native, she is a 40-year paralegal professional at the global law firm Paul Hastings LLP and has lived in District 4 for more than 30 years, per an August 2026 San José Spotlight profile. She filed to run for the new District 4 seat on July 21, 2026, joining Fred Tovar in the District 4 race, submitted her nomination papers on August 6 and qualified for the ballot.
Her campaign website is dianafromgilroyforgilroy.com, per the City Clerk's qualified-candidates list.
Upcoming appearances
forums, meet-and-greets and campaign eventsNo upcoming appearances tracked yet. Know of a forum or campaign event? Tell us.
Campaign finance filings
FPPC forms filed with the City Clerk, from the City's NetFile portal| Filed | Form | What it is | Filer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 23, 2026 | 460 | Campaign finance report (contributions & spending) | DianaSanchezBentzFromGilroyForGilroy - 2026 Gilroy City Council District 4 | View ↗ |
| Aug 19, 2026 | 410 | Committee registration | DianaSanchezBentzFromGilroyForGilroy - 2026 Gilroy City Council District 4 | View ↗ |
| Aug 19, 2026 | 497 | Late contribution report ($1,000+ in the final stretch) | DianaSanchezBentzFromGilroyForGilroy - 2026 Gilroy City Council District 4 | View ↗ |
| Aug 6, 2026 | 700 | Statement of economic interests | DianaSanchezBentzFromGilroyForGilroy - 2026 Gilroy City Council District 4 | View ↗ |
| Aug 5, 2026 | 410 | Committee registration | DianaSanchezBentzFromGilroyForGilroy - 2026 Gilroy City Council District 4 | View ↗ |
| Jul 20, 2026 | 501 | Candidate intention statement | DianaFromGilroyForGilroy City Council District 4 | View ↗ |
| Jul 20, 2026 | 410 | Committee registration | DianaFromGilroyForGilroy City Council District 4 | View ↗ |
Campaign chronology
announcements, news coverage, filings and milestones — newest first- 📰 2026-11-04 Updated Nov. 3 results keep Bentz, Tovar, Armendariz in lead for three Gilroy City Council seats ↗ Initial, unofficial election results show Diana Sanchez Bentz, Christina Tovar and Rebeca Armendariz leading the Nov. 3 vote for Gilroy City Council Districts 4, 5 and 6, respectively.  Results posted early in the morning Nov. 4 on the Santa Clara County Registrar’s website account for 28.4% of the county’s registered voters.  The early, partial results […] Gilroy Dispatch · auto-detected
- 📰 2026-11-03 Early election results show Bentz, Tovar, Armendariz in lead for Gilroy City Council ↗ Initial election results show Diana Sanchez Bentz, Christina Tovar and Rebeca Armendariz leading the Nov. 3 vote for Gilroy City Council Districts 4, 5 and 6, respectively.  Results posted at 8:08pm on the Santa Clara County Registrar’s website account for about 23% of the county’s registered voters. The next local results will be updated at […] Gilroy Dispatch · auto-detected
- 📰 2026-09-26 Serves as a judge at the CARAS Tamal Festival & Car Show ↗ A campaign Facebook video promoted her as one of the judges for the 11th Annual Tamal Festival & Car Show, a CARAS-organized downtown Gilroy community event held Sept. 26, 2026. Facebook
- 🧾 2026-09-23 Files FPPC 460 — Campaign finance report (contributions & spending) ↗ Filed by DianaSanchezBentzFromGilroyForGilroy - 2026 Gilroy City Council District 4. NetFile · auto-detected
- 📰 2026-09-22 Listed as South Bay Labor Council sole endorsement (District 4) ↗ The South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council's published 2026 November Endorsements page (as of Sept. 22, 2026) lists a sole endorsement of Diana Sanchez Bentz for Gilroy City Council District 4. Organizational endorsements are reported here as sourced facts; OurGilroy does not endorse candidates. South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council
- 📰 2026-09-16 Dispatch District 4 profile runs without her statement ↗ The Dispatch's first candidate-profile installment covered District 4, but the paper notes Sanchez Bentz had not submitted a biography or candidate statement for publication as of press time; only Fred Tovar's ran. Gilroy Dispatch
- 📰 2026-09-03 Endorsed by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party ↗ At its September 3, 2026 meeting, the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee voted to endorse Diana Sanchez Bentz in the District 4 race, according to the party's published meeting recap. (The party endorsed one candidate in each of Gilroy's three council districts.) Santa Clara County Democratic Party
- 📰 2026-08-27 Profiled in San José Spotlight's candidate roundup ↗ The Spotlight's profile of the eight-candidate field: Sanchez Bentz, 67, is a Gilroy native, a 40-year paralegal professional at the law firm Paul Hastings LLP, chair of the city's Open Government Commission, and a District 4 resident of more than 30 years. She names infrastructure, poor lighting, conditions at low-income housing such as Alexander Station, and public safety among her priorities: “If we are able to increase public safety personnel and get mental health, drug abuse services, we can hopefully reduce the number of people who come to Gilroy for drugs and end up on the streets.” San José Spotlight
- 🧾 2026-08-19 Files FPPC 410 — Committee registration ↗ Filed by DianaSanchezBentzFromGilroyForGilroy - 2026 Gilroy City Council District 4. NetFile · auto-detected
- 🧾 2026-08-19 Files FPPC 497 — Late contribution report ($1,000+ in the final stretch) ↗ Filed by DianaSanchezBentzFromGilroyForGilroy - 2026 Gilroy City Council District 4. NetFile · auto-detected
- 🚩 2026-08-14 Candidate statement published for public review ↗ Her official candidate statement for the November 3 ballot is posted on the City's elections page. Statements were open to public examination through August 17 under Elections Code §§13313–13314. City of Gilroy
- 🚩 2026-08-14 Campaign website listed by the City Clerk — dianafromgilroyforgilroy.com ↗ The City Clerk's qualified-candidates list (updated August 14) publishes her campaign website, dianafromgilroyforgilroy.com, and campaign email dianafromgilroyforgilroy@gmail.com — her first campaign web presence. City of Gilroy
- 🚩 2026-08-07 Qualifies for the November ballot ↗ The City Clerk verified the nomination — officially on the ballot. City Clerk · auto-detected
- 🚩 2026-08-06 Submits nomination papers to the City Clerk ↗ The City Clerk's candidate table shows her nomination papers submitted August 6, 2026; qualification for the ballot (signature verification) is pending. City of Gilroy
- 🧾 2026-08-06 Files FPPC 700 — Statement of economic interests ↗ Filed by DianaSanchezBentzFromGilroyForGilroy - 2026 Gilroy City Council District 4. NetFile · auto-detected
- 🚩 2026-08-06 Filed completed nomination papers ↗ Nomination papers submitted to the City Clerk for verification. City Clerk · auto-detected
- 🧾 2026-08-05 Files FPPC 410 — Committee registration ↗ Filed by DianaSanchezBentzFromGilroyForGilroy - 2026 Gilroy City Council District 4. NetFile · auto-detected
- 🚩 2026-07-21 Files Form 501 and is issued nomination papers for District 4 ↗ Appears on the City Clerk's candidate table with a Form 501 (candidate intention statement) filed and nomination papers issued July 21, 2026 for the District 4 seat — making District 4 a contested race. City of Gilroy
- 🚩 2026-07-21 Issued nomination papers ↗ The City Clerk issued nomination papers for the District 4 seat. City Clerk · auto-detected
- 🧾 2026-07-20 Files FPPC 501 — Candidate intention statement ↗ Filed by DianaFromGilroyForGilroy City Council District 4. NetFile · auto-detected
- 🧾 2026-07-20 Files FPPC 410 — Committee registration ↗ Filed by DianaFromGilroyForGilroy City Council District 4. NetFile · auto-detected
Compiled from public sources and refreshed daily; items marked “auto-detected” were matched by keyword from local news feeds and may occasionally be about something else. Candidate photos come from the campaign's own website. OurGilroy does not endorse candidates. Corrections: hello@ourgilroy.com.