At a reorganization meeting, the Imperial City Council presented a plaque to outgoing Mayor James Tucker and confirmed leadership for 2026.

The council moved to appoint Council Member Ida Beso Martinez as mayor. After a motion and second, the appointment passed on a roll call recorded as 4‑0 with one abstention (the transcript records the abstention by Martinez). The clerk then opened nominations for mayor pro tem; Council Member Stacy Mendoza was nominated and confirmed by a 4‑0 roll call with one abstention recorded.

Newly seated Mayor Ida Beso Martinez thanked the council and residents: “I wanna thank everybody sincerely. I want to thank this council for this opportunity to serve as mayor. I’m honored… I look forward to the rest of the year.” Outgoing Mayor James Tucker and multiple council members offered congratulations and recounted accomplishments from the prior year, including infrastructure projects and improved services.

The council also received recognition presentations from Larissa de la Torre, a district representative for Senator Padilla, and from Cher Kaui of the Imperial Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Next steps: the new mayor indicated plans to continue collaboration with staff and stakeholders into 2026; no formal policy decisions were adopted as part of the reorganization votes.