Melissa Hernandez

Melissa Hernandez is a Democratic candidate for California's 14th Congressional District and president of the BART Board of Directors for 2026. She served eight years on the Dublin City Council, including four as mayor, and describes herself as the daughter of migrant farmworkers and the first Latina mayor of Dublin. She advanced from the June 2 primary in second place and lost the August 2026 special general election to Aisha Wahab.[1][2][3][4]

Hernandez is the daughter of migrant farmworkers and a Mexican immigrant father, according to her campaign website, and she raised two children as a single mother while working and putting herself through college.[2] She served on the Dublin City Council for eight years, according to BART, and as the city's mayor for four years until June 2024; her campaign website describes her as the first Latina mayor of Dublin.[4][2] She ran unsuccessfully for the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, District 1, in the March 2020 primary, which David Haubert won.[3] During her time in local office she chaired three regional transit bodies: the Livermore-Amador Valley Transit Authority, the Tri-Valley/San Joaquin Valley Regional Transportation Authority (Valley Link), and the Finance Committee of the Alameda County Transportation Commission.[4]

The BART Board appointed Hernandez on May 23, 2024, to fill a vacancy in District 5, and she was elected to the seat in November 2024, defeating Joseph Grcar 71.3% to 28.7%. She is the first Latina to serve on the BART board.[4][3] She served as the board's vice president in 2025 and was elected its president for 2026.[4] Hernandez advanced from the June 2, 2026 top-two primary with 17.2% of the vote and lost the August 18, 2026 special general election to Aisha Wahab.[3][1]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.