Los Banos, CA (March 2026) — Los Banos, CA (March 2026) — The Los Banos City Council has appointed Refugio Llamas to represent District 2 following the resignation of Evan Sanders earlier this year. According to the City of Los Banos, the council voted during a special meeting on March 9, 2026, to appoint Llamas to fill the vacancy.
The appointment marks Llamas’ return to the seat after previously losing it in an election. Llamas had earlier served on the council as an appointed District 2 member but was defeated by Doug Begonia Jr. in the November 2022 election. Begonia received about 59.7 percent of the vote compared with about 40.3 percent for Llamas, according to election results.
Begonia remained in office until voters removed him during the Nov. 5, 2024 recall election. After the recall, the City Council opened an application process to fill the vacancy and ultimately appointed Evan Sanders on Jan. 8, 2025, to serve the remainder of the term.
Sanders served on the council for about one year before resigning in January 2026, creating the vacancy that led to the council’s vote to appoint Llamas earlier this month.
Llamas also ran for mayor of Los Banos in the November 2024 election, but he was not elected.
Because Llamas was appointed rather than elected to a new term, he will serve the remainder of the current District 2 term. The seat is expected to return to voters during the November 2026 municipal election, when District 2 residents will decide who will represent them for the next full four-year term.
The appointment represents the latest change in representation for District 2 following the 2024 recall election and the subsequent resignation that reopened the seat.
