A Press Release submitted by campaign staff for AJ Rivas
I am rejecting the baseless residency attacks published by Our Valley Voice, anonymously and inaccurately. Their claim that I don’t live in my district — or that I committed fraud on my candidacy paperwork — is outright false.
Everything they’re shouting about was reviewed and approved by the California Secretary of State months before ballots were ever printed. Printing my home addresses doesn’t indicate wrongdoing. It only puts my family at risk by telling dangerous people where my kids sleep.
Before I ran, I confirmed my registration with the Secretary of State’s Elections Division. My residence inside District 3 is active, valid, and fully vetted through VoteCal. I maintain two locations in Porterville for one reason: safety. As a former gang-unit corrections officer who has received death threats, the law allows me to protect my family. Newspapers don’t get to rewrite that.
While they manufacture outrage, I’ve been focused on doing the work District 3 elected me to do. My track record speaks for itself:
- Transformed the River Parkway into a safe, lit, family-friendly walkway.
- Cleared zoning barriers so Papa’s Restaurant, Elevated Barbershop, Hawaiian BBQ, and Casino hotel could open or expand.
- Called for line-item budget reports and discovered $13,000,000 unfunded liabilities. Approved a balance budget plan to account for all city expenses, moving forward.
- Pushed for the Buildout of the Westwood/190 round-about to end constant traffic jams.
- Cut government friction which allowed the building of the Chevron project, next to RJ Meat Locker.
- Rewrote the sign code — to reduce government restrictions on local businesses.
- Chaired the Airport Advisory Committee — saved the hangars, stabilized the budget, kept pilots in Porterville.
- Repaved and widened major roads — Plano, Date, Olive — ending the pothole roulette residents dealt with for years.
- Redesigned the alternate bus routes linking the college and Family HealthCare Network, boosting ridership and unlocking future program funding.
District 3 isn’t a headline factory. It’s a neighborhood that needed fixing and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. I’m still negotiating new mixed-use housing projects, still pushing development, still delivering results.
No resignation. No retreat. Just results.
Editor’s note: Former Porterville City Council member and close associate to Rivas, Greg Shelton, confirmed twice during a phone call on December 1, 2025 to the editor of the Valley Voice that Rivas lives in District 2. The source was not anonymous. Also, the Valley Voice did not publish Rivas’ home address nor that of his daughter’s.
Where is the TRANSPARENCY?
I have 2 residents. I live in which one?
So you have two residences to protect yourself because you were a gang unit corrections officer but you announce to the world you were a gang unit corrections officer?
VoteCal is “California’s centralized voter registration database”. VoteCal DOES NOT VERIFY ADDRESSES!
When did Rivas register to vote at his address and when did he file his candidacy papers?
The answer to this question will certainly shed some light on this whole issue.
The math isn’t mathing for me.
He registered on 12/19/2024
AJ Rivas
Date Issued: 07/15/2024
Date Filed: 07/24/2024
Date Qualified: 07/24/2024
As a retired Correctional Officer, I’m curious as to why a retired gang unit correctional officer that is so concerned about the life of himself, wife and children would even run for office. You have to put an address when you run and apparently his daughter’s address on file doesn’t concern him enough anyway. Anybody should be able to see this isn’t about his families safety, it’s a cover up for wrongdoing. I hope I’m wrong because he’s risking his benefits and the families safety.
Hello, I am Greg Shelton, the supposed “close associate to Rivas” that the Editor (Catherine Doe) keeps trying to use to support her sad attempt at Tabloid Journalism. Firstly, I NEVER confirmed Mr. Rivas’ home address…neither once, nor twice…because I simply don’t know where Mr. Rivas lives. What I did do though, was send Ms. Doe the section of the California Election Code that deals with establishing a citizen’s eligibility to participate in a Local Election, along with a Official Letter from the California Secretary of State dated March 10, 2025, that states that one Adolfo Rivas Jr. does indeed legally reside in the Voting District in which he currently holds office. I sent these e-mails to Ms. Doe on December 1, 2025, at 1:26 PM…some 4 days before she published her rather “Ethically Challenged” Editorial. I find it interesting that Ms. Doe didn’t bother to use any of the information I sent her, nor did she ever contact me with any follow up questions, or clarifications as to my alleged “quotes”…an activity that is considered to be the cornerstone of responsible reporting. If you would like to see the above described e-mails, along with some great photos of Ms. Doe skulking around Mr. Rivas’ wife’s residence, while masquerading as “Pam” or “Patty”…please contact me. Thanks, Greg Shelton…Porterville, CA, 93257.
You are a failure Greg Shelton and your Charter Review Committee proved it from day one how about you go talk to ai or something? Maybe you can clarify your lies with that thing?
Of course, Josh flowers would have written this the puppet Master, pulling strings, Josh flowers doesn’t even live in the City Of Porterville yet he is dictating to the council and making them be his puppets. This whole council is corrupt with the exception of one individual. The mayor wants to become strong mayor, which would make him a paid employee of the city in the Calper’s system. This would make his retirement from his job at the state hospital triple, the vice Mayor, who had an illegally placed sea train in his backyard, which was called out to code enforcement had the rules changed, so he would not receive a ticket which his sea train is still illegal due to the fact that it is too big based on the state regulations. then the council had the ability to post anonymously in the my Porterville app removed to keep people from calling them out on their own disregards for city code violations which they claimed was to keep transparency with the public, they also had the ability to call into city council meetings removed, even though it is an ADA compliance issue
Well, this is interesting. All of the issues (sea trains, strong mayor, code enforcement) you cite were also amendments to the City’s charter that were recommended by Council members and their conveniently placed friends on the city’s Charter Review Committee.(check out the committee – you’ll find it enlightening) If you wait long enough, you begin to see the dots connect. Corrupt does not even begin to describe this Council. Well at least three of them.
McKervey changed the structure of the Charter Review Committee to exude me right in-front of god and everybody.
I wrote about that in an article and studied that decision in detail just so you know Brock I saw it very clearly as well.
I have no idea why people are trying to act like Raymond Beltran is upstanding when he isn’t. That’s how desperate people are with their trauma bond with these people. Beltran wants Voter ID, Beltran would self deport the second Trump told him to, Beltran is a documented liar from everything that has been reported even from 2017 Putnam Beat Podcast onwards…His wife is a liar too and plays cover for him and she works at Melson, Rafaella also works there too.
Theres no way a strong mayor will happen, what needs to happen is the firing of TREE and LEW and the destroying of the Charter completely.
bad journalism 101
1 listening to anything that Greg Shelton says
2 not doing your own investigative research
3 not simply letting the FPPC handle it , any one can ask them to clarify this
https://www.fppc.ca.gov/
Funniest comments Ive read in a while… Thank you Valley Voice I love you Catherine Doe! lol… have a good XXXmas you freaky deakies