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Rebecka Monez campaigned on restoring Columbia Pool. Its 2025 reopening is a visible part of her record representing Turlock’s District 2.
Monez represents District 2 and serves as Turlock’s vice mayor. Her current council term runs through December 2028.
A legal career with local roots
Outside City Hall, Monez practices criminal defense. Her law firm biography lists a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from California State University, Stanislaus, and a law degree from Laurence Drivon School of Law. The State Bar’s public record shows that she was admitted to practice in California on July 27, 2020, and held active status when this profile was updated.
Her work with people experiencing homelessness predates her council seat. In its 2020 election coverage, the Bee reported that she operated Charity Thrift Store in Turlock and the Good Samaritan in Modesto, with the nonprofit shops providing prepared food to unhoused people. That earlier service helps explain why homelessness has remained a recurring subject in her public work, even when her approach to city funding has drawn opposition.
Two elections, two different margins
Monez won the three-candidate District 2 race on November 3, 2020. The certified county results recorded 2,278 votes for her, or 49.77%, against 1,284 for incumbent Gil Esquer and 1,015 for Ruben Wegner. She took her first oath of office on December 8.
The November 5, 2024 contest was much closer. Final certified results gave Monez 2,045 votes and retired businessman Milt Trieweiler 1,970: a 75-vote margin, or 50.93% to 49.07%. She began her second four-year term that December.
Columbia Pool: from campaign issue to reopening
The pool closed in 2019 and reopened in May 2025 after a roughly $9.1 million renovation. The Journal’s reopening report identified Monez as its leading advocate and credited former Councilmember Pam Franco with helping secure funding. Improvements included accessible facilities and new picnic areas. The finished project belongs to a longer council-and-staff effort, while Monez’s sustained advocacy is a documented part of that story. Our Columbia Park guide follows the park’s history and what visitors can find there.
Shelters, services and disputed funding
Monez and Franco were appointed to a homelessness ad hoc committee in June 2021. Their February 2022 presentation proposed a nine-part approach involving service providers, healthcare, churches, prevention and enforcement of community standards. It also recommended regular evaluations so that the city could reconsider which efforts worked. The presentation was an information item: proposed spending still needed later approval.
Her votes have sometimes favored tighter funding conditions. April 23, 2024 minutes record her seconding and supporting resolutions that reduced We Care’s Community Development Block Grant allocation from $10,000 to $4,500 and moved the difference into housing rehabilitation. The measures passed 3–2, with Bublak and Franco also supporting them and Abram and Bixel opposed. This was a specific federal-program allocation, separate from the larger state-grant dispute the following year.
In April 2025 coverage, the Journal reported Monez opposing support for We Care’s state-grant application. She cited neighborhood impacts; We Care’s Greg Bava countered that those were community problems rather than solely the shelter’s responsibility.
Recent decisions
On March 10, 2026, Monez voted against a development-fee incentive alongside Abram. Bublak, Bixel and Phillips supported it.
Later that month, she supported negotiating continued fire-administration services with Modesto. The March 24 direction passed 3–2 and called for a citizen advisory board with union representation; it was not the final contract vote.
On May 26, the amended agreement passed unanimously. At that meeting, Monez asked whether sending resources elsewhere had left Turlock uncovered. Deputy Fire Chief Chris Jelinek said he was unaware of such an incident and explained the value of neighboring agencies covering major calls. The agreement concerned administrative services; Turlock retained its own department and personnel.
Contact Rebecka Monez
Her public council email is rmonez@turlock.ca.us. Include your neighborhood, the issue and the action you want the city to consider. Our representatives directory has the district map, City Hall contact information and instructions for attending or commenting at a council meeting.
Compare the mayor’s record and the other current councilmember profiles.
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