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Before she ran for mayor, Kelley Coelho helped launch a Turlock technology group and brought veterans together at Dust Bowl. Now the private investigator is asking voters to support her promise of a more accountable City Hall. Her campaign connects that message to school safety, roads and disputes with local public institutions.
Coelho is competing with incumbent Amy Bublak and Planning Commissioner Jim Reape in the November 3 mayoral election. All three participated in the October 7 debate at Stanislaus State.
Investigations, technology and veterans advocacy
Coelho owns B & C Investigations. The company’s own history dates its founding to 2019 and lists background checks, investigations and process serving among its services. It describes her as a University of Phoenix graduate.
A less familiar part of her local record is technology organizing. In February 2024, the Turlock Journal reported her appointment as chapter leader of Turlock’s new Google Developer Group. The story identified her as an Army Reserves veteran. Coelho acknowledged that technology was not her deepest area of expertise, but said she wanted people with different levels of experience to learn together. The planned launch at Willie’s Pizza and Wings brought a technical networking idea into a familiar local setting.
Her veterans service has a clear public record. The Board of Supervisors approved her appointment in June 2024 to the Stanislaus County Veterans Advisory Commission. The appointment document specifies a District 2 seat, effective July 1, 2024, for a term ending June 30, 2026. In December 2025, county meeting minutes recorded her presentation of a proposal for veterans housing. The minutes do not establish that the proposal became an approved project.
In November 2024, she hosted military medical-accountability advocate Richard Stayskal at Dust Bowl Brewing. The Journal’s account of that gathering described veterans and service members discussing their concerns with him. Coelho said she had met Stayskal through advocacy in Washington. That event offers a specific example of her community work before the mayoral campaign.
From a council campaign to a citywide race
Coelho initially sought the District 1 council seat. The Modesto Bee reported her change of course on April 22, 2026, after an April 14 announcement that she was leaving that contest to run for mayor. The move expanded the campaign from one council district to the whole city.
In the Bee’s September candidate questionnaire, she identified school safety and public accountability as priorities. She proposed stronger connections among schools, police, mental-health providers, families and students, and clearer explanations of public spending. Her campaign website emphasizes transparency, integrity and accountability and provides a contact form for questions.
Turlock’s council-manager system assigns policy and budgets to the council and administration to the city manager. School-safety proposals need partners, funding and clear responsibilities.
What she would change
- Roads: At the September Ceres forum, Coelho called for repairs that address underlying problems. Bublak responded that current reconstruction includes storm drains and sidewalks, according to the Journal’s forum report. The disagreement concerns the quality and scope of work already underway.
- Data centers: In a September 30 Bee comparison, she favored evaluating proposals individually. She wanted developers to fund necessary infrastructure, explain water and electricity demands, and accept enforceable conditions and continuing oversight. She also supported a temporary pause if the city needed time to establish safeguards. This was a position on possible future development.
At the October 7 debate, Coelho called for different City Hall leadership and opposed Modesto’s administrative contract with Turlock Fire. Asked about a hypothetical $1 million surplus, she favored students and school safety; Bublak stressed that municipalities do not run schools. Coelho also said her lawsuits were separate from her campaign. These positions are reported in the Bee’s debate coverage.
The public disputes, case by case
The school incident. Coelho alleged that substitute teacher Vance Yarbrough assaulted her daughter at Turlock Junior High in October 2025. Yarbrough disputed the allegations and sued Coelho for defamation in December. The Journal’s December report included his attorney’s claim that her public statements were false, and Coelho’s denial of wrongdoing. She said her actions arose from concern for children’s safety. These are opposing parties’ positions, rather than a finding of liability.
The Journal later reported that prosecutors declined criminal charges, saying the case could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Police Chief Jason Hedden defended the investigation and said police had submitted it for independent prosecutorial review. A public federal docket index records Coelho’s March 16, 2026 civil-rights complaint against the city, school district and others. In September, she told the Bee the separate defamation case remained active.
The press-conference dispute. Coelho’s 2024 federal action alleged that Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil and chief of staff Vanessa Bravo violated her rights by having her removed from a June 21 press conference. The Journal reported that it reviewed emails arranging her attendance. In their September 9, 2024 court-filed answer, the defendants denied directing her removal.
A court order dated August 24, 2026 closed a second action, case 2:25-cv-02095, because it duplicated the 2024 action. Coelho did not oppose that motion and reserved her right to proceed in the original case. The order’s stated basis was duplication; it did not decide whether her removal violated her rights.
The Facebook-page dispute. In a March 2026 courtroom report, the Journal described Judge John R. Mayne dismissing with prejudice her restraining-order petition against Save Turlock administrator Ron Bridegroom. The report quoted the judge treating the comments at issue as protected political speech, even assuming her allegations for purposes of his decision. That outcome concerned the particular petition before him.
For the wider contest, read our 2026 mayoral debate report and history of Turlock’s mayors. Use the Stanislaus County elections office for registration, ballots and voting locations.
Read the other 2026 mayoral candidate profiles: Amy Bublak, Jim Reape.
This independent profile examines a candidate for public office’s public record and statements. Send documented corrections or responses to LocalTurlock.
