Long-time El Cajon City Councilman Gary Kendrick denounces Republican Party, switches affiliation to Democrat

By Paul Levikow

View video of Gary Kendrick's announcement.

February 9, 2026 (El Cajon) – El Cajon City Councilman Gary Kendrick, a life-long Republican, announced Monday that he is switching his party affiliation and joining the Democratic Party. Kendrick made the declaration at a news conference in front of El Cajon City Hall surrounded by supporters and Democratic Party officials.

He cited the city’s resolution passed last year announcing El Cajon’s intent to have local police officers collaborate with federal immigration officials in violation of state law as one of the reasons he made the switch.

“As the longest-serving Republican in municipal office in San Diego County, I cannot ignore the Republican Party’s betrayal of our immigrant community, nor its disastrous impacts on the people of El Cajon,” Kendrick said. “Forcing our police to break the law sends the wrong message to El Cajon residents and erodes the public’s trust in our law enforcement officers.  Victims and witnesses in our most vulnerable communities are scared to talk to the police, because they might have a friend or a relative with undocumented status—or they worry they’ll be targeted because of the way they look.”

Kendrick added, “We must do better for the people of El Cajon. We must take stock of our core values. We must choose to be a city that loves our neighbors, not one that vilifies them. We must choose to be a city in which all of our residents thrive, rather than live in fear.”

Kendrick has served on the El Cajon City Council for 24 years. He said that for some time, he held out hope that the Republican Party could be reformed from within.

“I believed that courageous men and women could stop the moral decay of the organization. However, Republican policies continue to tear apart El Cajon families, drive shoppers away from our businesses, and shield abusers from accountability,” Kendrick said. “One thing is clear to me; the Republican Party is beyond redemption.”

Kendrick represents District 1, the western portion of El Cajon, including Fletcher Hills, Grossmont College, Gillespie Field, Parkway Plaza, and a portion of downtown. The district is bordered by Santee, La Mesa and unincorporated areas of East County.

“I’m in this fight to protect El Cajon from the far-right radicals who threaten our way of life. Together we will restore El Cajon as a city where children walk to school without fear, where mothers seek medical care without terror, and where every family can call the police when they need help,” he said.

Kendrick told East County Magazine that he expects the Republican Party to run a MAGA candidate against him when the filing period opens in August. District 1 is made up of 31% Democrats and 31% Republicans, with the remaining voting block registered with no party preference, according to Kendrick, who was re-elected to his current term with 85% of the vote.

San Diego County Democratic Party Chair Will Rodriguez-Kennedy appeared alongside Kendrick at the news conference to welcome the newest Democrat from the East County.

“The only thing that is more powerful than hate, is love,” he said. “This is a growing example of change in this country. A change for love, a change for compassion for our fellow citizens and fellow community members. It’s a change for the better.”

Photo, right:  Will Rodgriguez-Kennedy welcomes Councilmember Gary Kendrick to the Democratic Party.

View video of Rodriguez-Kennedy's complete remarks.

Rodriguez-Kennedy gave Kendrick a San Diego Democratic Party lapel pin and t-shirt as part of his welcoming remarks to the councilmember.

Lauren Cazares, east area vice chair of the Democratic party and vice mayor of La Mesa, pointed out a shift in local representation. Over the last 10 years La Mesa went from  a 5-0 Republican city council to now a 4-1 Democratic majority, with plans to make it a 5-0 super majority. Cazares said they also plan to flip the El Cajon City Council in favor of Democrats.

“This marks an historic investment that you are going to see from the County Democratic Party and from all of our partners and supporters,” Cazares said. “We would not be here today without people who are willing to stand up to hate, stand up to the Trump administration, and say that this is wrong. What is happening is evil in our world.

“People like Councilman Gary Kendrick are the reason that people that refuse to see the truth, will start to see the truth,” Cazares said.

Marcello Ramirez is the director of communications and community engagement for SD Dems. He told ECM, “we’re contesting a lot of seats in East County” and he believes interest in the 48^th Congressional district seat held by Rep. Darrell Issa is “cascading down to other seats.” He says the Democratic party wants to “prove that East County seats are in play.”

There are more than 53,000 registered voters in El Cajon, with more than 18,000 registered as Republican, about 17,000 registered Democrats and almost 13,000 registered as non-partisan.

“In the 2026 midterms, SDCDP will invest heavily in neighborhoods that have recently trended toward the right, but are historically Democratic strongholds,” according to a prepared statement from the county Democratic party. ‘The Party will focus on the issues that affect the day-to-day lives of voters, and communicate in the languages they speak and through the media they consume.”

“SDCDP welcomes any Republican elected official or voter who has become disappointed and disenchanted by the betrayal of the values the GOP used to stand for: personal freedom, fiscal responsibility, and robust international diplomacy,” the statement said.

According to a January 2026 article in The New York Times, nearly half of voters polled said the country is worse off than when President Trump took office for the second time.

Estela de los Rios is a Latina leader from El Cajon. She co-founded the immigrant marches several years ago from San Diego to Washington, D.C.

“I applaud our City Councilman, Gary Kendrick for choosing humanity and love. He is a man of high integrity and I respect him highly!” she posted on Facebook. “Let’s ensure that he represents us the community because he is MY VOICE! Thank you for stepping up to fight the oppression and cruelty of the opposition.”

Kendrick said he did not want to leave the GOP and become a nonpartisan (decline-to-state party affiliation) voter.

“The Democratic Party holds a lot of ideals that I follow,” he said, adding that today’s Republican Party is not the party he joined 50 years ago. “I know of several Republican officials who are on the fence right now,” he disclosed, adding that they are considering becoming Democrats. He hopes his action will “make them feel safer for the slings and arrows that will be thrown at them.”

Kendrick, 71, attended Santana High School, Grossmont College and San Diego State. He taught at Southwestern Community College, served on the board of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District for five years and was a deputy assessor for the County of San Diego for 34 years. He has been a resident of El Cajon since 1988.

How long does Kendrick plan to remain on the El Cajon City Council? “They’re going to have to take me out in a box,” he said.

While switching parties is uncommon among elected officials, East County has had several public office holds change parties in recent years. La Mesa Mayor Mark Arapostathis, former Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, and former La Mesa City Councilmember Dave Allen all switched from the Republican to Democratic parties and all won reelection after changing parties.  

San Diego County Republican Party officials did not respond to East County Magazine’s efforts seeking a response.

East County Magazine Editor Miriam Raftery contributed to this report.