Longtime Manteca resident, business person, and community volunteer Dani Bettencourt is in the race for the District 4 City Council seat in the Nov. 3 election.

“I want to leave the community a little bit of a better place,” said Bettencourt, who is challenging incumbent Mike Morowit who is seeking a third term.

District 4 consists of Manteca north of Louise Avenue with the exception of the Diamond Oaks neighborhood east of Highway 99.

Should Bettencourt be elected, it would mark the first time two women have been elected to serve on the City Council at the same time in Manteca’s 108-year history. She would be the seventh woman to serve.

The first was Trena Kelley in 1980, who was also the city’s first directly elected mayor.

Kelley was followed by Jeanne Downhouser, Jeannie Keaster, Denise Giordano, Debby Moorhead, and Regina Lackey.

Lackey was elected in 2024 to represent District 2, generally southeast Manteca. She has two plus years remaining on her term.

Bettencourt and Morowit are now circulating petitions to secure the minimum requirement of 20 valid registered voters residing in the city limits.

Mayor Gary Singh and challenger Jacob Naven are also circulating their nomination petition.

Incumbent District 3 Councilman David Breitenbucher had scheduled an appointment with City Clerk Cassie Candini-Tilton to secure his nomination papers.

District 3 is generally is the area that was in Manteca’s city limits in 1970.

The filing period closes Aug. 5.

Bettencourt’s background

Bettencourt is a business owner and 40-year Manteca resident.

She served as Manteca Chamber of Commerce president in 2025-2026 and continues to serve on the board.

She has served as a volunteer at numerous non-profit events with a significant amount of time invested on helping the United Way raise funds to support Manteca community concerns.

Bettencourt is also a member of Manteca Rotary.

The general reasons she is running and the strengthens she believes she can bring to the table as a council member includes:

*The ability to make difficult decisions.

*A deep love of the community.

*A willingness to listen to others.

*A passion for solving problems.

*Likes to learn new things.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com