Mike Gardner is the Ward 1 City Council Representative. He was elected in November 2007. Ward 1 includes the Grand, Wood Streets, Downtown, and North Side Neighborhoods as well as the portion of the UCR Neighborhood north of Blaine Street .

Mike is a 36 year resident of Riverside and has lived in the same home in Ward 1 for the past 32 years. He is a UCR graduate and worked for Southern California Edison for 23 years.

Mike was one of the original nine members of the Community Police Review Commission where he served one year as Vice Chair and an unprecedented three terms as Chair. He is a long time volunteer with the Riverside Fire Department where he helped with Public Education programs and served on the Department's Disaster preparedness Committee. Known as a community leader since the mid 1980's when he helped plan closure and capping of the City's landfill, Mike was recognized as the Municipal Volunteer of the Year in 2000.

Mike is Chair of the Development Committee, Vice Chair of the Public Safety Committee and sits on the Finance Committee.