Council votes to call Nov. 3, 2026 municipal election, staff to consolidate with county

The council on July 1 approved resolutions to call the Nov. 3, 2026 general municipal election and to consolidate town elections with San Mateo County’s balloting process.

Anthony, the staff presenter, said the election will fill four council seats: three full four‑year terms and one short two‑year seat that followed a midterm appointment. He told the council the nomination window, if the resolutions are adopted, would open July 13 and close Aug. 7, and that candidate statements will be limited to 250 words. "We recommend that we adopt the two resolutions attached," Anthony said.

Anthony also corrected the fiscal figure in the packet, saying the town has appropriated $15,000 in the current fiscal budget for county election services (the earlier packet listed $12,000). He said the town typically receives the county invoice the January after the election.

A council member moved to approve the resolution to call the election and to authorize staff to arrange contract services with the county. The motion was seconded and the presiding officer called the vote; the motion was recorded as approved.

The staff presentation noted that, if no eligible incumbent files during the standard window, extensions for candidate nomination periods would apply independently for the full-term and short-term seats. Staff also said refunds would be processed to candidates if the county charges less than the deposit collected.

Next steps: staff will finalize the resolutions with the $15,000 fiscal figure and proceed with filing and contract arrangements for the consolidated election.