Candidate filings accelerate ahead of Friday’s first deadline

Four candidates have now qualified for the Nov. 3 ballot in Tiburon — among them two challengers — ensuring a contested race for three Town Council seats. Mayor Jon Welner has taken out nomination papers to seek a third term but had not filed by press time.

The moves came during a rush of activity across races on peninsula ballots. Thirteen candidates filed between July 27 and Aug. 3, and five other residents took out nomination papers. The filings included two incumbents whose plans had been unclear, and challengers emerged in two races that had drawn none.

Welner, the last of the three Tiburon incumbents to act, took out papers July 28. Incumbents Alice Fredericks and Jack Ryan filed July 29 and qualified the same day. Fredericks, first elected in 2001, is seeking a seventh term.

Chuck Hornbrook, who serves on the town’s Parks, Open Space & Trails Commission, became the first challenger to file, turning in his papers July 30 and qualifying July 31. Wealth-management firm founder Faris Jafar filed and qualified Aug. 3.

Welner has until 5 p.m. Aug. 7. If he doesn’t file, other challengers would have until 5 p.m. Aug. 12 to enter the race.

In Belvedere, there was no new activity. Both incumbents remain qualified and unopposed for two seats. Councilmember Peter Mark qualified July 16, and Councilmember Jane Cooper qualified July 23. Both were first elected in 2022 and seek second terms, their last under a local custom that limits members to two terms. With both incumbents in, filing closes Aug. 7.

Interested residents may obtain Tiburon council nomination papers from Town Clerk Lea Dilena at 415-435-7377 or ldilena@townoftiburon.gov and Belvedere council papers from City Clerk Beth Haener at 415-435-8913 or clerk@cityofbelvedere.org.

Other races on the ballot

Reed Union School District: Four candidates have now filed for the three seats. Challengers Lina Godfrey, a Tiburon resident and disability-access advocate who serves on the town’s Diversity Inclusion Task Force, and Krupa Antani, a Tiburon resident and Reed Union parent volunteer, filed July 27 and July 28, respectively. They join incumbents Mike Ghaffary, who filed July 14, and board President Shelby Pasarell Tsai, who filed July 22. Board member Afsaneh Zolfaghari is not seeking reelection, and because she is not expected to file, challengers would have until Aug. 12 to enter the race.

Tamalpais Union High School District: Eight residents have now taken out papers for the three seats. Incumbent Kevin Saavedra has entered the race, pulling papers the week of July 27 and filing for reelection July 31. Two challengers also filed: Maria Sandoval, a Mill Valley Spanish teacher who serves on the Marin County Free Library Commission, filed July 28, and Leslie Harlander, a former board member and 2020 board president, filed July 30. Valerie Wynn, a retired district teacher, has also taken out papers.

They join two other candidates, incumbent Cynthia Roenisch, who filed July 24, and Brian Sutherland, a constitutional lawyer with two sons at Tamalpais High School, who filed July 16. Potential challengers Cynthia Joy Scully Koo, a Mill Valley resident who co-organizes the Marin Youth Job Fair, and Brandon Johnson, a Forest Knolls web developer and youth basketball coach, had not filed. Incumbent Emily Uhlhorn is not seeking reelection; she will complete her term and become executive director of the Tam High Foundation in January. Because Uhlhorn is not expected to file, challengers would have until Aug. 12 to enter the race.

Mill Valley School District: Incumbent Sharon Nakatani filed July 27, joining Natalie Katz, who filed July 22. Incumbent Yunhee Yoo has taken out papers. All three were first elected in 2022. Yoo has until Aug. 7 to file. If she doesn’t, challengers would have until Aug. 12.

Marin County Board of Education: Incumbent Marilyn Nemzer entered the race, pulling papers the week of July 27 and filing July 28 for the Trustee Area 5 seat, which covers the Reed Union district and the Tiburon Peninsula. She has drawn a potential challenger in Avery Lieberman, an associate professor of restorative dentistry at the University of the Pacific and University of California at San Francisco schools of dentistry, who has taken out papers. Because Nemzer filed, there will be no extension, and Lieberman must file by Aug. 7 to make the ballot.

Tiburon Fire Protection District: Incumbent Cheryl Woodford filed July 28, joining incumbent Richard Jones, who filed July 21. Board President Joy Ho has taken out papers. Ho has until Aug. 7 to file. If she doesn’t, challengers would have until Aug. 12.

Southern Marin Fire Protection District: No new activity. Four seats are up, and five residents have taken out papers, two of whom have filed. Incumbent Kurt Chun filed July 16, and incumbent Peter Fleming filed July 17. Incumbent Cristine Soto DeBerry and potential challengers Thomas Clark and Eric Steinhofer, a Mill Valley resident and clean-energy consultant, have taken out papers. Incumbent Tom Perazzo has said he will run but had not taken out papers. DeBerry and Perazzo have until Aug. 7 to file. If either doesn’t, challengers would have until Aug. 12.

Sanitary District No. 5 of Marin: No new activity. Incumbent Tod Moody filed July 22. Board President Catharine Benediktsson, who has said she will run, had not taken out papers. She has until Aug. 7 to file. If she doesn’t, challengers would have until Aug. 12.

Richardson Bay Sanitary District: The race for three seats has drawn its first interest. John L. Turnacliff, chair of the Marin County Republican Central Committee, took out papers. None of the three incumbents, Patrick Walravens, Peter McIntosh and Mark Fitzgerald, has taken out papers. Walravens has said he will run. The incumbents have until Aug. 7 to file. If any of them doesn’t, challengers would have until Aug. 12.

Strawberry Recreation District: Aliza Hawkins filed July 30 for the two-year seat, the only candidate for it so far. Hawkins, a Strawberry resident and Rakuten Advertising account specialist, sought appointment to the board last year but lost to Doug Twillman, who has not taken out papers and has said he has not decided whether to seek the two-year seat or a four-year seat.

For the three four-year seats, potential challenger David Morgenthaler, a Strawberry resident and critic of the former seminary redevelopment, has taken out papers. Incumbent Peter Teese filed July 21; incumbent Sohrab Saghezchi has taken out papers. The third seat is held by Sarah Waterfield, who had not taken out papers. Incumbents in both contests have until Aug. 7 to file. If they don’t, challengers would have until Aug. 12.

Candidates for county and district offices file with the Marin Elections Department, Suite 121 of the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael. Contact Marin candidate services at 415-473-6437 or candidateservices@marincounty.gov with questions. For more information, including a candidate guide, visit marinvotes.org.

Reach Executive Editor Kevin Hessel at 415-435-2652.