Election 2026: Candidate filing opens July 13 for Tiburon Peninsula races

Candidate filing for the Nov. 3 election opens July 13 for about 30 seats on 10 Tiburon Peninsula boards and councils, including three on the Tiburon Town Council and two on the Belvedere City Council.

Two incumbents have said they won’t seek reelection: Reed Union School District trustee Afsaneh Zolfaghari and Tamalpais Union High School District trustee Emily Uhlhorn, leaving those seats open.

Candidates must file nomination papers by 5 p.m. Aug. 7. If an incumbent in a race doesn’t file by then, challengers in that race may continue to file through 5 p.m. Aug. 12.

Tiburon and Belvedere council candidates file at Town Hall and City Hall, respectively. Candidates for all other offices file with the Marin Elections Department.

The councils

Three Tiburon Town Council seats are up, with the terms of Alice Fredericks, Jack Ryan and Jon Welner expiring. Fredericks, first elected in 2001, said she’ll seek an unprecedented seventh term. Ryan, on the council since 2020, and Welner, a member since 2018, didn’t respond to inquiries by The Ark’s press deadline.

Interested residents may obtain nomination papers at Town Hall from Town Clerk Lea Dilena at 415-435-7377 or ldilena@townoftiburon.org.

On the Belvedere City Council, incumbents Jane Cooper and Peter Mark, both first elected in 2022, said they’ll seek reelection. Interested residents may obtain nomination papers at City Hall from City Clerk Beth Haener at 415-435-8913 or clerk@cityofbelvedere.org.

Other peninsula races

• Reed Union School District: Three seats and a $115 million school bond are on the ballot. Board President Shelby Pasarell Tsai said she’ll run again, and Mike Ghaffary, appointed in February to fill a vacancy, said he’ll seek election to a full term. Afsaneh Zolfaghari won’t seek reelection.

• Tamalpais Union High School District: Emily Uhlhorn won’t seek reelection. Kevin Saavedra and Cynthia Roenisch didn’t respond to inquiries.

• Mill Valley School District: Natalie Katz, Sharon Nakatani and Yunhee Yoo said they’ll seek reelection.

• Tiburon Fire Protection District: Three seats are up. Rick Jones and board President Joy Ho said they’ll seek reelection. Cheryl Woodford is undecided.

• Southern Marin Fire Protection District: Kurt Chun, Tom Perazzo and Cristine Soto DeBerry said they’ll seek reelection. Peter Fleming didn’t respond.

• Sanitary District No. 5 of Marin: Board President Catharine Benediktsson and Tod Moody said they’ll seek reelection.

• Richardson Bay Sanitary District: Patrick Walravens said he’ll run again. Peter McIntosh and Mark Fitzgerald didn’t respond.

• Strawberry Recreation District: Four seats are up — three four-year terms and a two-year term. Sarah Waterfield and Doug Twillman said they’ll run again, though Twillman hasn’t decided whether to seek the two-year seat or a four-year seat. Peter Teese is undecided but leaning toward running. Sohrab Saghezchi didn’t respond.

Marin County Board of Education, Trustee Area 5, which covers the Reed Union School District and the Tiburon Peninsula, is also on the ballot. The seat is held by Tiburon resident Marilyn Nemzer, who was reappointed in 2022 after no challenger filed.

For all offices except the two councils, candidates file nomination papers with the Marin Elections Department, Suite 121 of the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael. Contact candidate-services official Dan Miller at 415-473-6437 or danmiller@marincounty.org with questions. For more information about the election, including a candidate guide, visit marinvotes.org.

Assistant Editor Emily Lavin contributed to this report. Reach Executive Editor Kevin Hessel at 415-435-2652.