Election 2026: Potential challenge is taking shape in Tiburon council race

The race for three seats on the Tiburon Town Council has drawn its first potential challengers, a parks commissioner and a wealth-management firm founder who have taken out nomination papers for the Nov. 3 ballot.

Chuck Hornbrook, who serves on the town’s Parks, Open Space and Trails Commission, pulled papers July 23, and Faris Jafar followed July 27. Hornbrook is a clean-energy consultant who finished fourth in the 2024 council race and lost a bid for the Reed Union School District board in 2020. Jafar founded the wealth-management firm Jafar Management in 2018 after a career at investment firms including Blackstone, KKR and Citadel. He was passed over for appointment to the Reed Union board in February.

Councilmember Alice Fredericks, first elected in 2001, took out papers July 15 as she potentially seeks a seventh term, and Councilmember Jack Ryan took out papers July 22. None of the four potential candidates have filed or qualified for the ballot.

The third incumbent, Jon Welner, had not taken out papers.

In Belvedere, both incumbents have qualified for the November ballot and face no opposition for two seats. Councilmember Peter Mark qualified July 16, and Councilmember Jane Cooper qualified July 23 after filing her papers July 22. Both were first elected in 2022 and seek second terms, their last under a local custom that limits members to two terms.

Beyond the council races, a newcomer has signaled interest in the contest for the Reed Union School District board. Krupa Antani, a Tiburon resident and Reed Union parent volunteer, took out papers July 24, joining two incumbents and another potential challenger for the three seats.

Candidates must file by 5 p.m. Aug. 7. If any incumbent in a race does not file, potential challengers in that race may continue to file through 5 p.m. Aug. 12.

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 peninsula races

Among the roughly 30 peninsula seats on the ballot, the Tamalpais Union High School District board has drawn the most interest, with six residents taking out papers for three seats. Elsewhere, more incumbents have begun taking out and filing papers, though several seats have drawn no interest beyond the sitting members.

Reed Union School District: Three seats and a $115 million school bond are on the ballot. Incumbent Mike Ghaffary, appointed to the board in February, filed his declaration of candidacy July 14. Board President Shelby Pasarell Tsai filed July 22. Potential challengers Antani and Lina Godfrey, a Tiburon resident and disability-access advocate who serves on the town’s Diversity Inclusion Task Force, have taken out papers but had not filed. Board member Afsaneh Zolfaghari is not seeking reelection.

Tamalpais Union High School District: Six residents have taken out papers for the three seats. Incumbent Cynthia Roenisch filed July 24, and challenger Brian Sutherland, a constitutional lawyer with two sons at Tamalpais High School, filed July 16. The four other potential challengers are Leslie Harlander, a former board member and 2020 board president; Cynthia Joy Scully Koo, a Mill Valley resident who co-organizes the Marin Youth Job Fair; Maria Sandoval, a Mill Valley Spanish teacher who serves on the Marin County Free Library Commission; and Brandon Johnson, a Forest Knolls web developer and youth basketball coach who ran unsuccessfully for the board in 2020. Incumbent Kevin Saavedra had not taken out papers, while incumbent Emily Uhlhorn is not seeking reelection; she will complete her term and become executive director of the Tam High Foundation in January.

Mill Valley School District: Three seats are up. Incumbent Natalie Katz filed July 22. Fellow incumbents Sharon Nakatani and Yunhee Yoo have taken out papers. All three were first elected in 2022.

Tiburon Peninsula Fire Protection District: Three seats are up. Incumbent Richard Jones filed July 21. Board President Joy Ho and board member Cheryl Woodford have since taken out papers.

Southern Marin Fire Protection District: Four seats are up, and five candidates 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 said he will run but had not taken out papers.

Sanitary District No. 5 of Marin: Two seats are up. Incumbent Tod Moody filed July 22. Board President Catharine Benediktsson, who said she will run, had not taken out papers.

Richardson Bay Sanitary District: Three seats are up, and no one has taken out papers. Incumbents Patrick Walravens, Peter McIntosh and Mark Fitzgerald are eligible for reelection. Walravens indicated he will run.

Strawberry Recreation District: Two incumbents have taken out papers for the three four-year seats. Peter Teese filed July 21, and Sohrab Saghezchi has taken out papers. The third seat is held by Sarah Waterfield, who had not taken out papers. For a separate two-year seat, Aliza Hawkins has taken out papers. Hawkins, a Strawberry resident and Rakuten Advertising account specialist, sought appointment to the board last year but lost to Doug Twillman. Twillman, appointed to fill that vacancy, had not taken out papers and has not decided whether to seek the two-year seat or a four-year seat.

Marin County Board of Education: The Trustee Area 5 seat, which covers the Reed Union district and the Tiburon Peninsula, is on the ballot. Incumbent Marilyn Nemzer of Tiburon, reappointed in 2022 after no challenger filed, had not taken out papers, and her plans are unconfirmed.

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 Kevin Hessel at 415-435-2652.