Election 2026: Two of five Tiburon Town Council candidates report donors; measures P, CC near $1.2 million
Investment-fund founder Faris Jafar and Parks, Open Space & Trails Commissioner Chuck Hornbrook are the only two of Tiburon’s five Town Council candidates to report donations from supporters in preelection campaign-finance disclosures due Sept. 24.
Jafar leads in monetary contributions for the first reporting period with $4,198.44, including $1,523.44 of his own money, against $1,536.56 in spending.
Hornbrook is second in monetary contributions with $3,250, including $500 of his own. Counting a loan of $1,145.08 he made to his campaign and then forgave, his total contributions reach $4,395.08, against nearly $1,651 in spending.
Election 2026: Read complete coverage at thearknewspaper.com/election2026
The California Fair Political Practices Commission requires two preelection campaign-finance disclosures from candidates who raise or spend $2,000 or more. The first, due Sept. 24, covers July 1-Sept. 19. The second, due Oct. 22, covers Sept. 20-Oct. 17.
Incumbent Councilmember Alice Fredericks’ campaign reported the most in total contributions of the five candidates, all of it a $5,247 loan she made to her campaign.
Planning Commissioner Kathleen Defever reported that she has neither received nor spent any money this year.
Incumbent Councilmember Jack Ryan filed a statement Sept. 16 saying he expects to receive and spend less than $2,000 this year.
In a Sept. 22 text message, Ryan said he was accepting zero dollars in donations and “spending as close to that as possible” for his campaign.
The town posted Jafar’s disclosure on its election webpage Sept. 28. Jafar told The Ark in a Sept. 25 phone interview that he had submitted it Sept. 23 to Assistant Town Manager and Town Clerk Lea Dilena, who was out of the office, and that he had been unable to reach her since.
The disclosure reports $1,523.44 of his own money and a $2,000 contribution from the owners of downtown Tiburon restaurant Sam’s Anchor Cafe, listed as Sam’s Main St. It also lists $500 from Arup Banerjee, CEO of artificial-intelligence company Windfall; $100 from Elaine Mak; and $75 in unitemized contributions of less than $100.
Jafar reported spending $1,523 on VistaPrint postcards and about $13 in unitemized payments of less than $100.
Hornbrook put $500 into his campaign and received $500 each from his father, Lynn Hornbrook, and from Elizabeth Garner and Lynda McNeive. Tiburon Design Review Board Vice Chair Alex Rosner and Tiburon Fire Protection District board President Joy Ho jointly gave $300.
He received $200 each from Tiburon residents Greg Moore and Nancy Peterson. He received $100 each from Belvedere resident Sally Newson; Tiburon resident and real estate agent Marcus Robinson; Jennifer Hull; Thomas Maher, executive director of the New Hampshire Dental Society; and, jointly, former Tiburon Mayor Miles Berger and his wife, Piper.
He also reported $50 in unitemized contributions of less than $100.
Hornbrook reported paying $400 to Norwalk-based Political Data Inc. for information-technology costs; $346 to Constant Contact for web services; $235.80 for fundraiser drinks from Mog Asu, the wine bar at The Cove shopping center; $216.50 for fundraiser food from Ark Row restaurant Lola’s Taqueria; $138.64 to GoDaddy for web-domain services; and $133.14 to VistaPrint for campaign materials. He also reported $180.88 in unitemized payments of less than $100.
Hornbrook reported an unpaid bill of an estimated $600 to the Marin County Elections Department for translation.
Fredericks’ only expense is $204 to Wix for web hosting.
Tam Union challengers outraise Tiburon field
Four of the five challengers for three seats on the Tamalpais Union High School District board each reported more in contributions than any Tiburon council candidate, according to disclosures filed electronically with the Marin County Elections Department.
Former board member Leslie Harlander led with $16,969.62, including a $3,000 loan Harlander made to the campaign. Constitutional lawyer Brian Sutherland reported $14,026.25.
Joy Koo reported $11,732.25, including a $5,001 loan Koo made to the campaign, and retired district teacher Valerie Wynn reported $7,244.12, including a $1,000 loan from Wynn.
A committee formed to support Koo, Sutherland and Wynn reported raising and spending nothing, though each of the three candidates reported about $627 in newsletters, merchandise and website costs from it.
A second committee, Tam Union Governance Alliance, reported $1,921.83 in contributions. It supports the same three candidates and opposes Harlander and incumbents Kevin Saavedra and Cynthia Roenisch.
Saavedra, Roenisch and challenger Maria Sandoval had no filings posted on the county’s campaign-finance site as of Sept. 25.
In the seven-candidate race for four Southern Marin Fire Protection District board seats, challenger Amy Svendberg reported $1,900 in contributions and no spending. Incumbent Cristine Soto DeBerry reported no new contributions and $180 in expenses, with about $7,714 left in the campaign’s account. The other five candidates had no filings posted.
No candidate for the Reed Union School District, Richardson Bay Sanitary District or Strawberry Recreation District boards had a filing posted on the county’s site as of Sept. 25.
In the Marin County Board of Education’s Trustee Area 5 race, which includes Tiburon, Belvedere and Strawberry, neither incumbent Marilyn Nemzer nor challenger Avery Lieberman had a filing posted. Nemzer has formed a campaign committee.
In Belvedere, Councilmembers Peter Mark and Jane Cooper are running unopposed for the City Council’s two seats. They file with the city, which has not posted any campaign-finance forms on its election page.
Mark said in a Sept. 26 email that he does not plan to raise or spend any money. He said he believes he filed a statement that he expects to receive and spend less than $2,000 when he submitted his candidacy paperwork to the city clerk.
Cooper said in an email the same day that she is not raising any money and would file the required form as soon as possible.
Measure P, CC campaigns raise nearly $1.2 million
Our Kids Our Future PAC, the committee backing Measure P, the countywide childcare parcel-tax initiative, has raised $870,605 this year, including $92,300 in the latest period. It has spent $601,413 and had $269,192 on hand as of Sept. 19.
Yes on CC, the committee backing the parcel-tax initiative in the Marin Healthcare District, has raised $323,500 this year, $500 of it in the latest period, and had $277,796 on hand.
Yes on O for Reed Schools, the committee backing the Reed Union School District’s $115 million facilities bond, reported a $40,000 contribution Sept. 15 from its sponsor, the Foundation for Reed Schools.
Reach Francisco Martinez at 415-944-4634.