Tiburon Peninsula election field set for Nov. 3

Tiburon Planning Commissioner Kathleen Defever filed on the final afternoon of an extended nomination period, setting a five-way race for three Town Council seats Nov. 3.

In Belvedere, the only challenger to two incumbents filed but did not qualify, leaving Peter Mark and Jane Cooper unopposed.

The extension applied only to the Tiburon council race and the Reed Union and Tamalpais Union high school district boards, where a sitting officeholder in each did not file. Defever was the only person to come forward. No one new entered the two school races.

Eight of the 12 contests on Tiburon Peninsula ballots drew more candidates than seats. In four, the incumbents face no opponent.

Tiburon

Defever, a planning commissioner since 2018, filed and qualified Aug. 12. She joins incumbents Alice Fredericks and Jack Ryan and challengers Chuck Hornbrook and Faris Jafar. Fredericks, first elected in 2001, is seeking an unprecedented seventh term.

The extension ran five days past the Aug. 7 deadline because Mayor Jon Welner, whose seat is up, did not file. He said he would not seek a third term.

Andrew Thompson, a former mayor and councilmember from 1992 to 2003, pulled papers Aug. 10 alongside Defever and prepared to file Aug. 11 before deciding against it. He was arrested in June on suspicion of drunken driving, was charged with two misdemeanor counts and pleaded not guilty in July. A change-of-plea hearing is set for Aug. 25 in Marin County Superior Court.

Thompson said the case was “a factor but one of several” in his decision, calling it a “deeply embarrassing wake-up call.” He also cited work, his family, swimming and a new seat on the board of WTB-TAM, Transportation Alternatives of Marin.

Belvedere

Kate Benediktsson took out papers Aug. 6 and filed Aug. 7, but the city’s elections office found she did not have enough valid signatures, City Clerk Beth Haener said. Candidates must gather the signatures of 20 to 30 registered Belvedere voters.

Haener said applicants are normally given time to collect more when they fall short, but the Aug. 7 cutoff left none.

Mark and Cooper, both first elected in 2022, are seeking second terms, their last under a local custom that limits councilmembers to two terms.

Contested races

Reed Union School District: Four candidates are running for three seats, and voters will weigh a $115 million bond. Incumbents Mike Ghaffary and board President Shelby Pasarell Tsai face challengers Lina Godfrey and Krupa Antani. Board member Afsaneh Zolfaghari did not seek reelection.

Tamalpais Union High School District: Seven candidates are running for three seats, the most crowded race on peninsula ballots. Incumbents Cynthia Roenisch and Kevin Saavedra face Brian Sutherland, Maria Sandoval, Leslie Harlander, Valerie Wynn and Joy Scully Koo. Brandon Johnson took out papers but never filed. Incumbent Emily Uhlhorn will finish her term before becoming executive director of the Tam High Foundation in January.

Marin County Board of Education: Incumbent Marilyn Nemzer faces challenger Avery Lieberman for the Trustee Area 5 seat, which covers the Reed Union district and the peninsula.

Southern Marin Fire Protection District: Seven candidates are running for four seats. Incumbents Kurt Chun, Peter Fleming, Cristine Soto DeBerry and Tom Perazzo face Thomas Clark, Eric Steinhofer and Amy Svendberg. An eighth resident, Nicole Foster, took out papers but did not file.

Richardson Bay Sanitary District: Incumbents Patrick Walravens, Peter McIntosh and Mark Fitzgerald face challenger John L. Turnacliff for three seats.

Strawberry Recreation District: Incumbents Peter Teese, Sohrab Saghezchi and Sarah Waterfield face challenger David Morgenthaler for three four-year seats. For a separate two-year seat, board member Doug Twillman faces Aliza Hawkins. Twillman was appointed to the board in 2025 over Hawkins.

Uncontested races

Along with Belvedere, three races drew no challengers.

Mill Valley School District: Natalie Katz, Sharon Nakatani and Yunhee Yoo are unopposed for three seats. The district serves Strawberry, where it runs Strawberry Point Elementary School.

Tiburon Fire Protection District: Board President Joy Ho and board members Rick Jones and Cheryl Woodford are unopposed for three seats.

Sanitary District No. 5 of Marin: Board President Catharine Benediktsson and board member Tod Moody are unopposed for two seats.

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