Mad Dash to November: Alameda County’s November Election Season Is Already Underway

Eight mayoral races—including an open contest in Alameda and a council showdown in Dublin—headline a November election that could remake multiple city councils and reset local power across the county.

Feb 16, 2026

☕️MORNING BUZZ

Vol. VI, No. 1,199

260 days to November Election Day

—Just as the local races for the June Primary are beginning to finalize with about three weeks to the Mar. 6 filing deadline, chatter about who’s running in Alameda County’s slate of local November elections is beginning to heat up.

Eight cities in Alameda County will elect mayors this November, with races ranging from wide-open contests to incumbent defenses. Alameda will see an open mayoral seat for the first time in eight years, while Dublin features an always interesting intra-council matchup.

In Oakland, Mayor Barbara Lee is expected to seek a full four-year term. Incumbent mayors in Hayward, Livermore, Newark, Pleasanton, and San Leandro are also running for re-election.

Beyond the mayor’s offices, the 2026 general election could significantly reshape local power across the county. Multiple city councils—including those in Alameda, Dublin, Pleasanton, and San Leandro—face the possibility of major turnover or sharp shifts in political alignment, driven by term limits, previous short-term appointments, and open seats.

—What follows is a city-by-city breakdown of every incumbent slated for re-election this November, along with declared and potential candidates, highlighting where incumbents are vulnerable, which open seats are drawing crowded fields, and which races are shaping up as the most consequential local contests in Alameda County this fall.

NOVEMBER 2026 GENERAL ELECTION

—Updated Feb. 15. *-Incumbent.

CITIES

ALAMEDA

🟢Open mayoral races often set off a scramble among sitting councilmembers—and Alameda is no exception. Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft is termed out this year after two terms, opening the door to a competitive succession fight. Two current members of the Alameda City Council have already filed to run, while former councilmember Malia Vella is seeking a return to City Hall. As a result, Alameda’s mayoral contest is shaping up as one of the marquee local races in Alameda County. And the ripple effects go further. Two seats on the five-member City Council will also be open this fall: Tony Daysog is termed out and running for mayor, and Tracy Jensen would vacate her seat to run for mayor, setting the stage for an unusually fluid election cycle in Alameda.

Mayor

Tony Daysog, councilmember, Alameda
Tracy Jensen, councilmember, Alameda
Malia Vella, former councilmember, Alameda

City Council (Choose 2)

-Open seat-
-Open seat-

School Board (Choose 3)

Joyce Boyd
Carrie Hahnel, appointed trustee, Alameda
*Ryan LaLonde, trustee, Alameda
*Gary Lym, trustee, Alameda

City of Alameda Health Care District (Choose 3)

*Robert Deutsch, board director, AHCD
*Gayle Godfrey Codiga, board director, AHCD
*David Sayen, board director, AHCD

ALBANY

City Council (Choose 2) (Ranked Choice Voting)

*Robin Lopez, councilmember, Albany
*John Anthony Miki, councilmember, Albany

School Board (Choose 4)

*Becky Hopwood, school trustee, Albany
*Josh Mahoney, school trustee, Albany
*Sadia Khan, school trustee, Albany
Melissa Boyd, appointed school trustee, Albany

BERKELEY

🟢Four Berkeley City Council seats are on the ballot this fall. Two councilmembers—Igor Tregub and Cecilia Lunaparra—are seeking full four-year terms after first winning office in special elections in 2024. They are joined by Mark Humbert, who is running for a second term. At the school board, three at-large seats are currently open. A fourth seat could be added to the ballot if Ana Vasudeo advances her bid for the Alameda County Board of Education, after filing an intent to run last week in the June Primary.

City Council (Ranked Choice Voting)

District 1

Moni Gangopadhyay

District 4

*Igor Tregub, councilmember, Berkeley

District 7

John Espinoza
Aidan Hill
*Cecilia Lunaparra, councilmember, Berkeley

District 8

*Mark Humbert, councilmember, Berkeley

School Board (Choose 3)

*Mike Chang, school director, Berkeley
*Ka’Dijah Brown, school director, Berkeley
*Jennifer Shanoski, school director, Berkeley

City Auditor

*Jenny Wong, auditor, Berkeley

Rent Stabilization Board (Choose 5)

*Soli Alpert, commissioner, Rent Board
*Stefan Elgstrand, commissioner, Rent Board
*Vanessa Danielle Marrero, commissioner, Rent Board
*Ida Martinac, commissioner, Rent Board
*Nathan Mizell, commissioner, Rent Board

CASTRO VALLEY

School Board

Area 4

*Gary Howard, trustee, CVUSD
*Sara Raymond, trustee, CVUSD

Castro Valley Sanitary District (Choose 2)

*Ralph Johnson, board director, CVSAN
*Kristy Woerz, board director, CVSAN

DUBLIN

🟢Defeating an incumbent is rarely easy in local politics, but Dublin’s mayoral race this fall—like Alameda’s—has the makings of a hard-fought contest. Because Dublin elects its mayor every two years, Sherry Hu is back on the ballot after only a short time in office. Challenging her is termed-out Councilmember Michael McCorriston, who gained recent executive experience by serving as interim mayor in 2024 after then-Mayor Melissa Hernandez departed to join the BART Board of Directors.