Coastside Fire Protection District Election 2026: Sherrill vs. McGraw in District D, Burke vs. Carrillo in District E
Two Coastside Fire Protection District board seats are contested on Nov. 3. In District D, incumbent Cynthia Sherrill faces Ryan McGraw, a deputy fire marshal. In District E, incumbent Gary Burke faces Alex Carrillo, a crisis management professional.
By the Bay Area Brief staff · Edited by Seamus McKenna · · 3 min read
Giant pumpkins on parade floats at the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival's Great Pumpkin Parade. Photo: MegalithAgency / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped, resized and color-graded). Archive photo of the area; not a photo of the events in this story.
Coastside Fire Protection District voters in two board districts have contested races on Nov. 3. San Mateo County's roster shows that the District C seat, held by incumbent Patrick Hanna, drew only one qualified candidate and is not on the ballot.
District D
Cynthia Sherrill, ballot designation: Incumbent.
Ryan McGraw, ballot designation: Deputy Fire Marshal.
District E
Gary Burke, ballot designation: Incumbent.
Alex Carrillo, ballot designation: Crisis Management Professional.
How it works
Each seat is elected by district, so you vote only in the race for the district where you live. Your sample ballot will show whether you are in District D or E.
Ballot designations are the short job descriptions candidates chose for the ballot, as printed on the county's official candidate list. This explainer does not endorse anyone.
How to vote
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls and vote centers close at 8 p.m., and mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive within seven days. You can check your registration and ballot status at sos.ca.gov/elections. California lets you register and vote the same day at a vote center.
Sources
This article is an original summary based on the following reporting. We encourage readers to visit the original sources for full coverage.
The day's Bay Area housing, business and neighborhood news, plus the world headlines that matter, in one short email. Free, and you can unsubscribe anytime.
We use your email only to send the Brief. Details in our privacy policy.
Nine people, including sitting directors and several working firefighters, are running for four seats on the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District board. Voters can pick up to four.
Norman Crandell, Jim Anderson and Craig Winter are running for two Felton Fire seats. A fourth name, Bill Finlayson, may still appear on the ballot even though he withdrew. The winners will oversee spending from a newly approved assessment.
Wildfire policy is at the center of two contested Moraga-Orinda Fire District board races. Steve Cohn and John Donnelly are running for an open Division 3 seat, and incumbent Mike Roemer faces Linda Stevens in Division 4.
Only one Coastside County Water District seat is contested on Nov. 3. In Zone 5, Nancy Eleanora Poss faces Joey P. Silva, a retired maintenance supervisor. The Zone 1 and Zone 2 seats each drew a single candidate and are not on the ballot.