East Palo Alto voters elect two council members at large on Nov. 3. The seats belong to Vice Mayor Ruben Abrica, who is running again, and Martha Barragan, Palo Alto Online reported.
The issue
Over the past two years a council bloc of Mayor Webster Lincoln, Mark Dinan and Barragan has pushed for faster growth: temporarily suspending some local affordable housing rules, approving projects with fewer below-market-rate units than local law normally requires and extending the city's Flock license plate reader contracts. Members such as Abrica and Carlos Romero have been more cautious, according to Palo Alto Online. The next council will shape big westside redevelopment proposals and civic center plans.
The candidates (vote for two)
- Ruben Abrica (Substitute Teacher), the incumbent vice mayor, who has been involved since the city's founding.
- Ofelia Bello (Nonprofit Executive Director).
- Michael Mashack (Planning Commissioner), a resident for more than six decades.
- Deborah Lewis-Virges (Pastor/Community Advocate).
- Sam Jimenez (Plumbing Business Owner), who grew up in the city and moved back in 2021.
- Holifa Windom (Businesswoman), who grew up in East Palo Alto.
- Gail Wilk Dixon (Legal Investigator), a resident since 1955 and a frequent council critic.
Palo Alto Online reports that Abrica, Bello and Mashack strongly back keeping affordable housing requirements. Lewis-Virges and Jimenez favor a more flexible approach to development, and Windom and Wilk Dixon said they would support major development projects as proposed. Ballot names and designations are from San Mateo County's certified roster.
More races and measures: our 2026 election hub.
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.