Hayward voters will choose a mayor on Tuesday, Nov. 3, in a two-person race between Mayor Mark Salinas, who is seeking a second four-year term, and Tom Wong, a businessman who has run private security and tactical training companies. Two City Council seats are also on the ballot, for District 1 and District 6, according to the City of Hayward. The mayor is elected citywide; the six council members are elected by district.

Mark Salinas: the incumbent

Salinas, Hayward's first Latino mayor, won the office in 2022 after three terms on the City Council, Bay City News reports. He teaches ethnic studies and sociology at Chabot College in Hayward and Las Positas College in Livermore. His campaign cites balancing the budget while keeping city services and supporting the transition of St. Rose Hospital, where he was born, to Alameda Health System so it would not close.

The budget is the backdrop to the race. The Mercury News reports that Hayward, the Bay Area's fifth-largest city with more than 162,000 residents, faces a $26 million deficit this year after about $30 million in earlier overspending drained reserves, made worse by police overtime. City employees agreed to give up 4% cost-of-living raises until the 2027 fiscal year, and the council, mayor, city attorney and clerk paused their own raises, saving $7.5 million in total. Residents still saw cuts to library hours and some animal shelter services. Salinas told Bay City News he is working with the council on a projected $32 million structural deficit through union concessions, tighter overtime controls and "realistic budgets" from department heads.

"For me, the budget is top priority," Salinas told the Mercury News. He supports Measure CC, the business license tax update on the same ballot, which the city estimates would raise about $12 million a year. He is endorsed by every council member, every Alameda County supervisor, Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez and the Alameda County Democratic Party. Campaign filings show about $40,000 cash on hand as of Sept. 19, Bay City News reports.

Tom Wong: the challenger

Wong, whom the Mercury News describes as an Alameda County Republican Party chairperson with nearly 30 years in private security, calls himself a "Constitutional Republican" and says he moved to Hayward about three years ago. He has run for office several times before without winning. His "Hayward First" platform includes opposing new data centers, ending property taxes for senior homeowners, speeding up housing approvals, hiring Hayward residents first and adding detectives.

On police, Wong proposes a "Merchant Police" program in which businesses would volunteer to pay officers' salaries and benefits in exchange for their services, and recruiting officers from across the state and beyond. Asked how he would close the deficit, he told the Mercury News: "I need more details from the budget." He is endorsed by the California Rifle and Pistol Association PAC and had reported no contributions or spending as of the latest filings, according to Bay City News.

The council races

  • District 1: Councilmember George Syrop, first elected in 2022, faces small business owner Brian Schott, a former Planning Commission member and interim president of the Hayward Chamber of Commerce. Syrop says he takes no corporate money and wants to fix the Downtown Loop and expand renter protections; Schott lists 911 response times, street repair and encampments as his priorities.
  • District 6: Councilmember Julie Roche is the only candidate for the newly drawn southeast Hayward seat.

The last day to register to vote is Oct. 19. See every Alameda County race and measure in our 2026 Bay Area election guide, and read about Hayward's police headquarters plan.