Mill Valley voters will see two names for two City Council seats on their Nov. 3, 2026 ballot: incumbents Stephen Burke and Max Perrey. Both filed nomination papers before the Aug. 7 deadline, and no one else qualified, according to the City of Mill Valley. Patch reports Burke has served on the council since 2022, and Perrey, appointed in 2022, is the current mayor.
Why hold an election with no contest?
California cities can often appoint unopposed candidates and skip the vote. The city says that option does not apply here because a city measure, the renewal of the Municipal Services Tax (Measure T), is on the same ballot, under state Elections Code section 10229(b). So the council race proceeds alongside the tax measure.
The city also says seating councilmembers through a regular election preserves its option to fill a future vacancy by appointment rather than calling a special election. The Marin County Registrar of Voters estimates the city's cost for the consolidated election at $16,120.50 to $32,241, based on 10,747 registered voters at $1.50 to $3.00 per voter, and the money is in the 2026-27 budget.
What is Measure T?
Measure T would renew Mill Valley's municipal services tax for 10 years to pay for street repairs and wildfire-related work such as vegetation and tree management. Patch reports it is $303 per occupied single-family home, rises 2 percent a year after the first year, and needs two-thirds approval. Read our full Mill Valley Measure T explainer, plus Marin's countywide Measure P childcare tax guide, and every race on our Election 2026 hub.