San Rafael voters in City Council District 3 choose between attorney Robert Sandoval and business owner Daryoush Davidi on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. It is an open seat: Councilmember Maribeth Bushey decided not to seek re-election, so the city extended the filing deadline to Aug. 12.
Why it matters: District 3 is the only contested San Rafael city race. In District 2, Councilmember Eli Hill is the only candidate on the ballot, according to the city clerk.
Robert Sandoval
- Attorney and product counsel for a technology company; former California deputy attorney general, according to his San Rafael Record questionnaire.
- Serves on the Marin County Planning Commission and the San Rafael Park & Recreation Commission, and chairs the Point San Pedro Road Coalition's Roadway Committee.
- Lives in East San Rafael. Ran unsuccessfully for the Marin Municipal Water District's Division 2 seat in 2024.
- Calls traffic, deteriorating roads, pedestrian safety, flooding and aging infrastructure the top District 3 problems. Supports more housing concentrated downtown, at Northgate and along commercial corridors.
"Housing and quality of life don't need to be an either/or," Sandoval told the Record.
Daryoush Davidi
- Business owner who says on his campaign site he came to the U.S. as a teenager after his family fled religious persecution and war, and has run a business for nearly two decades.
- His campaign says he is the only candidate in the race endorsed by the Marin Independent Journal.
- Pitches an "entrepreneurial mindset" at City Hall and says San Rafael should be "a city that leads."
School board: no election
Only one candidate filed for each of San Rafael City Schools' Trustee Areas 2, 4 and 5 (Wing Keung Jason Lau, Carolina Martín and Kennedy Rodas-Dias), so they will be appointed and those contests will not appear on the ballot, the city said.
Also on San Rafael ballots: Measure W, the real property transfer tax. See every race in our Election 2026 guide.