Walnut Creek's Measure T Asks Voters Whether the City Treasurer Should Be Appointed, Not Elected

The council put the change on the Nov. 3 ballot unanimously, arguing the job now involves overseeing more than $100 million in investments. It needs a simple majority.

By the Bay Area Brief staff · October 9, 2026 · 2 min read

Walnut Creek voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether to keep electing their city treasurer or let the city appoint one. Measure T would make the switch, and the City Council voted unanimously on May 19 to place it on the ballot, according to a city staff report prepared for the council's Oct. 6 meeting.

What the treasurer does

The treasurer oversees the city's financial assets, including cash management, investments and financial reporting. Right now the only requirements for the job are being a registered Walnut Creek voter and winning the election. The staff report argues the role has grown more complex, with oversight of more than $100 million in municipal investments and a need for expertise in public finance, accounting and compliance law.

City staff also wrote that more than 90% of California cities already use appointed treasurers, and that the change would bring Walnut Creek in line with that practice. The position exists today under state Government Code section 36501, which lets general law cities elect a treasurer.

How the vote works

A yes vote means switching to an appointed treasurer; a no vote keeps the elected post. The measure needs a simple majority, and every registered voter in the incorporated city can vote on it. Patch's voter guide lists Ronald Cassano as the candidate for treasurer on the same ballot.

Endorsement on the agenda

At its Oct. 6 meeting the council was scheduled to consider formal resolutions endorsing Measure T along with three other measures: Measure W, a local school parcel tax; Measure RTM, the regional transit sales tax that would fund BART, Caltrain, AC Transit and other operators; and Proposition 1, an $11.25 billion statewide bond for affordable housing and veteran homeownership, the Walnut Creek Record reported. Vote-by-mail ballots began arriving the week of Oct. 5.

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