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The November 2026 election is shaping up to be consequential for Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley and Woodside. Key seats on city and town councils are up for grabs, with a number of incumbents saying they won’t run for reelection.
The Almanac contacted incumbents and reviewed publicly available documents to get a snapshot of the status of key races. Candidates seeking to challenge an incumbent have until Aug. 7 to file nomination paperwork; the deadline extends to Aug. 12 if no incumbents seek reelection. The filing period opened on July 13.
In Menlo Park, two incumbents are not seeking reelection, and four candidates have already announced campaigns for the two open seats. In Woodside, both incumbents told The Almanac they do not plan to run again, and two candidates have filed for those seats. In Atherton, three full terms and one two-year term are up for election following the resignation of Councilmember Diane Hawkins-Manuelian. In Portola Valley, three Town Council seats are up for election. Two incumbents have confirmed they are seeking reelection, while the third has not announced whether they will run.
If only one candidate files for a seat, the election may be canceled and that candidate appointed to the council.
See more information on each race below:
Menlo Park
Three seats on the Menlo Park City Council will go before voters this fall. Councilmembers are elected by voters in the districts they seek to represent, not by the city as a whole.
District 1: Belle Haven
District 1 incumbent Cecilia Taylor said she does not intend to seek reelection. Two residents, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Wonman Lee and Belle Haven resident James Rohr have pulled papers to run to replace her.
In an interview, Lee said he is running to address quality of life issues in Belle Haven, including the lack of commercial shopping and increased development to alleviate the housing shortage. Read more about Lee here.
Rohr said in an email to this news organization that he wants District 1 to have access to a grocery store and pharmacy. He said he wants to ensure equitable representation for all residents and is an active volunteer in the community. In publicly accessible emails to the City Council, Rohr said the city’s current pool operator, Team Sheeper, has violated its agreement and should be replaced. Rohr, who did not respond to requests for an interview by The Almanac’s press deadline, said in a public statement that his perspective is shaped by his service in the Army.
District 2: The Willows and Flood Park neighborhoods
Councilmember Drew Combs is running for reelection to represent District 2 on the City Council. Finance and Audit Commissioner Vamsi Velagapudi has filed to run against him. Velagapudi said he wants the city to be more family-focused and interconnected. A retired consultant, Velagapudi said he could draw upon his experience working for McKinsey & Company to help the City Council run more efficiently. Learn more about the race here.
District 4: Downtown Menlo Park, Allied Arts and parts of central Menlo Park
Mayor Betsy Nash said she will not seek reelection on the Menlo Park City Council representing District 4 after two terms on the council. Two candidates have already announced plans to run to replace her: singer Charlotte Reed and vibrancy advocate Laura Melahn.
Reed said she wants the city to allow more affordable housing so local workers can afford to live in Menlo Park. She said she supports a controversial proposal to build over 300 units on city-owned parking lots downtown. Reed also wants to help bridge division created over the housing plan and unify the community around supporting downtown, she said. Read more about Reed here.
Melahn is part of a group of residents who started the Downtown Menlo Fund, which seeks to support the revitalization of downtown through events and a business association. Melahn said she wants to build connections between residents but did not take a position on developing housing on the downtown parking lots but did say she supports building more housing in the city. Read more about Melahn here.
Atherton
There are three seats for four-year terms on the Atherton City Council plus a special election for a two-year term scheduled to go before voters in November. The two-year term is to fill the seat of Diana Hawkins-Manuelian, who resigned. Candidates must choose whether to run for a full term or the term that ends in December 2028.
Mayor Stacy Holland said she has not decided whether to seek reelection after the birth of her second child.
“Lots of changes are happening on the home front as I weigh whether I can continue to serve my community in this way,” Holland said in an email. “I will only return if I can commit fully to the job.”
Councilmembers Bill Widmer and Rick DeGolia have pulled papers to run for reelection to the full terms.
“We still have many things to get done here including implementing our drainage plans, transportation master plans and following through on our housing work,” Widmer said in an email to The Almanac about why he is running for reelection. He also cited increasing resident involvement, public safety and the town’s finances for seeking a fifth term.
DeGolia, who was elected in 2013 for a one-year term, said he wants to continue his active and focused representation of residents. “There are major issues that we are dealing with in regards to housing, streets and transportation, drainage and our park where I think that I’ve been very effective in listening to and representing our residents,” DeGolia said in an email.
Eric Lane, a former planning commissioner, was appointed to fill Hawkins-Manuelian’s seat in October 2025 until voters elect someone in November. He did not respond to questions on whether he plans to run for the seat.
Woodside
After a consequential year in Woodside, both incumbents Brian Dombkowski and Dick Brown have announced they will not seek reelection to the Woodside Town Council. Dombkowski represents District 2 and Brown represents District 3. Woodside Planning Commissioner Lyle Weaver has pulled papers to run for District 2 and Circulation Committee member Dan Druker has filed nomination paperwork for District 3. Read more here.
Portola Valley
Three seats on the Portola Valley Town Council currently held by Craig Taylor, Judith Hasko and Mary Hufty are up for reelection.
Hufty said in an email that she is seeking reelection and wants to see the town get back to financial health, in addition to supporting town staff.
“Portola Valley can be a positive, self-sufficient, resilient and engaged community in harmony with green spaces, housing goals and public access. I can see the path forward and want to do my part to make it happen,” Hufty said.
Taylor pulled papers to run for reelection. Both Taylor and Hasko did not respond to requests for comment by The Almanac’s press deadline.
Almanac reporter Jennifer Yoshikoshi contributed to this report.
This is very detailed. It’s nice to have all of this information in one place.