Candidate filing period now underway for local offices

The filing period is now open for candidates seeking election to more than two dozen seats on local councils and boards in November.

Among them are top roles in local government, on the Tiburon Town Council and Belvedere City Council. In Tiburon, there are two four-year seats with two incumbents eligible for re-election: Vice Mayor Holli Thier and Councilmember Isaac Nikfar. In Belvedere, there are three four-year seats, which will include at least one vacancy as two-term Councilmember Nancy Kemnitzer has announced she’ll retire under city custom. The other two incumbents are Jim Lynch and Sally Wilkinson.

There are two four-year seats expiring on each of the boards of the three local school districts. Jacqueline Jaffee and Liz Webb are the incumbents on the Reed Union School District board; Leslie Harlander and Karen Loebbaka are the incumbents on the Tamalpais Union High School District board; and Elli Abdoli and Michele Crncich Hodge are the incumbents on the Mill Valley School District board.

For the local fire districts, the Tiburon Fire Protection District board has two four-year seats and one two-year seat, held by Mark Capell, Joy Ho and Brett Tucker, the latter of whom was just appointed to an interim seat on July 8. For the Southern Marin Fire Protection District board, there are three four-year seats, currently held by Cathryn Hilliard, Ashley Raveche and Clifford Waldeck.

For the sanitary districts, the Richardson Bay Sanitary District board has two four-year seats, with incumbents Jeff Slavitz and Mark Slater. The three four-year seats on the Sanitary District No. 5 of Marin board are currently held by Omar Arias-Montez, John Carapiet and Richard Snyder.

The Strawberry Recreation District board has two four-year seats and one two-year seat, with incumbents Pam Bohner, Cale Nichols and Christian Michael. Marin Municipal Water District board’s local Division 5 seat is up for election, now held by Larry Russell. And the Marin Healthcare District board’s Division 2 seat, held by Ann Sparkman, is also up for election.

The nomination period, which opened July 15, runs through 5 p.m. Aug. 9. For challengers only, there’s an extension through 5 p.m. Aug. 14 if any incumbent in that race fails to file.

For the Tiburon Town Council seat, interested residents may obtain nomination papers at Town Hall from Town Clerk Lea Dilena between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; she’ll also be available 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9. Contact Dilena at 415-435-7377 or ldilena@townoftiburon.org.

For the Belvedere City Council seat, interested residents may obtain nomination papers at City Hall from City Clerk Beth Haener 8 a.m.-noon and 1-3 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, or by appointment on weekdays through 5 p.m. Contact Haener at 415- 435-8913 or clerk@cityofbelvedere.org.

For all offices except the Tiburon and Belvedere councils, candidates must file their nomination papers with the Marin Elections Department, Suite 121 of the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael. The office is open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays and until 5 p.m. on the Aug. 9 and 14 filing deadlines. Candidate application forms are also available on the county elections website via arkn.ws/marincandidateapply; staff will prepare and email nomination papers with further instructions.

Contact candidate-services official Dan Miller at 415-473-6437 or danmiller@marincounty.org with questions. For more information about the election, including a candidate guide, visit marinvotes.org.

Reach Executive Editor Kevin Hessel at 415-435-2652.

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