Nikfar takes dominating lead in Tiburon Town Council special election

Isaac Nikfar jumped out to a large early lead in the race to become Tiburon’s newest councilmember.

Initial results from the Aug. 29 special election show Nikfar has received roughly 74% of votes, or 1,157 votes, while opponent Stefanie Cho has received roughly 26%, or 406 votes, for the vacant seat on the Town Council.

Should results hold, Nikfar will take over the Town Council seat vacated by Noah Griffin, who resigned in January for personal reasons. The seat is up for election once again in November 2024, with a full four-year term.

There are 6,698 registered voters in Tiburon, according to the county website, or turnout of 23.5% so far. County Registrar of Voters Lynda Roberts said turnout is expected to be about 27-28%, which would give Nikfar an already-insurmountable lead.

The tallied votes are from ballots that have been received before polls closed, Roberts said. Some 180 were received on Election Day, Roberts said, but that did not include ballots dropped off prior to polls closing. The total number of ballots received was not available as of this morning, Aug. 30, but Roberts said that would most likely be available this afternoon.

Ballots postmarked Aug. 29 or earlier are still eligible to be processed, but they must arrive to Marin County’s election department by Sept. 5 to be counted, she said.