Lafayette residents who want a seat on the City Council must file nomination papers by 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. The filing period for three council seats opened Monday, July 13, 2026, according to a report from Patch and the city's official election announcement.

The seats belong to council members Susan Candell, Jim Cervantes, and Stella Wotherspoon. None of the three has announced plans to step down, according to Patch, though none has publicly confirmed they will seek re-election either.

The race will appear on the Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, statewide ballot. Lafayette's five-member council is elected at large on a non-partisan basis.

Who holds the seats

Candell, first elected in 2018, served as Lafayette's mayor in 2025. Cervantes won a special election in November 2024 and was sworn in on Dec. 9, 2024. He retired from a 34-year career in public finance and was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022 to chair the California Housing Finance Agency.

Wotherspoon is the only incumbent who has never faced voters. The council appointed her unanimously in July 2025 to fill the vacancy left by council member Gina Dawson's resignation. She previously served on Lafayette's Transportation and Circulation Commission and co-chaired the city's 2024 Measure H parcel tax campaign.

When Candell backed Wotherspoon's appointment, she said Wotherspoon was "the most qualified based on her grasp of the current issues facing the city, as well as her deep understanding of how our government works here in Lafayette."

What challengers need to know

If any of the three incumbents does not file by the Aug. 7, 2026, deadline, the window extends to Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, for non-incumbent candidates. To be eligible, a candidate must be a registered voter in Lafayette, a U.S. citizen, and at least 18 years old.

Nomination papers are issued by appointment only through the City Clerk's office. According to city records, residents can contact City Clerk Joanne Robbins at (925) 284-1968 or email [email protected] to schedule a pickup at 3675 Mt. Diablo Blvd., second floor. Current contact details are also listed at lovelafayette.org.

The 25-day filing window closes at 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026.