Marin election takes shape as filing period opens
The filing period for the March 5 election has begun, offering an early look at the potential contests on the ballot.
In addition to the presidential primary, the election will include primary races for the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives and the state Assembly. At the local level, the terms of three Marin County Superior Court judges, three county supervisors and three municipal council members are ending. A fourth council seat will also be available because of a resignation.
The nomination period ends at 5 p.m. Dec. 9, with an extension to Dec. 13 for offices in which the incumbent has not filed papers for reelection.
Until now, the race for District 2 supervisor has received most of the attention. Longtime incumbent Katie Rice announced in May that she would not seek reelection, and four candidates quickly announced plans to run for the seat.
Only two of the announced candidates for Rice’s seat — Ryan O’Neil, a Ross Valley School District trustee, and Heather McPhail Sridharan, a former Kentfield School District trustee — have taken out papers so far.
“It’s been an exciting time, a lot of positive momentum over the last couple months,” Sridharan said. “A lot of door knocking.”
The other two announced candidates are Larkspur Mayor Gabe Paulson and San Anselmo Councilmember Brian Colbert, who has been endorsed by Rice.
A fifth candidate, Samuel Friedlander of Greenbrae, has taken out papers and confirmed Friday that he intends to join the race. Friedlander, a comedian and data manager for the Graton Resort and Casino, said his top priorities include stopping bicycle theft and starting a monthly cutest-puppy-of-Marin contest.
The terms of Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters and Supervisor Dennis Rodoni are also ending. Incumbent supervisors are rarely challenged in Marin, but Francis Drouillard of Novato, a member of the Marin County Republican Central Committee, has taken out papers to challenge Rodoni.
Drouillard said Friday that he will run “if I can cover the filing fees.”
“I want to give Dennis a run for his money,” he said.
The county imposes a $1,445 filing fee to compete for supervisor, and candidates must pay an additional $425 to have a statement published in the voter guide.
Nevertheless, Drouillard, who also heads the Novato Police Advisory and Review Board and a group calling itself the Marin Election Integrity Committee, has already created a website to promote his candidacy.
Drouillard said he disapproves of the way county supervisors have addressed Marin’s homelessness problem. He said people with mental health or substance abuse issues should be required to accept treatment before they’re given financial aid.
“Here on Binford Road, I see a lot of grifters,” Drouillard said. “They’re taking advantage of the generosity of Marinites, and that’s coming at the expense of people who really do need the help.”
Drouillard said another of his top concerns is election integrity. Speaking about his work with the Marin Election Integrity Committee, Drouillard said, “We’ve learned a lot about how they run elections here, and in Marin County with the new Voter’s Choice Act, we see a lot of problems.”
No one so far has filed to challenge Moulton-Peters, whose district is in the southern part of the county.
Other local offices
One of the three judges whose terms are ending, Kelly Simmons, has filed to seek reelection. The other judges, Beth Jordan and James Chou, have not yet taken out papers.
The terms of three Ross Town Council members — Elizabeth Brekhus, Charles Kircher and Beach Kuhl — are ending. None has taken out papers yet.
The Larkspur City Council has an opening to complete the term of longtime member Kevin Haroff, who resigned in June because he moved to Novato. Haroff’s term extends until Dec. 26, 2026.
In special districts, the terms of three members of the Almonte Sanitary District board and the terms of two members of the Ross Valley Sanitary District board are ending. In Almonte, the incumbents are Robert Cox, Lew Kious and Anne Lahaderne. In Ross Valley, they are Mary Sylla and Doug Kelly.
State Legislature
For the state Assembly, Novato resident Andrew Podshadley has taken out papers and paid the $1,226 filing fee to challenge Assembly member Damon Connolly in the March primary. Contacted on Friday, Podshadley said he has decided to run.
“Absolutely, 100%,” Podshadley said. “I feel that our district is being underrepresented. Being a winemaker and winery owner, the agricultural community is being ignored.”
Podshadley ran as a Republican write-in candidate for the same Assembly seat in the June 2022 primary. He garnered about 1% of the vote.
Last November, Podshadley, the owner of Trek Winery and a member of the Downtown Novato Business Association board, ran for the District 2 seat on the Novato City Council, losing to Rachel Farac.
Federal offices
In California’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes Marin, Tief Gibbs, president of Novato Republican Women, Federated, has taken out papers to challenge Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat who lives in San Rafael.
Gibbs’ unsuccessful bid for a seat on the Novato Unified School District board last November garnered attention because of her opposition to coronavirus-related mandates.
“My primary reason for entering this race is deeply personal for me,” Gibbs said in a statement announcing her candidacy. “My daughter is a ranked college female wrestler and could face potential serious injury or death in wrestling a man calling himself a woman.”
“I support the Women and Girls in Sports Act in Congress requiring schools to protect individuals from sex discrimination based on a persons reproductive biology and genetics at birth,” Gibbs said of H.R. 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.
For the U.S. Senate, Don Grundmann, a retired chiropractor living in Santa Clara, has taken out papers and says he plans to run for the seat held by Laphonza Butler. Butler, the former president of the political action committee Emily’s List, was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October following the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Butler has said she will not compete in the primary. Three prominent Democratic lawmakers are running for the seat: Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Katie Porter and Rep. Adam Schiff.
Grundmann, who has run three times for the Senate, three times for the House of Representatives and once for president, said, “There are so many things going on in our nation.”
Grundmann said he considers the Biden administration to be an “illegitimate regime” that stole the election, and he complained about transgender people “being fully accepted and imposed on our culture, especially on our children.”