Skip to main content

City of Arroyo Grande · Statewide General Election

Arroyo Grande City Council, District 4

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

This person would hold one of four district seats on Arroyo Grande's 5-member City Council, alongside an at-large Mayor: city ordinances, the budget, and land use for this San Luis Obispo County city of about 18,441 residents (2020 Census). Arroyo Grande runs under a council-manager government -- City Manager Matthew Downing handles day-to-day operations under Council direction. A 4-year term. The city moved to by-district Council elections beginning with the November 2022 General Municipal Election.

Only one candidate qualified for Arroyo Grande City Council, District 4: incumbent Jim Guthrie. He runs unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot.

District 4 elects one member to a 4-year term on Arroyo Grande's 5-member City Council, alongside an at-large Mayor who is not part of this race. The Council sets city ordinances, the budget, and land use for this San Luis Obispo County city of about 18,441 residents (2020 Census), under a council-manager government where City Manager Matthew Downing runs day-to-day operations. The city moved to by-district Council elections beginning with the November 2022 General Municipal Election.

With no opponent, the useful question is not who to choose but what the officeholder has done and what to watch next. The city's own Notice of Offices and Nominations certifies the City Clerk furnished nomination papers directly to Guthrie as the sitting incumbent, and no council resolution or public notice was found declaring this seat cancelled under Elections Code Section 10229 -- it is a genuine, on-ballot, unopposed race, not an appointment.

Jim Guthrie

Jim Guthrie is the incumbent District 4 Councilmember, per the city's own current Council roster; his committee's prior name on file, "Jim Guthrie for City Council District 4 2022," confirms he first won this seat in 2022. His Statement of Economic Interests reports no salaried employer -- his reported income comes from a diversified stock portfolio and limited-partner stakes in two local hotel investments, IWFC Partners (owner of The Kinney hotel in San Luis Obispo) and IWFC Beachside (owner of the Sand Castle Inn in Pismo Beach). No independent news profile of his current term or this campaign, and no campaign website or stated 2026 platform, was found this pass.

Strengths

A full term already served (first elected 2022) gives voters a real record to evaluate; his disclosed hotel investments tie him to the county's tourism economy.

Trade-offs

No independent profile, campaign website, or stated 2026 platform was found for him -- little beyond incumbency and his own disclosure paperwork to go on.

Keep in mind

As the only candidate, a vote for him changes nothing about who holds the seat; his accountability this cycle is scrutiny of his first term, not a contested choice. His hotel-partnership income is public record via his own Form 700, not an allegation.

Source review: Very strong (90/100) · 8 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • slocounty.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder -- "List of Contests With and Without Sufficient Candidates for the November 3, 2026, General Election" (an Elections Code Section 10515 notice, which applies only to special districts, not general-law cities): lists every community services district, school district, and special district office either cancelled for insufficient candidates or confirmed on the ballot -- and contains no city-council row of any kind, for Arroyo Grande or any other San Luis Obispo County city, confirming the county does not administer city nominations.
  • arroyogrande.org (opens in a new tab)City of Arroyo Grande -- "Notice of Election," signed by City Clerk Jessica Matson, published in The Tribune (July 12, 2026) and New Times (July 16, 2026): states the three offices up in the November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election -- one Mayor (2-year term), one District 1 Council Member (4-year term), one District 4 Council Member (4-year term) -- the nomination period (July 13-Aug. 7, 2026, extendable to Aug. 12 only for an unfiled incumbent), and the boilerplate Elections Code Section 10229 appointment-in-lieu-of-election language.
  • arroyogrande.org (opens in a new tab)City of Arroyo Grande -- "Notice of Offices and Nominations" (Elections Code Section 10224.5), signed by City Clerk Jessica Matson and dated Aug. 4, 2026: certifies in the Clerk's own words that she "has not furnished nomination papers to the incumbent for the open office of Mayor" (confirming the Mayor's race is open) and "has furnished nomination papers to the incumbents for the open offices of District 1 and District 4 Council Members" (confirming Kate Secrest and Jim Guthrie are each the sitting incumbent filing for their own seat).
  • arroyogrande.org (opens in a new tab)City of Arroyo Grande -- "General Municipal Election - Nov 3, 2026" page: lists the qualified candidates for each office in the Secretary of State's own Aug. 13, 2026 randomized-alphabet order -- Mayor, Sean Schuur and Glenn T. Martin; District 1, Kate Secrest alone; District 4, Jim Guthrie alone -- under the heading "Candidates Running for Elective Office," not as appointees.
  • arroyogrande.org (opens in a new tab)City of Arroyo Grande -- "City Council" page: names the sitting five-member Council -- Mayor Caren Ray Russom (at-large), Mayor Pro Tem Jamie Maraviglia (District 3), Kate Secrest (District 1), Aileen Loe (District 2), Jim Guthrie (District 4) -- and states Council Members serve four-year overlapping terms, the Mayor serves a two-year term, and by-district Council elections began with the November 2022 General Municipal Election.
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia -- "Arroyo Grande, California": used narrowly for the 2020 Census population figure (18,441), the council-manager form of government, and City Manager Matthew Downing -- independently corroborated by the city's own site search, which surfaces his staff email (mdowning@arroyogrande.org) on the City Manager page.
  • netfile.com (opens in a new tab)City of Arroyo Grande's own official campaign-finance disclosure system (NetFile, agency code CAG, linked from the city's own Campaign Electronic Filing System page), QuickNameSearch API queried by surname for each of the four candidates: confirms a candidate record and an active 2026 committee for Sean Schuur ("Schuur for Mayor 2026"), Glenn T. Martin ("Glenn Martin for Mayor 2026"), Kate/Kathleen Secrest ("Kate Secrest," prior name "Kathleen P. Secrest"), and James/Jim Guthrie ("Guthrie, Jim," prior committee name "Jim Guthrie for City Council District 4 2022") -- independently corroborating all four names against the city's own election page roster.
  • netfile.com (opens in a new tab)Jim Guthrie's NetFile filing history (agency code CAG, candidate id 204323154), queried via the portal's public JSON API: his FPPC Form 470 ("Officeholder and Candidate Campaign Statement -- Short Form"), filed 7/17/2026 for calendar year 2026, downloaded and read directly, certifies under penalty of perjury that he anticipates receiving and spending less than $2,000 during 2026. His FPPC Form 700 (filed 7/17/2026) reports a diversified stock portfolio (Amazon, Amgen, Honeywell International, Honeywell Aerospace, Novartis, Blackstone Real Estate Trust, Starwood, Solstice Applied Materials) and limited-partner income from two hotel investments, IWFC Partners (owner of The Kinney hotel in San Luis Obispo) and IWFC Beachside (owner of the Sand Castle Inn in Pismo Beach), with no salaried employer reported.

Last updated September 2, 2026.