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City of Auburn · Statewide General Election

Auburn City Council

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 three at-large seats up this cycle on Auburn's 5-member City Council, elected to a 4-year term: city ordinances, the budget, and land use for Placer County's county seat, a city of about 13,776 residents per the 2020 Census. The city runs under a council-manager government -- day-to-day operations are handled by an appointed City Manager -- and rather than voters directly electing a Mayor, the Council appoints one of its own members as Mayor and another as Vice Mayor every year.

Four candidates are running for three at-large seats on Auburn's City Council: sitting Mayor Kelley Davis and Bridget Powers, appointed to the council on Aug. 24, 2026, face two challengers, Erik Robb and Stephanie McKenzie. One seat came open when incumbent Sandra Amara chose not to file for re-election; the other opened when Councilmember Mike Holmes resigned for health reasons and died two days later, which is how Powers -- a former three-term council member and three-time Mayor -- ended up back on the council, and now on the ballot to keep the seat.

Auburn, the county seat of Placer County and home to about 13,776 residents per the 2020 Census, runs under a council-manager form of government: a professional City Manager handles day-to-day operations while a 5-member City Council, elected entirely at large to 4-year staggered terms, sets city ordinances, the budget, and land use. Auburn voters don't elect a Mayor directly -- the council chooses one of its own members as Mayor and another as Vice Mayor each year at its December reorganization. Residents also separately elect a City Treasurer, but that office isn't on this November's ballot; three of the five council seats are.

This field of four exists because of two separate vacancies. Incumbent Sandra Amara did not file nomination papers by the regular deadline, which under state law automatically extended the filing period for everyone else -- the city's own press release names this specifically as the reason the window widened rather than the seat going unopposed by default. Separately, Councilmember Mike Holmes resigned effective June 25, 2026 citing health concerns and died two days later; the council solicited applications, interviewed the eligible candidates who applied, and voted Aug. 24, 2026 to appoint Bridget Powers -- a council member from 2006 to 2018 and Mayor three times during that span -- to serve out his term through December. That same day, the City Clerk certified the final four-candidate field for November: Powers, Davis, Robb, and McKenzie.

Bridget Powers

Bridget Powers previously served three terms on the Auburn City Council, from 2006 to 2018, including three years as Mayor (2010, 2014, and 2018), and rejoined the council by appointment on Aug. 24, 2026 to fill the seat left vacant by Mike Holmes's death. She chairs the city's Planning Commission and, per her own council application, retired in 2026 from a job as chief of staff to Placer County Supervisor Cindy Gustafson. She is now running to keep the seat for a full term rather than just the few remaining months of Holmes's.

Strengths

Thirteen years of prior council experience across three terms, including three years as Mayor, plus recent Placer County government experience as a supervisor's chief of staff.

Trade-offs

Appointed to the seat without a public vote, weeks before this same election decides it; her application argued for continuity and a smooth transition rather than a fresh direction.

Keep in mind

She left her job as chief of staff to Placer County Supervisor Cindy Gustafson (District 5, per Gustafson's own letter) around the time of her council appointment; the county and city work together often.

Kelley Davis

Kelley Davis is Auburn's sitting Mayor, chosen by her council colleagues for that title at their December 2025 reorganization. She was first elected to the council in November 2024, to a short, 2-year unexpired term, and is now running for a full 4-year term. Per her own city bio, she's a bike commuter and mountain biker who directs the nonprofit Auburn Trails Alliance, holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Food and Nutrition, and lists bike/pedestrian infrastructure, wildfire protection, and small-business support among her priorities.

Strengths

Nearly two years as a sitting Council Member and her colleagues' own choice for Mayor since December 2025; active on the city's bike, trail, and wildfire-protection priorities.

Trade-offs

First elected in 2024 to fill only a 2-year unexpired term rather than a full 4-year term, so she has less council tenure than Powers or a first full term would give her.

Keep in mind

Her current council seat was itself a short, 2-year term (2024-2026) rather than the usual 4-year term, per the city's own 2024 election summary; this race decides whether she gets a full term.

Erik Robb

Erik Robb is one of two non-incumbents in this race. Beyond his name on the City Clerk's Aug. 24, 2026 press release certifying the four-candidate field, no biography, occupation, campaign website, or news coverage was located this session -- including a direct search of the city's own extensive public-document archive for his name.

Strengths

None independently confirmed beyond a certified, qualified nomination filing with the City Clerk.

Trade-offs

No prior city office, board, or commission role found in the city's own records; no campaign website, news coverage, or biography located this session.

Keep in mind

A thin public record like this isn't unusual for a first-time local candidate this early in a race, but it leaves voters with little more than his name to weigh against two incumbents.

Stephanie McKenzie

Stephanie McKenzie is the other non-incumbent in this race. Beyond her name on the City Clerk's Aug. 24, 2026 press release certifying the four-candidate field, no biography, occupation, campaign website, or news coverage was located this session -- including a direct search of the city's own extensive public-document archive for her name.

Strengths

None independently confirmed beyond a certified, qualified nomination filing with the City Clerk.

Trade-offs

No prior city office, board, or commission role found in the city's own records; no campaign website, news coverage, or biography located this session.

Keep in mind

A thin public record like this isn't unusual for a first-time local candidate this early in a race, but it leaves voters with little more than her name to weigh against two incumbents.

Source review: Strong (89/100) · 12 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • auburn.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Auburn -- official press release, "General Municipal Election and Nomination Period" (Aug. 24, 2026, signed by Interim City Manager James Lindsay): confirms the City Clerk qualified four candidates for the three Auburn City Council seats -- Bridget Powers, Kelley Davis, Erik Robb, and Stephanie McKenzie -- that Placer County accepted the filings, and that the withdrawal deadline has passed. Also states that incumbent Sandy Amara did not file by the regular deadline, automatically extending the filing period for everyone, and that fellow incumbent Kelley Davis filed within the regular window.
  • placercountyelections.gov (opens in a new tab)Placer County Elections -- official "Offices to Appear on the Ballot for the November 3, 2026 Gubernatorial Election" PDF: its "City and Town" section lists a single Auburn row, "City of Auburn -- City Council -- 3 seats -- December 14, 2026," confirming the office structure independently of the city's own materials; transcribed at sources/placer-candidates-nov2026.txt.
  • auburn.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Auburn -- own City Council page: states the city is "governed by a 5-member, elected City Council" operating as "a general law city that operates under the council-manager form of municipal government"; that "City residents elect: City Council Members [and] City Treasurer"; and that "each year, the City Council selects the Mayor" and a Vice Mayor from among its own members -- neither office is directly elected by voters.
  • auburn.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Auburn -- own Municipal Election webpage: states "City council members are elected at large for a four-year term. The City Council serves staggered terms, i.e., two or three seats are open each election cycle," and that Auburn's elections are consolidated with the Placer County Elections Division.
  • auburn.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Auburn -- own "Council List" reference document (Office of the City Clerk, dated 8/25/2026): gives each current officeholder's exact term -- Mayor Kelley Davis, 11/2024-11/2026; Vice Mayor Rachel Radell-Harris, 11/2024-11/2028; Council Member Alice Dowdin Calvillo, 11/2024-11/2028; Council Member Bridget Powers, "Appointment 8/24/2026-11/2026"; Council Member Sandra Amara, 11/2022-11/2026; City Treasurer Donna Silva, 11/2024-11/2028 -- and lists the city as a "General Law City," population 13,845.
  • auburn.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Auburn -- official "Notice of Vacancy on the Auburn City Council" (published July 14, 2026): announces the council is accepting applications to fill one vacant seat, term expiring December 2026, application deadline 5:00 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10, 2026.
  • auburn.granicus.com (opens in a new tab)City of Auburn -- Aug. 24, 2026 City Council meeting, Item 10 ("Appointment to the City Council") staff report and attachments: states Councilmember Mike Holmes resigned effective June 25, 2026 citing health concerns and died two days later; that five applications were received, two applicants were not city residents, one withdrew, and two eligible applications (Bridget Powers and Felicia Joy DiProsper) remained for Council consideration; and includes Powers's own application, cover letter, resume, and reference letters (including one from Placer County Supervisor Cindy Gustafson, identifying Powers as her District Director/Chief of Staff since July 2023) describing Powers's prior Auburn City Council service (elected 2006, re-elected 2010 and 2014, Mayor in 2010, 2014, and 2018) and her chairmanship of the Auburn Planning Commission since 2022.
  • auburn.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Auburn -- own staff directory bio page for Mayor Kelley Davis: describes her as a longtime bike commuter and mountain biker who directs the nonprofit Auburn Trails Alliance, holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Food and Nutrition, and lists bike/pedestrian infrastructure, the city's General Plan update and Active Transportation Plan, wildfire protection, and small-business support among her stated priorities.
  • auburn.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Auburn -- own "Election Summary 2024" document: lists the November 2024 election's seats as "Seats that have terms that expire in November, 2028 (4-year terms): City Council (2), City Treasurer (1)" and, separately, "Seats that have terms that expire in November 2026 (2 year terms): City Council (1)" -- confirming one 2024-elected council seat (Kelley Davis's) carried only a 2-year unexpired term rather than the usual 4 years, which is why it is up again in 2026.
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia, "Auburn, California": used narrowly for the fixed, dated 2020 Census population figure (13,776) and for its own-worded confirmation that Auburn is the county seat of Placer County.
  • auburn.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)A negative-result local campaign-finance check: the City of Auburn's own Fair Political Practices Commission page names no electronic campaign-finance filing portal for local candidates (it names only Form 700 statements-of-economic-interest, a different disclosure); a direct site search of the city's own DocumentCenter for 2026-cycle FPPC Form 460 filings for any of the four candidates returned only filings from the 2020 election cycle. Documents the absence of a reachable, current local financial-disclosure source, not any candidate's actual finances.
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS -- committee/filer searches attempted for all four candidates: every query returned only Cal-Access's own Incapsula bot-detection challenge page, not usable results, the same block documented elsewhere in this dataset -- and Cal-Access's documented scope covers state-level filings only, which excludes local candidates in any case.

Last updated September 2, 2026.