Skip to main content

City of Belmont · Statewide General Election

Mayor of Belmont

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

On the ballot

Belmont's Mayor is a separately elected, citywide office -- since 2022 the only directly elected mayor's seat in this city's history; before that, the council chose the Mayor from among its own members. A 4-year term.

Mayor Julia Mates is running for reelection unopposed; she was the only candidate who qualified by the filing deadline.

Belmont's Mayor is a separately elected, citywide office with a 4-year term -- unlike the city's four councilmembers, each of whom represents one of Belmont's geographic districts. By her own account, Mates became Belmont's first directly elected mayor when she won the office in 2022; before that, the City Council chose the Mayor from among its own members, the same arrangement several other California cities still use.

The county's own certified candidate roster and independent San Mateo Daily Journal reporting (Aug. 11, 2026) both confirm no one else filed to challenge Mates this cycle.

Julia Mates

The incumbent Mayor, seeking a second term in that office after becoming Belmont's first directly elected mayor in 2022; she joined the City Council in 2018. A San Francisco native who moved to Belmont in 2006 to raise her family, she describes herself as biracial -- Chinese and Ashkenazi Jewish -- and is, by her own account, the first Chinese American Jewish mayor in the United States. During her time on the council and as Mayor she has overseen new affordable-housing construction, roadway repaving (including Ralston Avenue) and other infrastructure repairs, a storm- and sanitation-infrastructure rehabilitation completed in 2023, and the city's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She represents Belmont regionally as Chair of the San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department Board (after three years as Chair), Vice Chair of the San Mateo County Transportation Authority board, and Chair of the San Mateo County Libraries JPA governing board.

Strengths

Eight years of Belmont city-government experience (council since 2018, Mayor since 2022) plus regional-agency leadership in fire service, transportation, and libraries.

Trade-offs

No independent reporting evaluates her recent Mayor term beyond the Daily Journal's brief confirmation she's unopposed -- what's documented here comes from her own campaign site, not outside scrutiny.

Keep in mind

With no opponent, this race functions as a retention question, not a comparison. Her claim to be Belmont's 'first directly elected' mayor is her own description of a 2022 change, not independently verified against the city's (unreachable) charter pages.

Source review: Mixed (73/100) · 5 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context; advocacy or endorsement sources are treated as attributed perspective.

Review note: Gina Latimerlo for Belmont City Council -- 'Districts/Voting' page on her own campaign site: names Belmont's four City Council districts and their current representatives (District 1: Latimerlo; District 2: Cathy Jordan; District 3: Robin Pang-Maganaris; District 4: Tom McCune) plus the citywide, at-large Mayor (Julia Mates). and Mayor Julia Mates -- 'About Julia' page on her own re-election campaign site: her account of becoming Belmont's first directly elected mayor in 2022 after joining the council in 2018, her background, and her regional-agency roles. may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

  • smcacre.gov (opens in a new tab)San Mateo County ACRE (Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder-Elections) -- Roster of Candidates, Qualified Candidates Only, November 3, 2026 General Election (CFMR009), dated 2026-08-25: confirms Belmont's Mayor, Council District 1, and Council District 3 are each 'On Ballot: Yes' with exactly one qualified candidate apiece (Julia Mates, Gina Latimerlo, Sarah K.M. Delisle)
  • smdailyjournal.com (opens in a new tab)San Mateo Daily Journal -- "San Mateo County election races take shape across cities, schools" (Daily Journal staff report, published Aug. 11, 2026): independently confirms Mayor Julia Mates, Councilmember Gina Latimerlo (District 1), and Sarah Delisle (District 3) are each running unopposed/uncontested, and identifies District 3 as the seat currently held by Councilmember Robin Pang-Maganaris, who is not seeking reelection
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia -- "Belmont, California": used narrowly for the current-officeholder roster (Mayor Julia Mates; Vice Mayor Robin Pang-Maganaris; Councilmembers Tom McCune, Gina Latimerlo, Cathy Jordan), not for anything volatile
  • ginaforbelmont.org (opens in a new tab)Gina Latimerlo for Belmont City Council -- 'Districts/Voting' page on her own campaign site: names Belmont's four City Council districts and their current representatives (District 1: Latimerlo; District 2: Cathy Jordan; District 3: Robin Pang-Maganaris; District 4: Tom McCune) plus the citywide, at-large Mayor (Julia Mates)
  • juliamates.com (opens in a new tab)Mayor Julia Mates -- 'About Julia' page on her own re-election campaign site: her account of becoming Belmont's first directly elected mayor in 2022 after joining the council in 2018, her background, and her regional-agency roles

Last updated September 1, 2026.