City of Belvedere · Statewide General Election

Belvedere City Council

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On the ballot

Jane Cooper — Councilmember · Incumbent
Peter Mark — Councilmember · Incumbent

This person would hold one of two seats up this cycle on Belvedere's 5-member City Council, elected entirely at-large (no districts) to a 4-year term, through November 2030. Belvedere, a Marin County city of about 2,126 residents (2020 Census) on the Tiburon Peninsula, incorporated in 1896 and runs under a council-manager government, with an appointed City Manager handling day-to-day operations. The Council chooses a Mayor and Vice Mayor from among its own members each December rather than electing either position directly; by local custom (not law), council members serve no more than two terms.

Incumbents Peter Mark and Jane Cooper both qualified for Belvedere's two at-large City Council seats, and no other candidate qualified: with exactly two candidates for two seats, both are effectively elected outright on November 3, 2026.

A third candidate, Kate Benediktsson, filed nomination papers on August 7 -- the final day of the initial filing window -- challenging both incumbents. Per The Ark newspaper's own Aug. 17, 2026 reporting, published after the close of filing, she "did not have enough valid signatures" and failed to qualify, and no extension was granted (the city's extension rule applies only when a sitting officeholder doesn't file, which didn't happen here, since both Mark and Cooper filed and qualified in July). This is Mark's and Cooper's final possible term under Belvedere's informal two-term custom.

Why is this on the ballot if no one's competing?

California Elections Code Section 10229 lets a city council skip the election entirely when a race draws no more candidates than seats, appointing the unopposed nominees directly instead. This dataset found no record of Belvedere's council considering or voting on that option for this race -- no certification, resolution, or council vote appears on the city's own pages or in local news coverage. The Ark's own Aug. 17, 2026 headline, "Tiburon Peninsula election field set for Nov. 3," describes an active, printed ballot race: Mark's and Cooper's names will appear on the November 3 ballot, and voters cast the deciding votes even though the outcome isn't in doubt.

Peter Mark

Mark has served on the Council since a June 2022 interim appointment, then won election to a full term that November. The Council elected him to his first turn as Mayor in December 2023, succeeding outgoing Mayor Jim Lynch; the largely ceremonial mayor and vice-mayor roles rotate annually among council members in Belvedere's council-manager system, and the rotation has since moved past him.

Strengths

A full term of council experience, including a turn as Mayor, in a small city where institutional continuity carries real weight.

Trade-offs

No opponent qualified, so this election offers no comparison point; this dataset found no independent news profile of his 2026 platform beyond the filing-period roundups and mayor-rotation coverage.

Keep in mind

This is his last possible term under Belvedere's informal two-term custom -- not a legal limit, so it could in principle be waived, but every source in this pass treats it as a firm local norm.

Jane Cooper

Cooper won her first Council term in November 2022. The Council elected her to her first turn as Mayor in December 2024, succeeding outgoing Mayor Peter Mark, who nominated her as his successor "proudly and enthusiastically"; the mayor and vice-mayor roles rotate annually, and the rotation has since moved past her to Sally Wilkinson.

Strengths

A full term of council experience, including a turn as Mayor.

Trade-offs

No opponent qualified, so this offers no comparison point; no independent 2026 platform coverage was found beyond filing roundups and mayor-rotation news -- the same limit disclosed for Mark.

Keep in mind

This is also her last possible term under Belvedere's informal two-term custom.

Source review: Strong (88/100) · 15 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context.

marincounty.gov (opens in a new tab)Marin County Elections Department -- official "Status of local candidates for office 11/03/26" page: a table of contents of every county-administered and city/town contest in the county, listing "City of Belvedere Member City Council" as a verified, filed contest, with no seat count or candidate names -- only office titles. The county's own page note states the list only shows contests with papers filed with the county, and that "City and town contests signify verification of nomination signatures only."
cityofbelvedere.org (opens in a new tab)City of Belvedere -- own "Elections" page: states "Belvedere's City Council comprises five council members," each serving a 4-year term "with terms staggered so that at most three seats are turned over in any given election," that "[a]lthough there is no legal limit on the number of terms a council member can serve, the custom in Belvedere is for elected officials to serve not more than two terms (8 years)," and that "[t]he position of mayor is not separately elected. Instead, the mayor and vice mayor roles are rotated among council members. Each December, the five council members select a mayor and vice mayor from their ranks to serve for one year." States the next regularly scheduled election is Nov. 3, 2026 for two Council seats.
cityofbelvedere.org (opens in a new tab)City of Belvedere -- own "Run for Office" page: publishes a live nomination-period table ("Issued / Filed / Qualified") for the Nov. 3, 2026 election showing Peter Mark (issued 7/13/2026, filed 7/14/2026, qualified 7/16/2026), Jane Cooper (issued 7/13/2026, filed 7/22/2026, qualified 7/23/2026), and Kate Benediktsson (issued 8/6/2026, filed 8/7/2026, Qualified column blank/dash). States the nomination period ran July 13-Aug. 7, 2026 (extendable to Aug. 12 only if an incumbent doesn't file) and that candidates must be a registered voter residing in Belvedere.
cityofbelvedere.org (opens in a new tab)City of Belvedere -- own news post "City Council Filing Period is Open" (July 20, 2026): states two councilmember seats are up for election in November 2026, each a 4-year term running through November 2030, that "[t]he candidate filing period is open through August 7, 2026," and that candidates must be "at least 18 years old and a registered voter residing in Belvedere."
cityofbelvedere.org (opens in a new tab)City of Belvedere -- own "City Council Members" roster page: lists Peter Mark's and Jane Cooper's terms of office as "Jun 2022 - Nov 2022 / Nov 2022 - Nov 2026" (Mark, reflecting a short interim appointed stint before winning election that November) and "Nov 2022 - Nov 2026" (Cooper), alongside Sally Wilkinson (Mayor, "Jun 2020 - Nov 2022 / Nov 2022 - Nov 2024 / Nov 2024 - Nov 2028"), Kevin Burke (Vice Mayor, "Nov 2024 - Nov 2028"), and Pat Carapiet ("Nov 2024 - Nov 2028") -- confirming Mark's and Cooper's are the only two seats with a term ending Nov. 2026, and that the current Mayor/Vice Mayor rotation has since moved past Cooper (mayor Dec. 2024-Dec. 2025) to Wilkinson.
thearknewspaper.com (opens in a new tab)The Ark (Tiburon Peninsula) -- Kevin Hessel, "Election 2026: Candidate filing opens July 13 for Tiburon Peninsula races" (July 7, 2026): names Belvedere's two seats up as held by incumbents Jane Cooper (first elected 2022) and Peter Mark (first elected 2022), both "seeking reelection," with an Aug. 7, 5 p.m. filing deadline and nomination papers due at City Hall, contact City Clerk Beth Haener.
thearknewspaper.com (opens in a new tab)The Ark (Tiburon Peninsula) -- Kevin Hessel, "Crowded field forms for Tam district board; no council challengers so far" (July 20, 2026): reports Belvedere is "also unopposed" as of that date -- Councilmember Peter Mark filed July 16 (papers taken out July 14) and Jane Cooper took out papers July 13 but had not yet filed, and "[b]oth were first elected in 2022 and seek second terms, their last under a local custom that limits members to two terms. No challengers had surfaced for the two seats."
thearknewspaper.com (opens in a new tab)The Ark (Tiburon Peninsula) -- Kevin Hessel, "Candidate filings accelerate ahead of Friday's first deadline" (Aug. 3, 2026): reports "[b]oth incumbent councilmembers remain unopposed for the two available seats" in Belvedere -- Peter Mark qualified July 16 and Jane Cooper qualified July 23 -- and that both "were first elected in 2022 and seek second terms, their last under a local custom that limits members to two terms," with the quote "[w]ith both incumbents in, filing closes Aug. 7."
thearknewspaper.com (opens in a new tab)The Ark (Tiburon Peninsula) -- Kevin Hessel, "Filing deadline extends as Tiburon councilmember won't seek third term; Belvedere draws late challenge" (Aug. 10, 2026): names Kate Benediktsson as a late challenger who filed Aug. 7 -- the final day of the initial window -- against both incumbents, Peter Mark and Jane Cooper, for Belvedere's two City Council seats.
thearknewspaper.com (opens in a new tab)The Ark (Tiburon Peninsula) -- Kevin Hessel, "Tiburon Peninsula election field set for Nov. 3" (Aug. 17, 2026, published well after the Aug. 7 close of filing): reports Belvedere's City Council race as "[u]ncontested," with incumbents Peter Mark and Jane Cooper (both first elected 2022, seeking their second and, under "a local custom that limits councilmembers to two terms," final possible terms) as the only qualified candidates; states challenger Kate Benediktsson filed but "did not have enough valid signatures" and failed to qualify, and that "no extension was granted after the August 7 deadline" -- the authoritative, dated, post-deadline confirmation of the final two-candidate, two-seat field.
thearknewspaper.com (opens in a new tab)The Ark (Tiburon Peninsula) -- Naomi Friedland, "Mark elected to first turn as mayor of Belvedere" (Dec. 20, 2023): reports the Belvedere City Council unanimously elected Vice Mayor Peter Mark as mayor at its Dec. 11 meeting, succeeding outgoing Mayor Jim Lynch, who remained on the council; describes Belvedere's council-manager system, in which the mayor and vice mayor roles rotate annually among council members and are largely ceremonial, with City Manager Robert Zadnik handling day-to-day administration.
thearknewspaper.com (opens in a new tab)The Ark (Tiburon Peninsula) -- Naomi Friedland, "Cooper to take first turn as Belvedere mayor" (Dec. 20, 2024): reports the Belvedere City Council elected Vice Mayor Jane Cooper as mayor at its Dec. 9 meeting; outgoing Mayor Peter Mark, who remained on the council, nominated Cooper as his successor "proudly and enthusiastically"; also reports former Planning Commissioners Kevin Burke and Pat Carapiet were sworn in after winning their council seats uncontested in November 2024, and Councilmember Sally Wilkinson was selected vice mayor.
netfile.com (opens in a new tab)A negative-result local campaign-finance check: the plausible NetFile agency code for Belvedere ("BELV") was checked directly this pass -- public.netfile.com/pub2/?AID=BELV redirects (301) to netfile.com/public/BELV/campaign, which returns only a bare "Public Portal" client-rendered single-page-application shell with no server-rendered filer or candidate content, the same access gap documented dataset-wide for other NetFile jurisdictions. Documents the absence of a reachable financial-disclosure source, not either candidate's actual campaign finances.
cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)A negative-result access check: California's statewide Cal-Access campaign-finance filer/candidate search was queried directly this pass and returned no usable candidate or filer content, consistent with the Cal-Access bot-wall/near-empty-stub pattern documented elsewhere in this dataset. Local candidates for a seat like this typically file with the county/city rather than the state in any case. Documents an access gap, not a claim about either candidate's actual state-level filings.
en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia, "Belvedere, California": used narrowly for the fixed, dated 2020 Census population figure (2,126) and the city's Dec. 24, 1896 incorporation date; the article's own current-officeholder claims (e.g. listing Jane Cooper as Mayor) are stale relative to the city's own live City Council Members page and are not used.

Last updated September 2, 2026.