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City of Berkeley · Statewide General Election

Berkeley City Council, District 8

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

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 eight district seats on the Berkeley City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use in this Alameda County city of about 124,000, for a 4-year term. Half the Council's district seats (2, 3, 5, 6) are elected on the presidential cycle; this one is elected, along with the Auditor, on the same cycle as the Governor. Decided by ranked-choice voting.

Incumbent Councilmember Mark Humbert faces three challengers for the District 8 seat (southeast Berkeley); a fourth, Fred Feller, ended his campaign in mid-August 2026, after the ballot was already finalized, so his name still appears below.

This person would hold one of eight district seats on the Berkeley City Council -- southeast Berkeley, in District 8's case: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, for a 4-year term. Decided by ranked-choice voting.

This is a rematch of sorts: Humbert first won this seat in 2022, defeating Mari Mendonca -- then a sitting Rent Board commissioner -- for the seat outgoing Councilmember Lori Droste vacated. Droste and then-Mayor Jesse Arreguin endorsed Humbert in that race; Mendonca ran on reducing police funding and criticized Droste-era housing policy, with backing from the neighborhood group Friends of Adeline, where she remains an organizer.

Mark Humbert

Mark Humbert is an attorney who has held the District 8 seat since defeating Mari Mendonca in 2022, when he ran on continuing outgoing Councilmember Lori Droste's approach to housing, policing, and other city issues and won her endorsement along with then-Mayor Jesse Arreguin's. His ballot designation is City Councilmember. His committee, Humbert for Council 2026, reported $1,630 in monetary contributions and $56 in expenditures for the first half of 2026.

Strengths

A full term of Council experience and a fundraising record that, while modest this period, reflects a sitting incumbent's position.

Trade-offs

As the incumbent he owns the last four years of District 8 decisions most directly, in a rematch against a challenger, Mendonca, running explicitly on a different direction.

Keep in mind

His 2022 endorsements from Droste and Arreguin describe that race, not any 2026 endorsement -- this dataset found no independent 2026 endorsement coverage for either candidate.

Michael Wallman

Michael Wallman's ballot designation is Systems Engineer; per Berkeleyside's own reporting, his LinkedIn page identifies him as a technical lead at Google. No 2026 Form 460 was on file for his campaign as of this dataset's retrieval, only initial organizing paperwork filed in early August 2026.

Strengths

A technology-sector engineering background, distinct from the rest of the field's occupations.

Trade-offs

A late-August filing start and no fundraising record yet, in a district where the incumbent and one challenger (Mendonca) both have established campaign infrastructure.

Keep in mind

This dataset found no independent news coverage of his candidacy beyond Berkeleyside's own roundup, and no prior civic or commission service.

Fred M. Feller

Fred Feller is an attorney and former member of Berkeley's Police Review Commission and Housing Advisory Commission. His ballot designation is Attorney. Berkeleyside reported on Aug. 19, 2026 that Feller told the outlet he had ended his campaign; he did not say why. Because the withdrawal came after both official candidate lists had already been finalized, his name remains on the printed ballot -- and, per this dataset's standing practice for a late withdrawal, remains in the roster here rather than being silently removed.

Strengths

Prior service on two relevant city commissions (police oversight and housing) gave him direct exposure to two of the district's central issues.

Trade-offs

He is no longer actively campaigning, per his own statement to Berkeleyside, though he remains a name voters will see on the ballot.

Keep in mind

Berkeleyside did not report a reason for his exit, and no formal withdrawal filing with the city or county was located in this pass -- what's documented here is limited to his own reported statement.

Mari Mendonca

Mari Mendonca is a former Rent Stabilization Board commissioner and an organizer with the neighborhood group Friends of Adeline; her ballot designation is Rent Stabilization Board Commissioner. She previously ran for this same District 8 seat in 2022, losing to Humbert, on a platform of reducing police funding and shifting resources to community organizations, and criticizing the Council's housing-production approach under then-Councilmember Droste. Her 2026 committee, Mendonca for Council 2026, reported $0 in contributions and $0 in expenditures for the first half of 2026.

Strengths

Prior elected-adjacent experience on the Rent Board and a consistent, multi-cycle base of neighborhood organizing through Friends of Adeline.

Trade-offs

Her H1 2026 Form 460 shows zero fundraising activity, in contrast to her 2022 run, which drew real campaign infrastructure and endorsements.

Keep in mind

Her 2022 platform (reduced police funding, opposition to Droste-era housing policy) is her prior campaign's record, not confirmed as her unchanged 2026 position -- no independent 2026 platform coverage was found in this pass.

Source review: Very strong (92/100) · 9 cited sources

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

  • berkeleyca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Berkeley -- City Clerk Mark Numainville's signed "Nominees for Public Office" notice for the Nov. 3, 2026 General Municipal Election (dated Aug. 19, 2026): lists all 23 candidates across all seven Berkeley races in ballot order with their exact ballot designations -- Auditor, Council Districts 1/4/7/8, Rent Stabilization Board Commissioner, and School Board Director.
  • alamedacountyca.gov (opens in a new tab)Alameda County Registrar of Voters -- own JSON API behind its "Candidate List" web app (electionId 260 = General Election - 11/03/2026, Official): the candidatelist/260 endpoint returns every race category countywide with no County category at all (zero Board of Supervisors/row-office/judicial seats on the Nov. 2026 general), and the racelist/260/600 endpoint names all 46 City-category races countywide, including the exact seven Berkeley races (four Council districts, Auditor, Rent Stabilization Board, School Directors) with their raceIds and vote-for-N seat counts -- confirming Alameda County publishes a unified countywide candidate document, unlike Santa Clara County.
  • alamedacountyca.gov (opens in a new tab)Alameda County Registrar of Voters -- the same candidatelist app's per-race candidate-detail view (POST to /rov_app/candidatelist/ with electionId=260 and each Berkeley raceId), queried directly for all seven Berkeley races: returns each candidate's exact ballot designation, filing agency, and on-ballot status -- the same roster as the City Clerk's own Notice of Candidates, independently confirming all 23 names and designations.
  • berkeleyca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Berkeley -- "Candidate Information" elections page: states which offices are elected on the presidential cycle (Mayor; Council Districts 2, 3, 5, 6) versus the gubernatorial cycle (Auditor; Council Districts 1, 4, 7, 8) -- both alongside Rent Board and School Board, which are elected every cycle -- and states the vote-threshold rule: Mayor/Auditor/Council require ranked-choice majority; Rent Board/School Board are decided by plurality.
  • berkeleyca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Berkeley -- "Voting Information" elections page: states in full how Berkeley's ranked-choice voting works for Mayor, City Council, and Auditor (voters may rank up to five choices; last-place elimination repeats until one candidate has a majority) and that Rent Stabilization Board and School Board are decided by plurality vote instead, "typically multiple candidates elected at each election."
  • berkeleyside.org (opens in a new tab)Berkeleyside -- "Election 2026: Who's running for Berkeley City Council, school board and more" (originally published Aug. 14, 2026, updated Aug. 19, 2026 to report Fred Feller's withdrawal from the District 8 race), read in full: profiles every 2026 candidate across all seven Berkeley races by name, occupation, and background; reports incumbent Rashi Kesarwani (D1), Cecilia Lunaparra (D7), and Lori Droste's since-2022 successor context are not seeking reelection; and reports Rent Board incumbent Vanessa Marrero's disqualification from the ballot over a signature shortfall and her stated plan to challenge it.
  • netfile.com (opens in a new tab)City of Berkeley's own NetFile-hosted public campaign-finance portal (aid=BRK), queried directly via its own QuickNameSearch and filings/byCandidate JSON API for all 23 2026 candidates, with each candidate's most recent 2026 FPPC Form 460 (the Jan. 1-June 30, 2026 semi-annual statement) downloaded directly via the portal's own CampaignDocuments/download endpoint and read for its actual reported totals. Real H1 2026 totals (monetary contributions raised / total expenditures / public-financing matching funds received, where applicable): Jenny Wong (Auditor) $6,916 / $1,109; Laura Babitt (D1) no 2026 committee Form 460 on file yet, only a Form 410/501 -- her filings show active participation in the city's public-financing matching-funds program; Ross Bernet (D1) $4,449 / $209; Moni Gangopadhyay (D1) $3,307 (incl. $500 nonmonetary) / $2,163; Steve Kromer (D1) no committee located; Daria Wrubel (D1) $120 / $0; Igor Tregub (D4) $10,287 / $3,405, plus $20,670 in public matching funds; Majdi "Gaith" Abuhamdieh (D4) no Form 460 on file, only a Form 410/501; Aidan Hill (D7) $1,102 / $257 on his current District 7 committee (a separate, older "Aidan Hill for Berkeley City Council 2022" committee also remains on file from a prior run, not further researched here); Syrak Micael (D7) $5,698 / $4,444, plus $12,600 in public matching funds; Mark Humbert (D8) $1,630 / $56; Michael Wallman and Fred Feller (D8) no Form 460 on file, only a Form 410/501 each; Mari Mendonca (D8) an active committee reporting $0 contributions and $0 expenditures this period; Carole Marasovic (Rent Board) an active committee reporting $0 contributions and $0 expenditures this period; Avery Arbaugh (Rent Board) no 2026 Form 460 on file, only records from an unsuccessful 2024 Rent Board run; Ida Martinac (Rent Board) no 2026 Form 460 on file yet, only a Form 410/501; Nathan Mizell (Rent Board) an interim Jan. 1-May 10, 2026 report showing $0 contributions and $0 expenditures; Vylma Ortiz and Derek Rodriguez (Rent Board) no Form 460 on file, only a Form 410/501 each; Sandy Park (School Board) $1,860 / $138; Jennifer Shanoski (School Board) $5,410 / $662, plus $19,140 in public matching funds; Ka'Dijah Brown (School Board) filed her new 2026 committee's organizing paperwork July 23, 2026, after the H1 reporting window closed, so no H1 2026 Form 460 exists for it yet.
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia's Berkeley, California article -- 2020 census population (124,321), the 4th-largest city in Alameda County.
  • berkeleyside.org (opens in a new tab)Berkeleyside -- "Election 2022: District 8 -- Mark Humbert vs. Mari Mendonca" (Sept. 29, 2022), read in full: the original 2022 matchup for the seat outgoing Councilmember Lori Droste vacated -- Humbert's platform of continuing Droste's work on housing and policing, Droste's and Mayor Jesse Arreguin's endorsement of Humbert, Mendonca's platform of reducing police funding and her critique of Droste-era housing policy, and Mendonca's affiliation with the neighborhood group Friends of Adeline -- background on the same two candidates' 2022 positions, not their 2026 platforms.

Last updated September 1, 2026.