# Berkeley City Council, District 8 Compare records and positions simply between Mark Humbert, Michael Wallman, Fred M. Feller, and 1 more for Berkeley City Council, District 8 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person would hold one of eight district seats on the Berkeley City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. Berkeley is an Alameda County city of about 124,000 people. The term is four years. Half the Council's district seats are elected on the presidential cycle. Those are Districts 2, 3, 5, and 6. This seat is elected on the same cycle as the Governor. The Auditor is elected on that cycle too. The seat is decided by ranked choice voting. - Jurisdiction: City of Berkeley - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/berkeley-council-district-8 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: September 1, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 92 out of 100 (Very strong), across 9 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Mark Humbert** — City Councilmember · Incumbent - **Michael Wallman** — Systems Engineer - **Fred M. Feller** — Attorney - **Mari Mendonca** — Rent Stabilization Board Commissioner A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. 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. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use, for a 4-year term. The seat is 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 Humbert 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. Their ballot designation is City Councilmember. Their 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 Humbert 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:** Humbert's 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, their LinkedIn page identifies them as a technical lead at Google. No 2026 Form 460 was on file for their 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 their 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. ## Sources 1. [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.](https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/Notice%20of%20Candidates%20Nov%203%202026%20-%20WEB%20Version.pdf) 2. [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.](https://www.alamedacountyca.gov/rov_app/racelist/260/600) 3. [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.](https://www.alamedacountyca.gov/rov_app/candidatelist/) 4. [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.](https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/elections/candidate-information) 5. [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."](https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/elections/voting-information) 6. [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.](https://www.berkeleyside.org/2026/08/19/berkeley-election-candidates-city-council-rent-board-school-board) 7. [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.](https://netfile.com/public/berkeley/campaign) 8. [Wikipedia's Berkeley, California article -- 2020 census population (124,321), the 4th-largest city in Alameda County.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley,_California) 9. [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.](https://www.berkeleyside.org/2022/09/29/berkeley-election-city-council-district-8-mark-humbert-mari-mendonca) ## The rest of the ballot Berkeley City Council, District 8 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "Berkeley City Council, District 8 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/berkeley-council-district-8 (sources last retrieved September 1, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.