# Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Compare records and positions simply between Vylma Ortiz, Avery Arbaugh, Derek Rodriguez, and 3 more for Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person would hold one of five seats up this cycle. The seat is on Berkeley's Rent Stabilization Board. The board has nine members. It regulates rent increases and eviction protections for rent controlled units. The term is four years. The seat is decided by plurality vote, not ranked choice. - Jurisdiction: City of Berkeley - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Seats: 5 - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/berkeley-rent-board - 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 8 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Vylma Ortiz** — Attorney/Meditation Teacher - **Avery Arbaugh** — Tenant Union Organizer - **Derek Rodriguez** — Student/National Guardsman - **Carole Marasovic** — Attorney/City Commissioner - **Ida Martinac** — Rent Stabilization Board Commissioner · Incumbent - **Nathan Mizell** — Rent Stabilization Board Commissioner · Incumbent A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Six candidates are running for five open Rent Stabilization Board seats. Two of them are incumbents, Ida Martinac and Nathan Mizell. Vote for up to five. The five highest vote-getters win. A third incumbent, Vanessa Marrero, did not qualify for the ballot. This person would hold one of five seats up this cycle on Berkeley's nine-member Rent Stabilization Board, which regulates rent increases and eviction protections for the city's rent-controlled units. The term is four years (commissioners generally serve a maximum of two, per the Rent Board's own rules). The seat is decided by plurality vote -- not ranked-choice. Rent Board Commissioner Vanessa Marrero, one of three incumbents whose terms expire this cycle, did not qualify for the ballot: Berkeleyside reported the county Registrar found her nomination-signature petition two signatures short of the 20 required for an incumbent seeking reelection by the Aug. 7, 2026 deadline. Marrero told Berkeleyside she is pursuing a legal challenge, saying a disability-accommodation request for more time was wrongly denied; the City Clerk's office told Berkeleyside the filing deadline is set by state law and the city had no authority to extend it. Both accounts are Berkeleyside's own attributed reporting; as of this dataset's retrieval, Marrero is not on either official candidate list. ## Avery Arbaugh Avery Arbaugh chairs the Berkeley Tenants Union. They served before that on the city's Labor Commission. Their ballot designation is Tenant Union Organizer. They ran for a Rent Board seat in 2024 and lost. No 2026 Form 460 was on file for their current campaign. **Strengths:** Direct leadership in tenant organizing plus a prior Labor Commission appointment. That gives Arbaugh a tenant advocacy record apart from the sitting incumbents. **Trade-offs:** Their 2024 Rent Board run was unsuccessful. No 2026 fundraising record was found to gauge this run's traction. **Keep in mind:** Chairing a tenant advocacy group is a real credential. It is not evidence of how they would vote on any Board matter. ## Carole Marasovic Carole Marasovic is an attorney. They chair the city's Homeless Services Panel of Experts. They also serve on the Peace and Justice Commission and the Community Health Commission. Their ballot designation is Attorney and City Commissioner. Their committee is Carole Marasovic for Rent Board 2026. It reported $0 in contributions and $0 in spending for the first half of 2026. **Strengths:** The field's broadest set of current commission roles. They cover homelessness, peace and justice, and community health. Those issues meet housing stability. **Trade-offs:** Marasovic's H1 2026 Form 460 shows zero fundraising. The committee is active but dormant right now. **Keep in mind:** An attorney and multi-commission volunteer background is broad civic experience. It is not Rent Board policy experience itself. ## Ida Martinac Ida Martinac is a sitting Rent Stabilization Board commissioner. They are seeking reelection. Their ballot designation is Rent Stabilization Board Commissioner. No 2026 Form 460 was on file for their committee. They filed only initial organizing paperwork in May 2026. **Strengths:** Current Board service gives Martinac direct knowledge of the Rent Board's work. They also have a completed term to run on. **Trade-offs:** No 2026 fundraising record was found. So there is no way to compare their campaign's traction to the other five. **Keep in mind:** Incumbency here means a partial term or a prior election win, not automatic reelection. Five seats and six candidates means one candidate will not return. ## Nathan Mizell Nathan Mizell is a sitting Rent Stabilization Board commissioner. They are seeking reelection. Their ballot designation is Rent Stabilization Board Commissioner. An interim campaign finance report on file for their committee covers Jan. 1 to May 10, 2026. It shows $0 in contributions and $0 in spending for that window. **Strengths:** Current Board service. They also have a long multi-cycle campaign finance filing history going back to their first Rent Board run. **Trade-offs:** Their most recent filing on record shows no fundraising through early May 2026. **Keep in mind:** Like Martinac, their incumbency reflects a prior win, not a guarantee. Two incumbent commissioners are running. One candidate in this field will not win one of the five seats. ## Vylma Ortiz Vylma Ortiz is an attorney and a meditation teacher. Their ballot designation is Attorney and Meditation Teacher. No 2026 Form 460 was on file for their campaign. They filed only initial organizing paperwork in May 2026. **Strengths:** A legal background that fits the Rent Board's petition process. **Trade-offs:** No fundraising record was found. No prior city commission service was found either. **Keep in mind:** No independent news coverage of their candidacy was found beyond Berkeleyside's own roundup. ## Derek Rodriguez Derek Rodriguez is a UC Berkeley student and an Army veteran. Their ballot designation is Student and National Guardsman. No 2026 Form 460 was on file for their campaign. They filed only initial organizing paperwork in May 2026. **Strengths:** A background unlike the other five candidates. Rodriguez is a current student and they have served in the military. **Trade-offs:** No fundraising record was found. As a current student they likely have the shortest local civic service record in the field. **Keep in mind:** No independent news coverage of their candidacy was found beyond Berkeleyside's own roundup. ## 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) ## The rest of the ballot Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board 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 Rent Stabilization Board — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/berkeley-rent-board (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.