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Brisbane City Council

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City of Brisbane

Brisbane City Council

This person holds one of Brisbane's five City Council seats. They vote on land-use decisions for San Bruno Mountain's base. They also vote on the long-contested Baylands redevelopment site. They set the city budget and oversee an appointed city manager. Brisbane is one of San Mateo County's smallest cities, with about 4,700 people. The term is four years. The council does not elect a Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem directly. Each December, members appoint two of their own to those posts for one-year terms. Those members preside over meetings but cast only one vote, like everyone else.

Five candidates are running for two open seats on Brisbane's City Council. The election is November 3. Incumbent Mayor Pro Tempore Madison Davis is the only sitting member running again. Davis's four challengers are Julie Sims, Charles Spencer, Chaya-Bella David, and Christopher Hornick. The other seat is held by Councilmember Terry O'Connell. He is not seeking reelection.

Brisbane's council is five members, all elected citywide rather than by district, on staggered 4-year terms; the other three seats aren't up this cycle. The council appoints one of its own as Mayor and another as Mayor Pro Tem each December, so voters elect a councilmember, not a mayor directly. Whoever wins holds the seat for four years, setting the budget, zoning, and city ordinances for one of San Mateo County's smallest cities -- roughly 4,700 people wedged between San Bruno Mountain and the bay, whose government has spent years weighing what to do with the Baylands, a former industrial and landfill site along Highway 101 that has drawn competing redevelopment proposals for more than a decade.

Davis, first elected in 2015 and reelected twice since, is campaigning as continuity on a council they have already served two terms on. Sims, a former Parks & Recreation commissioner, is running on managed growth and protecting open space -- including from large developments such as data centers -- and has been endorsed by sitting Councilmember Frank Kern and Mayor Coleen Mackin. Spencer is campaigning on business revitalization and closer scrutiny of city finances. David, a 20-year-old first-time candidate, is running on community engagement without a detailed policy platform. Hornick has not published a campaign platform found by this dataset. With two seats and five names on the ballot, this is a plurality race decided in one round.

Julie Sims

Julie Sims is a career coach and communications executive. They are running to protect open space. That includes San Bruno Mountain and the Baylands. They served five years on Brisbane's Parks and Recreation Commission.

Charles Spencer

Charles Spencer's ballot title is Small Business Owner. They want to beautify Bayshore Boulevard. They want to address illegal dumping in Guadalupe Canyon. They also want closer scrutiny of city finances. They point to a history of late audits.

Madison Davis

Madison Davis is the incumbent Mayor Pro Tempore. They were first elected in November 2015. They were reelected in 2019 and 2022. Their current term expires this December.

Chaya-Bella David

Chaya-Bella David is 20 years old and a first-time candidate. They are a community volunteer. They received the Brisbane Community Foundation's first Youth Volunteer of the Year award. Their campaign states no policy positions. It asks residents to share their vision for the city.

Christopher Hornick

Christopher Hornick's ballot title is Businessman and Entrepreneur. No campaign website or social media account was found. No news coverage of their campaign was found. The county's roster lists only their email and phone number.

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A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

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