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City of Capitola · Statewide General Election

Capitola City Council

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On the ballot

This person would hold one of three open at-large seats on Capitola's 5-member City Council, serving a 4-year term: city ordinances, the budget, and land use for this Santa Cruz County beach city of about 9,938 residents (2020 Census). The Council elects one of its own members Mayor and another Vice Mayor each year; this is the last at-large Council election before Capitola transitions to district-based elections starting in 2028.

Five candidates are running for three at-large seats on Capitola's City Council: incumbent Joe Clarke and four challengers, Cami Corvin, Tory Del Favero, Peter Wilk, and Troy "TJ" Welch Jr. The three highest vote-getters win.

Capitola, a Santa Cruz County beach city of about 9,938 residents (2020 Census), elects its 5-member City Council entirely at large to 4-year terms; there are no council districts yet. Rather than voters choosing a Mayor directly, the Council selects one of its own members as Mayor and another as Vice Mayor every year. This is the last at-large Council election Capitola will hold: after a March 2026 letter alleging the at-large system violates the California Voting Rights Act, the Council adopted a 4-district map on Aug. 27, 2026, with district elections phasing in starting in 2028.

Three Council seats are up this cycle. Of the three sitting incumbents whose terms expire, only Joe Clarke refiled for re-election; fellow incumbents Margaux Morgan and Susan Westman did not, guaranteeing at least two new faces on the Council regardless of the outcome.

Joe Clarke

Joe Clarke is the only incumbent in this race, one of three sitting Council Members whose seats were up this cycle. Per Wikipedia, he has served as the Council's own chosen Mayor -- a title Capitola's Council rotates annually among its members rather than electing directly -- since January 30, 2025, confirming his current Council service, though he may no longer hold that specific rotating title by this November. Beyond his ballot designation, "Incumbent," and this Mayor-rotation record, no further biography, campaign statement, or independent news coverage was located this session.

Strengths

Sitting Council experience and his colleagues' own choice for the rotating Mayor title as of January 2025.

Trade-offs

No independent news profile, campaign statement, or account of his Council record beyond his incumbency and Mayor rotation was found this pass.

Keep in mind

The only incumbent among three whose seats are up -- two colleagues in the same position chose not to refile, which this shard does not have a documented reason for.

Cami Corvin

Cami Corvin is one of four non-incumbents in this race. Beyond her name and ballot designation, "Paralegal Business Owner," on the county's certified candidate list, no biography, campaign website, or news coverage was located this session.

Strengths

None independently confirmed beyond a qualified nomination filing and her self-described occupation.

Trade-offs

No prior city office, board, or commission role found; no campaign website, news coverage, or biography located this session.

Keep in mind

A thin public record like this isn't unusual for a first-time local candidate this early in a race, but it leaves voters with little more than her name and occupation to weigh against an incumbent.

Tory Del Favero

Tory Del Favero is one of four non-incumbents in this race. Beyond her name and ballot designation, "Human Resources Manager," on the county's certified candidate list, no biography, campaign website, or news coverage was located this session.

Strengths

None independently confirmed beyond a qualified nomination filing and her self-described occupation.

Trade-offs

No prior city office, board, or commission role found; no campaign website, news coverage, or biography located this session.

Keep in mind

A thin public record like this isn't unusual for a first-time local candidate this early in a race, but it leaves voters with little more than her name and occupation to weigh against an incumbent.

Peter Wilk

Peter Wilk is one of four non-incumbents in this race. Beyond his name and ballot designation, "Retired Engineering Manager," on the county's certified candidate list, no biography, campaign website, or news coverage was located this session.

Strengths

None independently confirmed beyond a qualified nomination filing and his self-described occupation, which suggests a career engineering background.

Trade-offs

No prior city office, board, or commission role found; no campaign website, news coverage, or biography located this session.

Keep in mind

A thin public record like this isn't unusual for a first-time local candidate this early in a race, but it leaves voters with little more than his name and occupation to weigh against an incumbent.

Troy "TJ" Welch Jr

Troy "TJ" Welch Jr is one of four non-incumbents in this race. Beyond his name and ballot designation, "Public Safety Specialist," on the county's certified candidate list, no biography, campaign website, or news coverage was located this session.

Strengths

None independently confirmed beyond a qualified nomination filing and his self-described occupation, which suggests a public-safety background.

Trade-offs

No prior city office, board, or commission role found; no campaign website, news coverage, or biography located this session.

Keep in mind

A thin public record like this isn't unusual for a first-time local candidate this early in a race, but it leaves voters with little more than his name and occupation to weigh against an incumbent.

Source review: Strong (83/100) · 8 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • votescount.santacruzcountyca.gov (opens in a new tab)Santa Cruz County Registrar of Voters -- official "Notice of Election" for November 3, 2026 (Aug. 5, 2026 supplemental version), downloaded directly and parsed with pypdf: its "CITY OFFICES" section lists "Capitola City Council -- Vote for three (3)" alongside the other six Santa Cruz County city contests, and Capitola does not appear on the county's separate Appointed In Lieu list.
  • votescount.santacruzcountyca.gov (opens in a new tab)Santa Cruz County Elections -- own live "Contact Candidates" page for the November 3, 2026 General Election: lists "City of Capitola, Councilmember - 3 Seats" with five qualified candidates and their filed ballot designations -- Cami Corvin ("Paralegal Business Owner"), Joe Clarke ("Incumbent"), Tory Del Favero ("Human Resources Manager"), Peter Wilk ("Retired Engineering Manager"), and Troy "TJ" Welch Jr ("Public Safety Specialist") -- and names three incumbents whose seats are up (Joe Clarke, Margaux Morgan, Susan Westman), of whom only Clarke refiled. Confirmed by two separate fetches of the same live page, word for word.
  • votescount.santacruzcountyca.gov (opens in a new tab)Santa Cruz County Elections -- own "Appointed In Lieu" page: the county's authoritative list of every office cancelled and filled by Section 10229 appointment for the November 3, 2026 cycle (dozens of school, fire, and water district seats); Capitola does not appear on it, confirming the City Council race went to the printed ballot rather than a council vote to appoint.
  • cityofcapitola.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Capitola -- own "Running for City Council" page: states, in the city's own words, that "[t]he terms are staggered; in 2026, three terms will be up for election," describes the nomination-petition and Form 501/410 process, and states that a Candidate Statement is "an up to 200-word statement that is published in the Sample Ballot and mailed to all registered voters" at the candidate's own expense, with no online repository of these statements found on the city's site.
  • cityofcapitola.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Capitola -- own City Council page: states, in the city's own words, that "[t]he City Council is composed of five council members, all of whom are directly elected by the voters in the City of Capitola to serve four-year terms," and that "[t]he Council selects a mayor and vice mayor annually" from among its own members.
  • cityofcapitola.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Capitola -- own "District-Based Elections" page: describes a March 19, 2026 letter alleging the city's at-large system violates the California Voting Rights Act, the Council's introduction of a 4-district map ("Map No. 412") on July 23, 2026 and its adoption on Aug. 27, 2026, and states that the district-based transition covers the 2028 and 2030 election cycles -- confirming this November's Council race is still at large.
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia, "Capitola, California": used narrowly for the fixed 2020 Census population figure (9,938) and as a cross-check that Joe Clarke is a sitting Council Member; its claim that he has served as Mayor since Jan. 30, 2025 is not treated as still current for 2026 given the city's annual Mayor rotation.
  • cityofcapitola.gov (opens in a new tab)A negative-result local campaign-finance check: no source reachable this session -- the city's own "Running for City Council" and District-Based Elections/City Council pages, nor the county's own Candidate Resources page -- names a specific electronic campaign-finance disclosure portal for Capitola candidates; the city's own pages describe only paper Form 501/410 filing with the City Clerk and Secretary of State. Documents the absence of any locatable disclosure portal this pass, not any candidate's actual finances.

Last updated September 2, 2026.