East Palo Alto City Council

Ruben Abrica is East Palo Alto's sitting Vice Mayor, appointed to that role by his council colleagues in December 2025; his ballot designation, 'Substitute Teacher,' describes his day job rather than his current office. He arrived in East Palo Alto in 1979, helped lead the movement to incorporate the city in 1983, and served on its first-ever City Council from 1983 to 1988. He returned to the council in later years and became the city's first Latino Mayor in 2006. His statement points to a recent council vote he pushed for -- removing abandoned and dismantled cars from streets and offering free parking permits after neighborhood consultation -- and to Community Safety gatherings he initiated with the police chief, fire district, and local schools during his time as Mayor. His platform emphasizes transparent, responsive government; community benefits, jobs, and affordable-housing opportunities from any new development; community-based policing; and infrastructure upgrades including water pipes, a new library, and a senior center.

Holifa Windom is a businesswoman, born and raised in East Palo Alto to Tongan immigrant parents; she describes herself as a wartime veteran with degrees in political science and business management. Her statement frames her priority as "getting the basics right first": fixing the city's aging water infrastructure and securing flood defenses before expanding housing or development. From there, she says she'll work to prevent displacement and protect housing stability, support local small businesses, calm traffic on neighborhood streets, and invest in youth and parks.

Gail Wilk Dixon is a businesswoman who has owned and operated restaurants and run a tax practice; her statement describes 45 years of legal document preparation and training as a legal researcher and investigator with an emphasis in real estate, matching her ballot designation. Her statement's specific promises include bringing a mainstream supermarket to East Palo Alto ("after 43 years without one"), redeveloping the Whiskey Gulch commercial corridor, stronger rent protections, and more transparency in city contracting -- she names "no-bid contracts" specifically as something she'd end.

Sam Jimenez is a small plumbing-business owner and, by his own account, a decorated Green Beret veteran -- a lifelong East Palo Alto resident who grew up and was schooled in the city and now lives there as a husband, father, and homeowner, and the son of an immigrant from Michoacan, Mexico. His platform welcomes what he calls responsible investment and development that benefits existing residents -- local jobs, small-business support, and infrastructure improvements without displacing families -- alongside youth apprenticeships, career training, and mentorship as alternatives to a four-year-college path.

Ofelia Bello is a 33-year-old nonprofit executive director, born and raised in East Palo Alto and a first-generation college graduate with a master's degree in Urban Affairs and Public Policy. She currently leads Pahali Community Land Trust and previously led a grassroots social-, environmental-, and racial-justice nonprofit for six years. She served five years on East Palo Alto's Planning Commission, including as vice-chair, and was elected to the East Palo Alto Sanitary District board in 2022. Her statement centers on affordable housing, renters' rights, and equitable community development, framed as prioritizing "ordinary and working-class people" over corporate or individual interests.

Deborah Lewis-Virges is a pastor and community advocate -- lead pastor of Saint Mark Church in East Palo Alto -- who says she has served the community for 17 years. She currently chairs the East Palo Alto Sanitary District board, previously chaired the city's Public Works and Transportation Commission, and serves on both the Community Safety Team and the Community Climate Change Team. Professionally, she describes more than two decades of executive-level marketing and management experience with Fortune 100 companies and 10 years as an entrepreneur. Her platform names affordable and inclusionary housing, responsible "right-fit" development, traffic and parking, and climate resilience and environmental disparities as priorities. Her campaign lists endorsements from three former East Palo Alto mayors -- Regina Wallace-Jones, Larry Moody, and Sharifia Wilson -- and sitting Councilmember Lisa Gauthier.

Michael Mashack is East Palo Alto's Planning Commissioner, from a family that has called the city home for more than sixty years; he grew up and raised his own children there. His statement describes promoting "responsible growth" and policies protecting residents' interests during his Planning Commission service. His platform names addressing housing needs while supporting homeownership and neighborhood stability, creating and supporting local businesses, improving public safety, and preparing youth for future opportunities -- what he calls not choosing "between progress and preserving the community we love."