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City of El Cerrito · Statewide General Election

El Cerrito City Council

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

This person would hold one of El Cerrito's five at-large City Council seats on a council-manager, charter-city government with an appointed City Manager: city ordinances, the budget, and land use for this Contra Costa County city. A 4-year, overlapping term, decided by whichever two candidates get the most votes -- no ranked-choice voting or June primary is documented for El Cerrito. The Council selects the Mayor from among its own members each year rather than voters electing a Mayor directly; the City Clerk is an appointed elections official, not a separately elected office, and El Cerrito has no elected City Treasurer.

Two incumbents and four challengers are running for El Cerrito's two open at-large City Council seats: Mayor Gabe Quinto and Councilmember Carolyn Wysinger are both seeking reelection, against Kimberly White, Wally Nowinski, Mary Ann "MJ" Jawili, and Forrest M. Lanning.

This person would hold one of El Cerrito's five at-large City Council seats on a council-manager, charter-city government with an appointed City Manager: city ordinances, the budget, and land use for this Contra Costa County city of about 26,000 residents. A 4-year, overlapping term. The Council selects the Mayor from among its own members each year -- Gabe Quinto currently holds that title -- rather than voters electing a Mayor directly; the City Clerk is an appointed elections official, not a separately elected office, and El Cerrito has no elected City Treasurer.

Two seats are open this cycle, decided by whichever two candidates get the most votes -- no ranked-choice voting or June primary is documented for El Cerrito. Two of the six qualified candidates, Kimberly White and Wally Nowinski, are running together as a self-described joint ticket, sharing a campaign website. A seventh prospective candidate, who filed a committee under the name "McDougall" in July 2026, never appears among the county's qualified candidates or the city's own official candidate list, and is not built here as a candidate.

Kimberly White

A lifelong Bay Area resident who put down roots in El Cerrito in the early 2000s; her filed ballot designation is "Executive Advisor." She's the founder of her own management-consulting agency, advising public agencies on financial management and performance, and serves on El Cerrito's Financial Advisory Board. Her candidate statement says she previously held a senior leadership role inside a public agency where she led a team that saved more than $100 million over five years with no layoffs, and earlier worked as Director of Finance at a management-consulting firm that partnered with hospitals. She holds a B.S. in Accounting and graduate degrees in both Finance and Strategic Management. White is running as part of a joint ticket with fellow candidate Wally Nowinski, sharing the campaign site 2votes4changeec.com.

Strengths

A financial-management consulting background directly relevant to city budgeting, plus current service on the city's own Financial Advisory Board.

Trade-offs

The $100 million savings figure and her prior public-agency role come from her own statement, which does not name the agency; unconfirmed here.

Keep in mind

See this contest's financial note below for her committee's on-file contribution history.

Wally Nowinski

A first-time candidate; his filed ballot designation is "Clean Energy Marketer." He and his wife bought their first home in El Cerrito in 2023 and are raising a newborn daughter there; his statement says he runs the consumer team at Impulse Labs, a San Francisco electronics company, and earlier helped grow a startup to 140 employees without outside investment. He says he helped lead the opposition to a proposed library parcel tax that voters defeated by a 70-30 margin, criticizing the measure's cost and a senior exemption he says almost no senior could actually qualify for. Nowinski is running as part of a joint ticket with fellow candidate Kimberly White, sharing the campaign site 2votes4changeec.com.

Strengths

A specific, locally checkable claim: leading opposition to a 2026 ballot measure that in fact failed at the polls.

Trade-offs

This dataset could not verify the 70-30 margin or his "led the opposition" framing beyond his own statement; a first-time candidate with no prior record.

Keep in mind

See this contest's financial note below for his committee's on-file contribution history.

Mary Ann "MJ" Jawili

An 18-year resident and homeowner in El Cerrito; her filed ballot designation is "Accessibility Product Manager." Her statement says she has spent more than a decade as a product leader in accessible technology, translating standards and the needs of people with disabilities and older adults into practical product solutions, and that she has contributed to international accessibility standards and served on nonprofit boards. She also says she serves as president of an 850-member cycling club. Her statement frames her candidacy around listening to residents who feel unheard after what she calls the most polarized primary election she's seen in her time in El Cerrito.

Strengths

A long local residency (18 years) and a decade-plus specialty, accessible-technology product leadership, relevant to public-facing city services.

Trade-offs

Her accessible-technology work and cycling-club leadership come from her own statement; this dataset found no independent record confirming them.

Keep in mind

See this contest's financial note below -- no contribution or expenditure activity is on file for her campaign beyond a bare registration filing.

Gabe Quinto

The sitting Mayor -- selected by his council colleagues rather than elected directly to that title -- seeking another council term; his filed ballot designation is simply "Incumbent." He grew up in El Cerrito and graduated from El Cerrito High School and CSU Long Beach. His candidate statement credits his tenure with an S&P bond-rating upgrade to A+, expanded wildfire-prevention efforts and community policing, and the state's 2026 Prohousing Community designation for El Cerrito under Governor Newsom. He also serves on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's board.

Strengths

Direct incumbency with specific claims -- an S&P bond-rating upgrade and a state Prohousing designation -- a voter could in principle confirm independently.

Trade-offs

His list of accomplishments is entirely self-reported; this dataset found no independent reporting evaluating his tenure as Mayor or Councilmember.

Keep in mind

His statement lists endorsements from Rep. Garamendi, Sen. Arreguín, Asm. Wicks, and Supervisor Gioia, plus the Contra Costa Labor Council; see the financial note below.

Carolyn Wysinger

An incumbent Councilmember and El Cerrito High School graduate seeking another term; her filed ballot designation is "City Councilmember/Educator." A former high-school teacher, her candidate statement credits her tenure with strengthening the city's S&P bond rating to A+, increasing government transparency, and sustaining emergency medical and fire response times while strengthening wildfire prevention.

Strengths

Direct incumbency with a specific claim -- an S&P bond-rating upgrade -- a voter could in principle confirm independently.

Trade-offs

Her list of accomplishments is entirely self-reported; this dataset found no independent reporting evaluating her tenure on the council.

Keep in mind

Her statement lists endorsements from the Sierra Club, Contra Costa Labor Council, Contra Costa Building Trades Council, Rep. Garamendi, and Supervisor Gioia; see below.

Forrest M. Lanning

A first-time candidate and Bay Area native; his filed ballot designation is "Earthquake Resilience Engineer." He holds a degree in Architectural Engineering from California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) and later conducted earthquake-engineering research at Stanford University. Over a career spanning more than two decades, he has worked overseas on post-earthquake and tsunami recovery in New Zealand, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Costa Rica, and Colombia, with organizations including USAID, the United Nations, and the World Bank, on projects rebuilding and retrofitting schools and other infrastructure. He and his wife, Sara, live in El Cerrito.

Strengths

A specific, technical background -- structural and earthquake-resilience engineering -- distinct from the other five candidates' occupations.

Trade-offs

His overseas career and academic credentials come from his own statement; no independent employer or university record was found confirming them.

Keep in mind

This dataset found no campaign-finance committee on file for him at all -- see this contest's financial note below.

Source review: Very strong (90/100) · 14 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • elcerrito.gov (opens in a new tab)City of El Cerrito -- City Clerk's official "November 2026 Candidates" page: names the six-candidate field for the two open City Council seats, with each candidate's filed ballot designation, qualification date, and a link to their own Candidate Information Packet
  • elcerrito.gov (opens in a new tab)City of El Cerrito -- City Clerk's "Elections" page: states the Nov. 3, 2026 election is "for the election of two city council seats," identifies the City Clerk as "the elections official for the City of El Cerrito" rather than a separately elected office, and links to the city's candidates page
  • elcerrito.gov (opens in a new tab)City of El Cerrito -- "City Council" page: names the five sitting Council members, including Mayor Gabe Quinto and Councilmember Carolyn Wysinger, both with terms listed as ending 2026 -- confirming these are the two seats up this cycle -- alongside Mayor Pro Tem Rebecca Saltzman and Councilmembers William Ktsanes and Lisa Motoyama, both with terms ending 2028
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia's El Cerrito, California article -- describes a council-manager charter city (charter adopted November 2018) with five City Council members elected at large to four-year, overlapping terms, and a Mayor selected annually by the Council from among its own members; population 25,962 (2020 census), incorporated August 23, 1917
  • contracostavote.gov (opens in a new tab)Contra Costa County Elections Division -- "Positions Up for Election, November 3, 2026, General Election": lists El Cerrito's only office this cycle as "2 Councilmembers" under Cities Offices -- no City Clerk, City Treasurer, or other city-section line item for El Cerrito appears anywhere in the document
  • contracostavote.gov (opens in a new tab)Contra Costa County Elections Division -- "Contest/Candidate Proof List" (8-27-26_candidatelist_detail_final.pdf), the county's post-certification ON-BALLOT export: shows El Cerrito's "ElCerritoCouncil" contest as Vote For 2, with 7 filed and 6 qualified candidates, ON BALLOT status, and both current incumbents (Gabriel Quinto, Carolyn Renee Wysinger) named as this seat's incumbents; each of the six qualified candidates' filed ballot designation and qualification date is listed individually
  • contracostavote.gov (opens in a new tab)Contra Costa County Elections Division -- "Candidate List" (8-14-26_candidatelist_summary_final.pdf), the county's complete qualified-candidate roster: independently confirms the same six-candidate field for El Cerrito's 2-seat Council contest (Kimberly White, Wally Nowinski, Mary Ann "MJ" Jawili, Gabe Quinto, Carolyn Wysinger, Forrest M. Lanning) with matching qualification timestamps
  • elcerrito.gov (opens in a new tab)City of El Cerrito -- Campaign Disclosure page, plus each listed committee's most recent filing hand-checked directly: Kimberly White's and Wally Nowinski's committees each filed an FPPC Form 497 late-contribution report disclosing an identical $1,025 contribution from the same donor, Christine Hickey, received the same day (8/11/2026); Carolyn Wysinger's committee's most recent filing is a Form 460 semi-annual statement covering 1/1/2026-6/30/2026, reporting $10 in total contributions and no spending; Gabe Quinto's and Mary Ann "MJ" Jawili's most recent filings are each a bare Form 410 Statement of Organization for a newly formed committee, with no contribution or expenditure activity yet reported; no committee is listed for Forrest M. Lanning
  • elcerrito.gov (opens in a new tab)City of El Cerrito -- Kimberly White's Candidate Information Packet (a scanned PDF hosted by the City Clerk), including her self-authored Candidate Statement Form filed for the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot pamphlet: her own account of her financial-management consulting career, public-agency leadership experience, education, and joint campaign site with Wally Nowinski (2votes4changeec.com), read directly via a rendered-image pass after the PDF's text layer came back empty
  • elcerrito.gov (opens in a new tab)City of El Cerrito -- Wally Nowinski's Candidate Information Packet (a scanned PDF hosted by the City Clerk), including his self-authored Candidate Statement Form filed for the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot pamphlet: his own account of his career at Impulse Labs, his role opposing a 2026 library parcel tax measure, his family, and his joint campaign site with Kimberly White (2votes4changeec.com), read directly via a rendered-image pass after the PDF's text layer came back empty
  • elcerrito.gov (opens in a new tab)City of El Cerrito -- Mary Ann "MJ" Jawili's Candidate Information Packet (a scanned PDF hosted by the City Clerk), including her self-authored Candidate Statement Form filed for the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot pamphlet: her own account of her residency, accessible-technology product career, and cycling-club leadership, read directly via a rendered-image pass after the PDF's text layer came back empty
  • elcerrito.gov (opens in a new tab)City of El Cerrito -- Forrest M. Lanning's Candidate Information Packet (a scanned PDF hosted by the City Clerk), including his self-authored Candidate Statement Form filed for the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot pamphlet: his own account of his structural- and earthquake-engineering education and career, including overseas disaster-recovery work, read directly via a rendered-image pass after the PDF's text layer came back empty
  • elcerrito.gov (opens in a new tab)City of El Cerrito -- Carolyn Wysinger's Candidate Information Packet (a scanned PDF hosted by the City Clerk), including her self-authored Candidate Statement Form filed for the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot pamphlet: her own account of her record as a sitting Councilmember and her endorsements, read directly via a rendered-image pass after the PDF's text layer came back empty
  • elcerrito.gov (opens in a new tab)City of El Cerrito -- Gabe Quinto's Candidate Information Packet (a scanned PDF hosted by the City Clerk), including his self-authored Candidate Statement Form filed for the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot pamphlet: his own account of his record as sitting Mayor and his endorsements, read directly via a rendered-image pass after the PDF's text layer came back empty

Last updated September 1, 2026.