Fort Bragg City Council

Jason Godeke, 58, is the incumbent, currently serving as Mayor -- a role the Council chose him for in 2024, two years into his first term as a Councilmember. He's a Fort Bragg Middle School art teacher, and says that role has kept him focused on the city's long-term prospects for young people. His statement cites the city's water-security work, including land purchases for new reservoirs; bringing street maintenance in-house using city-owned equipment and local labor; the city's new municipal broadband system, meant to serve small businesses and remote work; ongoing Mill-Site planning; and policy changes intended to move the city toward the state's Prohousing Designation, alongside more market-rate rental housing approved in the last two years than in the two decades before that.

Marcia Rafanan, 49, is the incumbent Vice Mayor, a registered member of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, and works as a caregiver. Her statement cites "five-and-a-half years" of Council experience -- longer than her November 2022 election alone would account for, suggesting an earlier appointment to fill a vacancy, though her statement doesn't specify. She names public safety, community wellness, and expanding workforce housing as her top priorities, and frames her platform around respecting the city's limited natural resources for a sustainable future and understanding, as she puts it, "what it takes to live, survive, and thrive in Fort Bragg" as a working-class advocate.

Tess Albin-Smith, 75, is the incumbent; unusually, she filed her own occupation as "Incumbent" rather than a job title. She describes two terms on the Fort Bragg City Council and service on more than 17 local, regional, and state committees and boards, and a career with CAL FIRE -- she says she was one of the first two women hired as a CAL FIRE forester -- and the State Water Board, plus nonprofit leadership, which she credits for skills in budgeting, grant writing, and project management. She cites introducing the concept of city-owned affordable high-speed internet, identifying funding for middle-school tennis-court repairs and new pickleball courts, and helping design Bainbridge Park improvements. She's seeking a third term, saying she wants to keep "preserving Fort Bragg's unique character and planning responsibly for future generations."

Levi W. Cooke, 36, filed his occupation as "Independent Researcher" and describes himself in his statement as "a college student, business owner, and independent researcher." He writes about not coming from wealth or privilege and being "knocked down more times than I can count," framing that as the source of his focus on people who feel unheard or left behind. His platform is transparent decisions, responsible spending, timely public notice, attainable housing, dependable infrastructure, and support for local businesses, and he pledges to "show up, do the work, ask difficult questions."

Mary Rose Kaczorowski filed her occupation as "Journalist" and writes that local reporting has given her a broad understanding of the community through conversations with residents, organizations, businesses, and government agencies -- skills in asking questions, listening, and researching facts that she says she'd bring to public service. Her platform includes practical, appropriately scaled and located development; not depending on tourism alone to sustain the local economy; helping the city's growing senior population age in place with dignity; improving transportation options; protecting the coastal environment; and limiting corporate-owned chain stores.

Scott J. Mayberry, 62, is currently a Commander with the Mendocino County Major Crimes Task Force. He writes that he has "proudly called Fort Bragg home for most of" his life, and that his wife Brenda was raised there. His career in the community included work for the ambulance service, a funeral home, and the volunteer fire department, plus 35 years in law enforcement, culminating in service as Fort Bragg's Chief of Police. He frames his candidacy around "practical leadership, sound judgment, and a willingness to work together," citing his decades of public-service and leadership experience as preparation to help guide the city.

Mary Ann Schmidt, 63, is a retired teacher who spent her last three years teaching theater, which she says taught her about the town "through the eyes of my students." She wants to increase civic engagement and build on what she calls the natural accountability of a small town, filtered through a lens of putting "children, land and water first." She proposes addressing a shortage of local foster parents with an idea she calls a "food forest foster farm" -- an alternative farm school with a residential component -- and wants to improve local food security by encouraging residents to grow food with coastally adapted seeds on their own land. She volunteers at Field of Dreams.

Richard Ulveling, 35, owns a mobile auto-detailing business. He came to Fort Bragg roughly ten years ago and says he "found more than a place to live" there; he and his wife, who was raising four children, welcomed a daughter together. His formal education ended after eighth grade and he's working toward his GED; he credits family, hard work, and service for the rest of his education, including eight Northwest Youth Corps sessions between ages 16 and 18 -- six weeks on Mount Hood and the Pacific Crest Trail among them -- and three years with Parents & Friends supporting people with disabilities. He started his detailing business door-to-door by bicycle in 2017 and says he now has 60-plus five-star reviews. Citing a Fort Bragg resident's death in a July 23 collision on Cypress Street, he calls for pedestrian-safety improvements, including better-lit crosswalks and addressing alleyway blind spots, and says he cares about mental-health awareness and recognizing first responders, caregivers, doctors, and nurses.