# Half Moon Bay City Council, District 1 Compare records and positions simply between Robert Brownstone or David Gorn for Half Moon Bay City Council, District 1 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds one of five district seats on Half Moon Bay's City Council. They vote on coastal land-use and development decisions, the city budget, and oversight of an appointed city manager. The council chooses its own Mayor and Vice Mayor each year rather than voters electing them directly. The term is four years; the city has no term limits. - Jurisdiction: City of Half Moon Bay - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/half-moon-bay-council-1 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: September 7, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 90 out of 100 (Very strong), across 5 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Robert Brownstone** — Incumbent - **David Gorn** — Planning Commissioner Chair A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. District 1's council seat pits Robert Brownstone against David Gorn. Brownstone is the eight-year incumbent. He is a former tech company HR executive and was Mayor in 2025. Gorn chairs the city's own Planning Commission. Whoever wins takes one of five seats on Half Moon Bay's City Council. They vote on coastal land-use and development decisions, the city budget, and oversight of an appointed city manager. The council chooses its own Mayor and Vice Mayor each year rather than voters electing them directly. The term is four years; the city has no term limits. Brownstone is the only incumbent on the ballot in any of Half Moon Bay's three 2026 council races; the county's certified roster lists his ballot designation as "Incumbent." Gorn has never held elected office, but as Planning Commission chair he has already reviewed many of the coastal-development and housing applications a councilmember eventually votes on. ## Robert Brownstone Robert Brownstone has represented District 1 since November 2018. He served as Vice Mayor in 2019 and Mayor in 2025. He spent his career in technology company HR and organizational effectiveness roles. He worked at Cisco, eBay, and Oracle. Before that he did federal civil rights and labor compliance work. He also practiced employment discrimination law. **Strengths:** Two full council terms, including a turn as Mayor. He also has a private sector HR and organizational effectiveness career, plus earlier federal civil rights enforcement work. **Trade-offs:** Eight years in office is a record to run on, not just against. No independent source found here reviews that record. **Keep in mind:** No campaign site or independent 2026 profile of Brownstone was found. The only sources are the city's own official biography and the county's certified candidate roster. ## David Gorn David Gorn chairs Half Moon Bay's Planning Commission. That appointed body reviews the city's coastal development and housing applications. It sees them before they can reach the council. He is a first time candidate for elected office. The county's certified roster lists his job as "Planning Commissioner Chair." No further biography was found. **Strengths:** Chairs the city's Planning Commission. That body reviews coastal development and housing applications before they reach the council he now seeks to join. **Trade-offs:** Has never held elected office. A Planning Commission seat is appointed by the council. It is not voted on citywide or by district. **Keep in mind:** No campaign site, news coverage, or biography was found. Nothing turned up beyond his Planning Commission role and county ballot designation. ## Sources 1. [San Mateo County ACRE (Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder-Elections) -- Roster of Candidates, Qualified Candidates Only, November 3, 2026 General Election (CFMR009), dated 2026-08-25: the county's own certified candidate list, confirming both District 5 (Short Term) candidates and their ballot designations, and that Board of Education Trustee Area 2 is the only one of three expiring county trustee areas flagged 'On Ballot: Yes'](https://smcacre.gov/system/files/2026-08/52_candidateroster0825.pdf) 2. [City of Half Moon Bay -- "2026 City Council Qualified Candidates" page: the city's own list of qualified candidates by district (1, 4, 5), matching the county's certified roster name-for-name and confirming ballot order per the Secretary of State's August 13, 2026 randomized alphabet drawing](https://www.halfmoonbay.gov/1080/2026-City-Council-Qualified-Candidates) 3. [City of Half Moon Bay -- "Half Moon Bay Election Districts" page: the city's 5-district by-district council election system, adopted 2018 with boundaries redrawn by a 2021 redistricting process; confirms Districts 1, 4, and 5 elect in November 2026 (Districts 2 and 3 next elect in 2028), 4-year council terms, and no term limits](https://www.halfmoonbay.gov/981/Half-Moon-Bay-Election-Districts) 4. [City of Half Moon Bay -- official council biography for Robert Brownstone: elected to the council in November 2018 representing District 1, a career in tech-company HR/organizational-effectiveness roles (Cisco, eBay, Oracle) after earlier federal civil-rights and labor-compliance work (EPA Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Dept. of Labor) and practicing employment discrimination law, and prior service as Vice Mayor (2019) and Mayor (2025)](https://www.halfmoonbay.gov/239/Councilmember-Robert-Brownstone) 5. [City of Half Moon Bay -- "Planning Commission" page: lists David Gorn as Chair, corroborating his county-certified ballot designation ("Planning Commissioner Chair") for the District 1 council race](https://www.halfmoonbay.gov/157/Planning-Commission) ## The rest of the ballot Half Moon Bay City Council, District 1 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "Half Moon Bay City Council, District 1 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/half-moon-bay-council-1 (sources last retrieved September 7, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.