# Half Moon Bay City Council, District 4 Compare records and positions simply between Ron Kies or Debbie Ruddock for Half Moon Bay City Council, District 4 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-4 - 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: 82 out of 100 (Strong), across 7 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Ron Kies** — Geologist - **Debbie Ruddock** — Retired Legislative Analyst · Incumbent A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. District 4 pits political newcomer Ron Kies against Debbie Ruddock, Half Moon Bay's sitting Mayor and the incumbent District 4 councilmember, who is not using "Incumbent" as her ballot designation. Whoever wins takes one of five seats on Half Moon Bay's City Council, which sets the budget, decides coastal land-use and development matters, and oversees an appointed city manager. Councilmembers choose their own Mayor and Vice Mayor each year rather than voters electing them directly. The term is four years; the city has no term limits. Ruddock is the city's current Mayor and, per the city's own bio page, holds a District 4 term running 2022-2026 -- but the county's certified roster lists her ballot designation as "Retired Legislative Analyst," not "Incumbent," a choice candidates are free to make. Kies, a first-time candidate, is endorsed by sitting Vice Mayor Deborah Penrose, whose own District 5 seat is on this same ballot without her on it. ## Ron Kies Ron Kies is a first-time candidate for Half Moon Bay City Council, running for the District 4 seat. Kies's campaign describes them as a geologist and a resident of more than 20 years, and centers their platform on coastline protection, local-business support, housing affordability, and resident-first, town-hall-style governance. **Strengths:** A 20-plus-year Half Moon Bay resident running on coastline protection, local-business support, and housing affordability; endorsed by sitting Vice Mayor Deborah Penrose. **Trade-offs:** Has never held elected office; no independent, non-campaign profile of them was found. **Keep in mind:** Their campaign site lists their occupation as a geologist, matching their county ballot designation; no further detail on that career was found. ## Debbie Ruddock Debbie Ruddock is Half Moon Bay's sitting Mayor and the current District 4 councilmember, a seat she has held across three separate stretches on the council dating to 1991, including two terms as Mayor. Before that she spent more than two decades as a legislative analyst and project planner for the California State Coastal Conservancy, and also served as an alternate on the California Coastal Commission. **Strengths:** Three decades of council experience, including two stints as Mayor, and a career as a Coastal Conservancy legislative analyst and Coastal Commission alternate. **Trade-offs:** She is the sitting District 4 councilmember and Mayor, though she chose "Retired Legislative Analyst," not "Incumbent," as her ballot designation. **Keep in mind:** Her long record is a large target: no independent source found here evaluates it point by point, only her own campaign's account of it. ## Review notes - Ron Kies for Half Moon Bay City Council (District 4) -- campaign site: a 20-plus-year Half Moon Bay resident and first-generation homeowner running on coastline/environmental protection, local-business support, housing affordability, and resident-first, town-hall-style governance; states an endorsement from sitting Vice Mayor Deborah Penrose and Debbie Ruddock for Half Moon Bay City Council (District 4) -- campaign site: states 37 years on the Coastside, a 24-year cumulative council record including as Mayor, chairing the OneShoreline coastal-resilience agency, and past votes for Measures A and D, the Local Coastal Land Use Plan update, Stone Pine Cove farmworker housing, the city's library project, and its Climate Action and Adaptation Plan may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources. ## 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 -- "City Council Members" directory page: names the sitting 5-member council by district -- Mayor Debbie Ruddock (District 4), Vice Mayor Deborah Penrose (District 5), and Councilmembers Robert Brownstone (District 1), Patric Bo Jonsson (District 2), and Paul Nagengast (District 3)](https://www.halfmoonbay.gov/312/City-Council-Members) 5. [City of Half Moon Bay -- official biography for Mayor Debbie Ruddock: first served on the council 1991-2003 (three terms, twice Mayor), returned in 2014, elected Mayor again in 2017, and holds a current term the page states as 2022-2026 representing District 4; a career as a legislative analyst/project planner for the California State Coastal Conservancy and as an alternate on the California Coastal Commission](https://www.halfmoonbay.gov/236/Mayor-Debbie-Ruddock) 6. [Ron Kies for Half Moon Bay City Council (District 4) -- campaign site: a 20-plus-year Half Moon Bay resident and first-generation homeowner running on coastline/environmental protection, local-business support, housing affordability, and resident-first, town-hall-style governance; states an endorsement from sitting Vice Mayor Deborah Penrose](https://www.kiesforcouncil.com) 7. [Debbie Ruddock for Half Moon Bay City Council (District 4) -- campaign site: states 37 years on the Coastside, a 24-year cumulative council record including as Mayor, chairing the OneShoreline coastal-resilience agency, and past votes for Measures A and D, the Local Coastal Land Use Plan update, Stone Pine Cove farmworker housing, the city's library project, and its Climate Action and Adaptation Plan](https://www.deborahruddock.com) ## The rest of the ballot Half Moon Bay City Council, District 4 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 4 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/half-moon-bay-council-4 (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.