# Half Moon Bay City Council, District 5 Compare records and positions simply between Steven R. Booker or Susie Morasci for Half Moon Bay City Council, District 5 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-5 - 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: 85 out of 100 (Strong), across 6 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Steven R. Booker** — Electrician - **Susie Morasci** — Paralegal A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. District 5 is an open seat: Susie Morasci and Steven R. Booker are vying for the term of sitting Vice Mayor Deborah Penrose, who is not among the county's certified candidates for her own seat. Whoever wins takes one of five seats on Half Moon Bay's City Council, setting the budget, deciding coastal land-use and development matters, and overseeing 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. Penrose has represented District 5 since 2014 and chairs the council as Vice Mayor; the city's own bio page lists her current term as concluding in December 2026, but gives no reason she isn't on this year's certified candidate list. Both Morasci and Booker are first-time candidates for elected office, and neither has an incumbent's record to run on or against. ## Susie Morasci Susie Morasci is a first-time candidate for Half Moon Bay City Council, running for the open District 5 seat. A multi-generational Coastsider, Morasci has spent years in local civic roles: coaching volleyball, serving as an officer and board member of the IDES Society of Half Moon Bay, and leading the city's Beautification Committee and two long-running community luncheon events. **Strengths:** A multi-generational Coastsider active for years in local civic and community groups, including the IDES Society and the city's Beautification Committee. **Trade-offs:** Has never held elected office; their platform, per their own campaign site, is broad ('moving Half Moon Bay forward') rather than issue-specific. **Keep in mind:** No campaign-finance disclosure or independent news coverage of their candidacy was found beyond their own campaign site and the county roster. ## Steven R. Booker Steven R. Booker is a first-time candidate for Half Moon Bay City Council, running for the open District 5 seat. The county's certified roster lists their occupation as "Electrician"; no campaign site, news coverage, or other biographical detail about their candidacy was found. **Strengths:** None documented from official sources or local coverage as of this writing. **Trade-offs:** No public platform, prior civic role, or independent profile of their candidacy was found beyond their ballot occupation. **Keep in mind:** Booker filed as "Electrician" per the county's certified roster; no campaign site, news coverage, or other detail about their candidacy was found despite a genuine search, including of the city's own qualified-candidates page. ## Review notes - Susie Morasci for Half Moon Bay City Council (District 5) -- campaign site: a multi-generational Coastsider and volleyball coach active in local civic groups (the IDES Society of Half Moon Bay, the city's Beautification Committee, and two long-running community luncheon events), running on listening to residents and "moving Half Moon Bay forward with purpose and action" may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide 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 Vice Mayor Deborah Penrose: first elected to the council in 2014 representing District 5, a term the page states "concludes in December 2026"; a career as a physician practicing general medicine in Half Moon Bay for 22 years. Cited here because Penrose is not among the certified 2026 candidates for her own seat -- this page confirms she holds it and that her term is the one on the ballot, without stating a reason she isn't seeking another one](https://www.halfmoonbay.gov/237/Vice-Mayor-Deborah-Penrose) 6. [Susie Morasci for Half Moon Bay City Council (District 5) -- campaign site: a multi-generational Coastsider and volleyball coach active in local civic groups (the IDES Society of Half Moon Bay, the city's Beautification Committee, and two long-running community luncheon events), running on listening to residents and "moving Half Moon Bay forward with purpose and action"](https://www.votemorascihmb.com) ## The rest of the ballot Half Moon Bay City Council, District 5 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 5 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/half-moon-bay-council-5 (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.