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City of Hayward · Statewide General Election

Hayward City Council, District 1

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 Hayward's District 1 seat on the City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, under a council-manager government with an appointed City Manager. A 4-year term, decided by plurality vote. This is the first district-based election for this seat -- a California Voting Rights Act settlement (Ordinance No. 24-07, adopted Oct. 8, 2024) converted Hayward's Council elections from citywide (at-large) voting to single-member districts, starting with Districts 1 and 6 this cycle; Districts 2 through 5 follow in November 2028.

Two candidates are running for Hayward's new District 1 seat: sitting at-large Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tempore George Syrop, and small-business owner Brian M. Schott.

This person would hold Hayward's District 1 seat on the City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, under a council-manager government with an appointed City Manager. A 4-year term, decided by plurality vote.

This is the first district-based election for this seat. A California Voting Rights Act lawsuit -- brought on behalf of resident Jack Wu and Neighborhood Elections Now, Inc., alleging Hayward's former at-large Council elections diluted Asian American voting power -- produced a court-approved settlement the city implemented as Ordinance No. 24-07, adopted Oct. 8, 2024. Districts 1 and 6 elect first this cycle; Districts 2 through 5 follow in November 2028. The Mayor's office is unaffected and stays citywide.

George Syrop

George Syrop was elected to Hayward's City Council (at-large) in November 2022 and serves as Mayor Pro Tempore; his ballot designation is Council Member. He holds a BA in Political Science and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in City Planning from UC Berkeley, and works as Communications Manager for the East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative. His council committee assignments include Budget & Finance, Housing Policy & Resource, Infrastructure & Airport, the Personnel Commission, and the Alameda County Transportation Commission; he has also organized with the Hayward Community Coalition, advised Public Bank East Bay and the Eden Community Land Trust, co-founded the Stack Run Club and South Hayward Market, and served on the city's Community Services Commission in 2021-2022.

Strengths

Nearly four years of sitting council experience, plus committee assignments -- Housing Policy & Resource, Infrastructure & Airport -- directly relevant to district-level work.

Trade-offs

He is running for a newly drawn district seat rather than a straightforward reelection -- this is his first bid specifically for District 1.

Keep in mind

The county marks him "Incumbent: N" here because Districts 1 and 6 have no eligible incumbent for filing purposes this cycle -- a new-district artifact, not a claim he isn't a sitting councilmember.

Brian M. Schott

Brian M. Schott's ballot designation is Small Business Owner. No independent news coverage or campaign website was found for him in this pass -- Alameda County's own candidate roster, Hayward's Candidate Information page, and general web searches turned up only his certified ballot filing. His campaign has filed an FPPC Form 501 candidate-intention statement, with no Form 460 on Hayward's NetFile portal as of retrieval.

Strengths

A non-incumbent challenger in a race that would otherwise be an uncontested reelection for the sitting Mayor Pro Tempore.

Trade-offs

Essentially no public record beyond his ballot designation and initial campaign-finance paperwork was located in a multi-method search.

Keep in mind

A documented sourcing gap, not a claim that no information about him exists -- only that official channels and general searches did not turn up more.

Source review: Strong (88/100) · 9 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • alamedacountyca.gov (opens in a new tab)Alameda County Registrar of Voters -- own JSON API behind its "Candidate List" web app (electionId 260 = General Election - 11/03/2026, Official): the candidatelist/260 endpoint returns every race category countywide with no County category at all (zero Board of Supervisors/row-office/judicial seats on the Nov. 2026 general), and the racelist/260/600 endpoint names all 46 City-category races countywide, including the exact seven Berkeley races (four Council districts, Auditor, Rent Stabilization Board, School Directors) with their raceIds and vote-for-N seat counts -- confirming Alameda County publishes a unified countywide candidate document, unlike Santa Clara County.
  • alamedacountyca.gov (opens in a new tab)Alameda County Registrar of Voters -- the same candidatelist app's per-race candidate-detail view (POST to /rov_app/candidatelist/ with electionId=260 and each Berkeley raceId), queried directly for all seven Berkeley races: returns each candidate's exact ballot designation, filing agency, and on-ballot status -- the same roster as the City Clerk's own Notice of Candidates, independently confirming all 23 names and designations.
  • hayward-ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Hayward -- "Elections" page: confirms a General Municipal Election on Nov. 3, 2026 for one Mayor seat and two Council seats (District 1 and District 6), states the July 13-Aug. 7, 2026 nomination period (Aug. 12 if an incumbent does not file), and links to the Candidate Information page and the city's NetFile public campaign-finance portal (aid=HWD).
  • hayward-ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Hayward -- "Candidate Information" elections page: independently names all five qualified Nov. 2026 candidates by race -- Mark Salinas and Tom Wong for Mayor; George Syrop and Brian Schott for Council District 1; Julie Roche for Council District 6 -- with each candidate's own campaign website (where filed) and NetFile campaign-finance filer link, matching the county's own candidate roster name-for-name.
  • hayward-ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Hayward -- official "City Council" page: names Mayor Mark Salinas and the six sitting at-large councilmembers (Mayor Pro Tempore George Syrop, Angela Andrews, Ray Bonilla Jr., Dan Goldstein, Julie Roche, and Francisco Zermeno) and states the city is "transitioning to a geographic district-based system of electing all City Council members except the City's Mayor," with Districts 1 and 6 electing first in Nov. 2026 and Districts 2-5 following in Nov. 2028; links to individual councilmember bio pages and to maphayward.org for the districting map.
  • maphayward.org (opens in a new tab)Hayward's districting-transition portal (maphayward.org): states the city's conversion to district-based Council elections followed a California Voting Rights Act lawsuit brought on behalf of resident Jack Wu and Neighborhood Elections Now, Inc., alleging the former at-large system diluted Asian American voting power; a court-approved settlement required district elections; the city council adopted the districting plan as Ordinance No. 24-07 on Oct. 8, 2024; and Districts 1 and 6 are first to elect, in Nov. 2026, with Districts 2-5 following in Nov. 2028.
  • netfile.com (opens in a new tab)City of Hayward's own NetFile-hosted public campaign-finance portal (aid=HWD), queried directly via its own QuickNameSearch and filings/byCandidate JSON API for all five 2026 candidates, with each available Form 460 downloaded directly via the portal's own CampaignDocuments/download endpoint and read for its actual reported totals. Real H1 2026 totals (monetary contributions raised / total expenditures): Mark Salinas $9,013 / $11,160, filed under his continuing "Mark Salinas For Mayor Of Hayward 2022" committee; George Syrop $17,090 / $10,521; Julie Roche $6,996 / $1,162. Tom Wong and Brian Schott have each filed only an FPPC Form 501 candidate-intention statement, with no Form 460 on file for either as of this dataset's retrieval.
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia's Hayward, California article -- 2020 census population (162,954), cited only for general context.
  • hayward-ca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Hayward -- Mayor Pro Tempore George Syrop's own official biography page: states he was elected to Council Nov. 2022, his education (BA Political Science and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in City Planning, UC Berkeley), his day job (Communications Manager, East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative), his council committee assignments (Budget & Finance, Housing Policy & Resource, Infrastructure & Airport, Personnel Commission, Alameda County Transportation Commission), and his community roles (Hayward Community Coalition organizer, advisor to Public Bank East Bay and the Eden Community Land Trust, Stack Run Club and South Hayward Market co-founder, Bike Hayward advisor, and a 2021-2022 term on the Community Services Commission).

Last updated September 1, 2026.