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City of Morro Bay · Statewide General Election

Mayor of Morro Bay

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On the ballot

Morro Bay's Mayor is directly elected citywide to a 2-year term and presides over a 5-member City Council (the Mayor plus four at-large Council Members) that sets city ordinances, the budget, and land use for this San Luis Obispo County coastal city of about 10,757 residents (2020 Census). Morro Bay is a general law city operating under a council-manager government, with an appointed City Manager handling day-to-day operations.

Incumbent Mayor Carla Wixom is unopposed for a third term on the November 3, 2026 ballot -- the second consecutive Morro Bay election cycle in which every city office drew exactly as many candidates as seats.

Morro Bay's Mayor is directly elected citywide to a 2-year term and presides over a 5-member City Council (the Mayor plus four at-large Council Members): city ordinances, the budget, and land use for this San Luis Obispo County coastal city of about 10,757 residents (2020 Census). Morro Bay is a general law city operating under a council-manager government, with an appointed City Manager handling day-to-day operations.

As of the August 12, 2026 close of the (once-extended) nomination period, exactly three people had qualified for the city's three offices this cycle -- Wixom for Mayor, and Mike Gerson and Zara Landrum for the two open Council seats. A fourth person, Torrey Byles, pulled Council nomination papers on August 5 but never filed them, per the city's own candidate table. Per Estero Bay News's own reporting, this is the second straight fully uncontested Morro Bay election: 2024 was the first time in city history a Morro Bay election went completely uncontested, when Wixom and two council newcomers, Jeff Eckles and Bill Luffee, all ran unopposed. Asked why, Wixom told the paper, "I think there are many reasons ... It seems to be a trend, perhaps more common in SLO County," noting that the Mayors of San Luis Obispo and Atascadero are also running uncontested this cycle.

Why is this on the ballot if no one's competing?

California Elections Code Section 10229 lets a city council skip the election entirely when a race draws no more candidates than seats, either appointing the unopposed nominee directly or appointing any eligible elector. Morro Bay's City Clerk certified that this scenario applied to all three of the city's 2026 offices, but at a special meeting on August 19, 2026 the City Council voted 5-0 to hold the election anyway rather than appoint anyone -- meaning Wixom's name (like Gerson's and Landrum's) still appears on the printed November 3 ballot, with a write-in candidacy period running September 7 through October 20.

Carla L. Wixom

Wixom's own filed candidate statement says "it has been my honor to serve as your Mayor for the past four years," and Estero Bay News reports she is seeking a third term. Her filed ballot designation is "Mayor/Business Owner": per the paper, she is officially retired from her restaurant but still works part time in the family's country store gift shop next door to Carla's Country Kitchen. She was part of Morro Bay's first-ever all-female council, alongside Landrum and outgoing Councilwoman Cyndee Edwards -- a distinction that ends with this election, as the next council seats three men and two women.

Strengths

Four years of mayoral experience already, plus a small-business background in a city whose economy leans heavily on tourism and the harbor.

Trade-offs

No opponent qualified, so this election offers no comparison point; voters are ratifying a returning incumbent, not choosing between platforms.

Keep in mind

Wixom cites the pending Morro Elementary School purchase, decommissioning the old sewer plant, and a major road-paving investment as her priorities for a third term -- specific, checkable commitments to watch.

Source review: Strong (89/100) · 9 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context.

  • morrobayca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Morro Bay -- own "2026 General Municipal Election" page (sitemap-confirmed lastmod 2026-08-28): states the three offices up this cycle (one Mayor, 2-year term; two Council Members, 4-year terms) and each qualified candidate's filing and qualification dates, ballot designation, and linked candidate documents. States that "[a]s of the close of the extended nomination period on August 12, 2026, there were not more candidates than offices to be elected" and that "[a]t a special City Council Meeting held Wednesday, August 19, the City Council considered options available under the Elections Code and voted 5-0 to hold the election" rather than appoint the unopposed nominees, with a write-in candidacy period running Sept. 7-Oct. 20, 2026. Also names Torrey Byles, who pulled Council nomination papers 8/5/2026 but has no filed date or "Date Qualified" entry -- not a qualified candidate.
  • morrobayca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Morro Bay -- City Clerk Dana Swanson's signed "Certification That There Are Not More Candidates Than Offices to Be Elected" (dated Aug. 13, 2026), issued under Elections Code Section 10229: names all three nominees (Mike Gerson and Robin "Zara" Landrum, City Council Member, 4 years; Carla Wixom, Mayor, 2 years) and lays out the council's three statutory options -- appoint the nominee, appoint an eligible elector, or hold the election -- with the council to decide at its Aug. 19, 2026 meeting.
  • morrobayca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Morro Bay -- City Clerk Dana Swanson's official "Notice of Election" (dated June 11, 2026, published June 18, 2026): confirms the Nov. 3, 2026 General Municipal Election is for one Mayor (2-year term) and two Council Members (4-year terms each), with a nomination period of July 13-Aug. 7, 2026 (extendable to Aug. 12 for non-incumbent challengers to an office an incumbent didn't file for).
  • morrobayca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Morro Bay -- own "Mayor & City Council" page: "The City of Morro Bay is a general law city and operates under the 'Council-Manager' form of municipal government. The 5-member City Council consist of the directly-elected Mayor and 4 City Council Members. The Mayor is elected to a 2-year term and Council Members are elected to 4-year terms." Lists the current council roster: Carla Wixom (Mayor), Jeff Eckles (Mayor Pro Tem), Zara Landrum, Cyndee Edwards, and Bill Luffee (Council Members).
  • esterobaynews.com (opens in a new tab)Estero Bay News -- Neil Farrell, "No Elections Again in Morro Bay, Los Osos" (Aug. 28, 2026): independent, bylined local reporting confirming the three nominees and their terms, that this is the second straight fully uncontested Morro Bay election cycle (2024 was the city's first-ever fully uncontested election, per the same 34-year local reporter), that outgoing Councilwoman Cyndee Edwards chose not to seek re-election, that Landrum is seeking her second council term and Wixom her third mayoral term while Gerson is new to the council, and quoting Mayor Wixom's own explanation for the pattern ("a trend, perhaps more common in SLO County") and her description of her workload as Mayor. Also reports the Mayor's $1,200/month stipend and Council Members' $1,000/month stipend, and that the outgoing council (Wixom, Landrum, and Edwards) was Morro Bay's first all-female council, a distinction that ends with this election as the next council seats three men and two women.
  • netfile.com (opens in a new tab)NetFile -- the City of Morro Bay's real-time "Filing Log" RSS feed (agency code COMB; covers the trailing 15 days of e-filed and paper-only filings): queried directly and contains no filing under Carla Wixom's, Mike Gerson's, or Zara Landrum's name in that window -- only unrelated filings under a city official's name. A negative-result check, not proof no committee exists -- the portal's own full public search (netfile.com/public/COMB/campaign) is a client-rendered single-page application this session's fetch tools could not search.
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia, "Morro Bay, California": used narrowly for its 2020 Census population figure (10,757); the article's own claims about current officeholders are stale relative to the city's own live Mayor & City Council page and are not used.
  • morrobayca.gov (opens in a new tab)Carla Wixom's filed "Statement of Candidate for Mayor, City of Morro Bay" (downloaded and read directly): occupation "Mayor/Small Business Owner"; states "it has been my honor to serve as your Mayor for the past four years" and describes her focus on informed, community-benefiting decisions and a healthy local economy.
  • morrobayca.gov (opens in a new tab)Carla Wixom's filed FPPC Form 501 (Candidate Intention Statement) for Mayor of Morro Bay, received by the City Clerk 5/12/2026, downloaded and read directly: a nonpartisan-office filing in which she checked that she accepts the voluntary campaign expenditure ceiling for the 2026 election.

Last updated September 2, 2026.