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City of Pacifica · Statewide General Election

Pacifica City Council, District 3

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 one of Pacifica's five district-elected City Council seats: city ordinances, the budget, and land use for this San Mateo County coastal city of about 38,600 residents. A 4-year term. The Council selects a Mayor from among its own members, who rotate through a one-year term in that role -- there is no separately elected Mayor.

Cindy Abbott, the Sanchez Art Center's executive director, is running unopposed for Pacifica's District 3 (Sharp Park) City Council seat.

Pacifica's City Council has five district seats, each elected only by that district's own voters, to 4-year terms. The Council does not separately elect a Mayor -- the five members rotate through a one-year term in that role, chosen from among themselves.

Abbott is replacing termed-out Councilmember Mary Bier, who served two four-year terms. Since Abbott is the only candidate who qualified, she is elected regardless of the vote count.

Cindy Abbott

Abbott, 68, has lived in Pacifica for 30 years and is the public face of the Sanchez Art Center as its executive director, per Coastside News reporting. Though she has never served on the Council itself, she has a documented 15-year record of city civic involvement: commissioner of the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission, an advisory/planning committee member of the Pacific Beach Coalition, and a member of the Pacifica Resource Center's advisory board. She helped establish the city's first off-leash dog park, helped update its Tree Ordinance, and was a pivotal voice in removing the Sanchez Art Center from a list of city properties eligible for development under the city's revised housing element.

Strengths

Fifteen years of documented, specific civic involvement across multiple city bodies, plus firsthand experience defending a specific local institution (the Sanchez Art Center) from redevelopment.

Trade-offs

No prior Council experience itself, despite extensive committee and advocacy involvement -- her platform is untested at the legislative level.

Keep in mind

Running unopposed means this is effectively a formality, not a contested choice -- her record of committee service is the best guide to how she'll approach the seat.

Source review: Strong (86/100) · 4 cited sources

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

  • smcacre.gov (opens in a new tab)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: confirms Pacifica City Council Districts 2, 3, and 5 are each 'On Ballot: Yes,' Vote for 1, with District 2 drawing two qualified candidates (Christine Boles, Dan Urban), District 3 drawing one (Cindy Abbott), and District 5 drawing two (Margo Meiman, Sam Casillas); no Pacifica Mayor contest appears anywhere in the document
  • smcacre.gov (opens in a new tab)San Mateo County ACRE -- 'Regularly Scheduled Elections' reference page: lists Pacifica among the county's 'Municipal Offices' jurisdictions that elect in November of even years, an independent structural corroboration of the roster's own contest listing
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia -- "Pacifica, California": used narrowly for the city's 2020 Census population (38,640) and its council-manager government with a Mayor chosen from among the five councilmembers for a one-year rotating term, not for anything volatile or candidate-specific
  • coastsidenews.com (opens in a new tab)Coastside News (byline Kathryn Wheeler) -- "Pacifica City Council race is set: Meet the candidates for November" (published Aug. 10, 2026, updated Aug. 11): a comprehensive, staff-reported feature profiling all five candidates. Cindy Abbott, 68, a 30-year Pacifica resident and Sanchez Art Center executive director, running unopposed to replace termed-out Councilmember Mary Bier; her 15 years of public service include commissioner of the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission, advisory/planning committee member of the Pacific Beach Coalition, Pacifica Resource Center advisory board, helping establish the city's first off-leash dog park, updating its Tree Ordinance, and helping remove the Sanchez Art Center from a development-eligible-properties list. Margo Meiman, 61, a 21-year resident and retired 23-year math teacher, running against Sam Casillas to replace termed-out Councilmember Sue Beckmeyer; she led the Pacifica Mothers Club (now Pacifica Families Club) as president, has long volunteered with the Pacific Beach Coalition, chairs (Vice Chair) the city's Climate Action and Resilience Committee, and served on PTOs at two schools when her children were young. Sam Casillas, 59, a 23-year resident with a career in pharmaceutical-industry strategic planning and at the Pacifica Land Trust; he was Vice Chair of the city's Economic Development Committee in the mid-2000s, served on the Pacifica Library Foundation and the city's Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning Committee, organized for FogFest, and is a board member and past president of the Pedro Point Community Association.

Last updated September 2, 2026.