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City of Pacifica · Statewide General Election

Pacifica City Council, District 5

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.

Margo Meiman, a retired teacher and longtime community volunteer, faces Sam Casillas, a climate-resiliency planning professional, for Pacifica's District 5 (Pedro Point) 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.

Both candidates are running to replace termed-out Councilmember Sue Beckmeyer, who served two consecutive four-year terms. Whoever gets more votes on November 3 wins the seat outright, with no runoff.

Margo Meiman

Meiman, 61, has lived in Pacifica for 21 years and is a retired math teacher with 23 years in the classroom, per Coastside News reporting and her own campaign site. She led the Pacifica Mothers Club (now the Pacifica Families Club) as president, has long volunteered with the Pacific Beach Coalition, and currently chairs (as Vice Chair) the city's Climate Action and Resilience Committee. Her platform centers on financial stability for the city, addressing housing and homelessness (Pacifica now has the highest number of unhoused residents in San Mateo County, she notes), community engagement, cleaning up pollution in San Pedro Creek, and adopting the city's short-term rental ordinance in the coastal zone that makes up much of her district.

Strengths

A specific, six-point platform grounded in years of relevant committee service (the Climate Action and Resilience Committee) directly on this district's central issues.

Trade-offs

No prior elected office; her platform emphasizes long-term vision (a "Pacifica 50 years from now") more than near-term budget specifics.

Keep in mind

Her educator background and PTO service give her direct experience engaging the public -- worth weighing against Casillas's more technical planning background.

Sam Casillas

Casillas, 59, has lived in Pacifica for 23 years and has spent his career in strategic planning, in the pharmaceutical industry and at the Pacifica Land Trust, per Coastside News reporting. 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. His platform centers on nature-based climate-resiliency solutions (an extension of his Land Trust work), addressing flooding and pollution in San Pedro Creek, wildfire mitigation, preserving the shuttered Sea Bowl bowling alley rather than replacing it with new housing, and stronger staff and council accountability through performance evaluations.

Strengths

A specific, technically-grounded platform directly drawing on his professional climate-resiliency and land-conservation background, plus two decades of hands-on city-committee service.

Trade-offs

No prior elected office; his preference for preserving the Sea Bowl site over new housing there could cut against the city's broader push for more housing supply.

Keep in mind

His accountability push (performance evaluations for staff and council) is a specific structural proposal -- worth asking how he'd implement it if elected.

Source review: Strong (82/100) · 5 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.
  • margoforpacifica.com (opens in a new tab)Margo Meiman for Pacifica City Council, District 5 -- her own campaign site (margoforpacifica.com): 'After 23 years in the classroom and 20+ years volunteering in our community, I feel compelled to step up and work directly for all of Pacifica's residents.' Lays out a six-issue platform including financial stability, housing and homelessness, community engagement, cleaning up San Pedro Creek, and adopting the city's short-term rental ordinance in the coastal zone.

Last updated September 2, 2026.