# Palo Alto City Council Compare records and positions simply between Brian Hamachek, Bryna Chang, Ed Lauing, and 4 more for Palo Alto City Council at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person would hold one of three open seats on Palo Alto's City Council. The council has seven members. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. Palo Alto is a Santa Clara County city of about 68,000 people. Four other council seats are not up this cycle. The Council picks one of its own members to serve as Mayor each January. An appointed City Manager runs day to day operations. The term is four years. - Jurisdiction: City of Palo Alto - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Seats: 3 - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/palo-alto-council - 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 1, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 86 out of 100 (Strong), across 13 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Brian Hamachek** — Software Engineer - **Bryna Chang** — Planning and Transportation Commissioner - **Ed Lauing** — Councilmember, City of Palo Alto · Incumbent - **Yudy Deng** — Parks and Recreation Commissioner - **Raymond Lee Goins** — Activist - **Gary Gechlik** — Physician - **Vicki Veenker** — Mayor, City of Palo Alto · Incumbent A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Seven candidates are running for Palo Alto's three open at-large City Council seats. The election is on November 3, 2026. They include incumbents Ed Lauing and Vicki Veenker, the sitting Mayor. A third incumbent, Julie Lythcott-Haims, is not seeking reelection. Vote for up to three. The three highest vote-getters win the open seats. There is no primary or runoff. This person would hold one of three at-large seats on Palo Alto's seven-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use in this Santa Clara County city of about 68,000, alongside the four Council seats not up this cycle. The term is four years. The Council selects one of its own members to serve as Mayor and one as Vice Mayor each January; day-to-day operations run through an appointed City Manager. The three open seats belong to Council members Ed Lauing, Julie Lythcott-Haims, and Vicki Veenker. Lauing and Veenker are both running for reelection; Lythcott-Haims is not. The field grew visibly over the summer in the Daily Post's own coverage: four candidates (Deng and Chang challenging Veenker and Lauing) as of an Aug. 4 fundraising story, a fifth (Gechlik, then still finishing his filing paperwork) by Aug. 7, and all seven by the Aug. 19 filing-deadline roundup this shard is built from. ## Vicki Veenker Vicki Veenker is the sitting Mayor. Her Council colleagues chose her for 2026 after she served as Vice Mayor in 2025. She was first elected to Council in 2022. Before that she lost a 2016 run for state Assembly against Marc Berman, 54 to 46. She spent 30 years as a patent attorney. Over the past decade she shifted to mediation. That work included bringing health policy leaders in Sacramento together on rising healthcare costs. Her 2022 platform included downtown renovation. It also called for phasing out natural gas, with voter input on the timeline. She backed waiving the city's 50-foot height limit for fitting housing projects to meet state quotas. She also backed city-owned fiber internet and a homeless shelter near the Baylands. Her campaign treasurer for this run is Hsinya Shen, a Public Art Commission member. Her husband Tim Crockett is assistant treasurer. As of mid-July 2026 she had turned down interview requests until officially on the ballot. **Strengths:** Four years of Council experience, including a year as Mayor. She has the field's most detailed record of past votes and platform stands. **Trade-offs:** As sitting Mayor she owns the Council's most recent decisions directly. No 2026 fundraising was reported for her, unlike Deng and Chang. **Keep in mind:** Commenters on the Daily Post's own coverage raised several of her votes. Those were on SB79, a disputed planning commissioner reappointment, and gas appliance rules. That is how opponents framed it, not a judgment made here. ## Ed Lauing Ed Lauing is a 34-year Palo Alto resident and an executive recruiter. He was first elected to Council in 2020. He had finished fifth in a ten-way race for four seats. He served as Vice Mayor in 2024 and Mayor in 2025. Before Council he chaired the Planning and Transportation Commission. Earlier he served on the Parks and Recreation Commission. He also co-chaired a citizen group that worked on the city's Housing Element. His 2022 platform favored bargaining with individual developers for complete neighborhoods over broader upzoning. Those neighborhoods would include parks, roads, shopping, and bike routes. He supported a new 88-unit homeless shelter. He also warned against too much hope about its success rate. He put upgrading the electrical grid ahead of city fiber. He voted against Castilleja School's expansion permit over Embarcadero Road traffic concerns. **Strengths:** Six years of Council experience, including a year each as Mayor and Vice Mayor. He also served on the Planning and Transportation Commission, which is relevant to land use. **Trade-offs:** The only reported 2026 fundraising for him is a $25 personal loan. That is the thinnest money signal of the candidates with any activity at all. **Keep in mind:** His Castilleja vote and housing stance come from 2022 coverage. No 2026 platform statement was found beyond his incumbency and the fact of his filing. ## Bryna Chang Bryna Chang is a Planning and Transportation Commissioner. The Council appointed her to that commission in a 4-2-1 vote in March 2021. She previously lectured at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. She taught "Innovation and Problem Solving" and "Critical Analytical Thinking." She also ran the school's MBA Program Office. Her background includes internet product management and management consulting. She grew up in Palo Alto public schools, at Nixon Elementary, JLS Middle, and Gunn High. She has served on school site councils at Gunn since 2020, and at JLS and Hoover. At her 2021 commission appointment she said she wanted to help revive the North Ventura area near El Camino Real. She called it a chance to "improve the quality of life for families currently living in the area." She said it could also "make a small dent in the housing shortage." Her mid-2026 campaign raised $17,109 from 28 donations. Of those, 26 came from Palo Alto residents. She is endorsed by Councilmen Pat Burt and Keith Reckdahl. Former Mayor Lydia Kou and school board member Shana Segal also endorse her. **Strengths:** Five years on the Planning and Transportation Commission gives her a land use record relevant to the seat. Her donors are the most local of the two who reported fundraising. **Trade-offs:** She is a sitting commissioner, not a councilmember. Her $17,109 raised trails Deng's $82,307 among the two candidates who have filed. **Keep in mind:** Her endorsements come from two councilmen and a former mayor. They are listed as the Daily Post reported them, not checked against her own announcement. ## Yudy Deng Yudy Deng is a Parks and Recreation Commissioner. No article stated a job for her outside that role. Her mid-2026 campaign reported the largest fundraising total of the race. She raised $82,307 from 39 donations. Only 15 of those donations came from Palo Alto residents. Reported contributions include $5,900 from the Asian American Civic Leadership Committee. They also include $2,000 from California State Treasurer Fiona Ma. Several business and restaurant owners gave at the maximum allowed amount. She is endorsed by Councilman George Lu and former Mayor Judy Kleinberg. Santa Clara County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga also endorses her. **Strengths:** Her mid-2026 fundraising of $82,307 is the largest reported total in the race. She has endorsements from a sitting councilman, a former mayor, and a county supervisor. **Trade-offs:** Only 15 of her 39 donations came from Palo Alto residents. The Daily Post's own framing raised this as a point of scrutiny. No job beyond her commission seat was found. **Keep in mind:** The $5,900 and $2,000 contributions above are single entries in her donor list, not her full roster. Her $82,307 total was not checked again against a primary FPPC filing. ## Gary Gechlik Gary Gechlik is a physician at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose. As of the Daily Post's Aug. 7, 2026 report he had not yet completed his candidacy paperwork. He planned to file that Friday, Aug. 8. He described his campaign in simple terms. "It is the simple idea that municipal service is intended to be helpful and non controversial," he said. He summed up his platform as "be good to other people." **Strengths:** A clearly stated, if general, campaign framing. He also has a verifiable work background as a practicing physician. **Trade-offs:** No prior Palo Alto commission or civic group service was found. No specific stands on housing, budget, or land use turned up beyond his general framing. **Keep in mind:** His platform quote is deliberately broad by his own description. It states his approach to the job. It does not stand in for stands on the city's more contested issues. ## Brian Hamachek Brian Hamachek is a software engineer who grew up in Palo Alto. He applied three times for the Planning and Transportation Commission and was not chosen. He then made his first Council run, in 2022. That year he opposed removing natural gas from homes. He also opposed a plan to let people sleep in vehicles at church parking lots. He faulted then-City Manager Ed Shikada for pursuing "his own priorities rather than what council members or residents want." He opposed police dog use even for searches. He set up a public archive of Palo Alto police radio calls on Broadcastify for officer accountability. He proposed closing California and University Avenues to car traffic to help struggling downtown businesses. He favored a business tax and a city fiber internet project. He was reluctant about waiving the city's 50-foot height limit. He noted that state housing law might require it. **Strengths:** A specific, itemized 2022 platform. It gives a paper trail on housing, policing, and downtown policy to compare against this cycle. **Trade-offs:** This is his second run. He finished outside the top four in a ten-candidate 2022 field. No 2026 platform statement or fundraising record was found, only his name on the Aug. 19 list. **Keep in mind:** All platform detail here comes from his 2022 campaign coverage. It shows where he stood four years ago. It is not a confirmed 2026 restatement of those stands. ## Raymond Lee Goins Raymond Lee Goins is identified in Daily Post election coverage only as "activist." One confirmed public role turned up for them. They are a member of the NAACP San Jose and Silicon Valley branch. In February 2025 they led that branch's push on a 1961 mural at the Palo Alto Courthouse. It asked Santa Clara County to remove the mural. The mural depicts Native Americans. The Muwekma Ohlone tribe joined that push. They said the mural is "dehumanizing to all who walk the halls." They added that it is especially so for "those whose ancestors have been depicted in such a dehumanizing fashion." **Strengths:** A dated, documented instance of public advocacy on a specific civic issue, in their own quoted words. **Trade-offs:** No job, age, prior civic role, or 2026 platform statement was found for them despite repeated searches. That is the thinnest life record of the seven candidates. **Keep in mind:** Their NAACP mural advocacy predates this campaign by over a year. It is not a stated council position. It is the only substantive public record found for them, not their platform. ## Sources 1. [Palo Alto Daily Post -- "A look at who is running for local offices this fall" (Aug. 19, 2026, the filing deadline day itself), read in full: the load-bearing source for this section, quoted verbatim -- "Three City Council seats are up for election. Seats belonging to Council members Ed Lauing, Julie Lythcott-Haims and Vicki Veenker are up for grabs. Lythcott-Haims isn't running again, but Lauing and Veenker are. Joining Veenker and Lauing on the ballot are Parks and Recreation Commissioner Yudy Deng, Planning and Transportation Commissioner Bryna Chang, Dr. Gary Gechlik, activist Raymond Lee Goins, and Brian Hamachek, who ran in 2022."](https://padailypost.com/2026/08/19/a-look-at-who-is-running-for-local-offices-this-fall/) 2. [Palo Alto Daily Post -- "New faces join Palo Alto council, school board races" (Aug. 7, 2026), read in full: names Gary Gechlik as a doctor at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, still finalizing his candidacy paperwork with a planned filing date of Friday, Aug. 8, and quotes his platform ("It is the simple idea that municipal service is intended to be helpful and non controversial"); also names Chang and Deng by their commission titles and Lauing and Veenker as incumbents.](https://padailypost.com/2026/08/07/new-faces-join-palo-alto-council-school-board-races/) 3. [Palo Alto Daily Post -- "Out-of-town money floods council race" (Aug. 4, 2026, republishing a July 22, 2026 story), read in full: mid-2026 Form 460 fundraising for Deng ($82,307 from 39 donations, 15 from Palo Alto residents, including $5,900 from the Asian American Civic Leadership Committee and $2,000 from state Treasurer Fiona Ma) and Chang ($17,109 from 28 donations, 26 from Palo Alto residents), each candidate's named endorsers, and that Veenker reported no fundraising while Lauing reported only a $25 personal loan.](https://padailypost.com/2026/08/04/out-of-town-money-floods-council-race/) 4. [Palo Alto Daily Post -- "Palo Alto mayor to seek re-election" (July 16, 2026), read in full: Mayor Vicki Veenker (63) pulled papers for a second Council term; names her campaign treasurer (Hsinya Shen, a Public Art Commission member) and assistant treasurer (her husband, Tim Crockett); and names Lauing, Deng, and Chang as the field at that point in the summer.](https://padailypost.com/2026/07/16/palo-alto-mayor-to-seek-re-election/) 5. [Palo Alto Daily Post -- "Palo Alto Council candidate profile: Vicki Veenker" (Oct. 10, 2022), read in full: her 30-year patent-law career and shift to mediation, her unsuccessful 2016 Assembly run against Marc Berman, and her 2022 platform.](https://padailypost.com/2022/10/10/palo-alto-council-candidate-profile-vicki-veenker/) 6. [Palo Alto Daily Post -- "Palo Alto Council candidate profile: Ed Lauing" (Oct. 10, 2022), read in full: his work as an executive recruiter, his Parks and Recreation and Planning and Transportation Commission service, his 2020 Council run (fifth in a ten-way race for four seats), and his 2022 platform, including his vote against Castilleja School's expansion permit.](https://padailypost.com/2022/10/10/palo-alto-council-candidate-profile-ed-lauing/) 7. [Palo Alto Daily Post -- "Palo Alto Council candidate profile: Brian Hamachek" (Oct. 10, 2022), read in full: his work as a software engineer, his three unsuccessful Planning and Transportation Commission applications, and his 2022 platform opposing the natural-gas phaseout and a church-lot vehicle-dwelling program, and favoring closing California and University Avenues to car traffic.](https://padailypost.com/2022/10/10/palo-alto-council-candidate-profile-brian-hamachek/) 8. [Palo Alto Daily Post -- "Former business school lecturer Bryna Chang named to planning commission" (March 22, 2021), read in full: her prior role as a Stanford Graduate School of Business lecturer and MBA Program Office administrator, her 4-2-1 Council appointment vote, her Palo Alto public-school upbringing (Nixon, JLS, Gunn) and school-site-council service, and her stated interest in the North Ventura area near El Camino.](https://padailypost.com/2021/03/22/business-school-lecturer-bryna-chang-named-to-planning-commission/) 9. [Palo Alto Daily Post -- "Tribe, NAACP want mural in Palo Alto Courthouse removed" (Feb. 19, 2025), read in full: Raymond Goins identified as a member of the NAACP San Jose/Silicon Valley branch leading the push to remove a 1961 mural depicting Native Americans from the Palo Alto Courthouse, quoted directly ("This mural is dehumanizing to all who walk the halls..."); this dataset's only located source naming a public role for this candidate beyond "activist."](https://padailypost.com/2025/02/19/tribe-naacp-want-mural-in-palo-alto-courthouse-removed/) 10. [Palo Alto Daily Post -- "Palo Alto Council picks Lauing, Veenker to lead" (Jan. 6, 2025), read in full: Ed Lauing chosen as Mayor for 2025 and Vicki Veenker as Vice Mayor.](https://padailypost.com/2025/01/06/ed-lauing-is-palo-altos-new-mayor/) 11. [Palo Alto Daily Post -- "Veenker, Stone to lead Palo Alto in 2026" (Jan. 5, 2026), read in full: Vicki Veenker chosen as Mayor for 2026 by her Council colleagues.](https://padailypost.com/2026/01/05/veenker-stone-to-lead-palo-alto-in-2026/) 12. [Palo Alto's own NetFile-hosted public campaign-finance portal (aid=PA, redirecting from public.netfile.com/pub2/?aid=PA to netfile.com/public/PA/campaign): a JavaScript single-page app returning only a "Public Portal" header shell to a direct fetch, with no candidate or committee data renderable -- the same failure mode this dataset's other Santa Clara County city sections document for their own city-specific NetFile portals.](https://netfile.com/public/PA/campaign) 13. [Wikipedia's Palo Alto, California article -- the seven-member City Council elected at-large to staggered four-year terms, with the Mayor and Vice Mayor chosen from among the Council's own members each January, and general municipal elections held in November of even-numbered years.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palo_Alto,_California) ## The rest of the ballot Palo Alto City Council 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, "Palo Alto City Council — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/palo-alto-council (sources last retrieved September 1, 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.