Review note: Mark Iwanowski's own campaign site (mark4sancarlos.com, matching his roster-listed email exactly): a real, independently reachable multi-page static site describing a fiscal-discipline platform ("No Tax Increases," a zero-based budget review, transparent spending, protecting core services) built on a stated record of $200 million in savings for San Diego County while at SAIC and $1 billion in savings as Oracle's Chief Information Officer; publishes no FPPC filer ID anywhere on the site, Sara McDowell's own campaign site (saramcdowell.org): describes eight years on the Council including two terms as Mayor (2022 and 2025), and a platform of infrastructure improvements (roads, sidewalks, bike lanes, school-safety routes), parks and open space, affordable housing, traffic/parking management, and public safety funding; cites Fire Station 16's opening, the 33-unit Cherry Street Commons housing development, and 150-plus new child-care spots since 2024 as accomplishments; publishes an FPPC Committee ID (1492893), and Adam Rak's own campaign site (adamrak.org): describes eight years on the Council plus School Board Trustee service, and a platform of fiscal responsibility and public-safety funding, parks improvements, Eastside-plan economic development, downtown revitalization, street repair, and childcare funding via developer impact fees; publishes an FPPC Committee ID (1494797) and the disclaimer "Paid for by Adam Rak for San Carlos City Council 2026" may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.
- smcacre.gov (opens in a new tab)San Mateo County ACRE -- Roster of Candidates, Qualified Candidates Only, November 3, 2026 General Election (CFMR009), dated 2026-08-25: the county's own certified candidate list, naming all four qualified San Carlos City Council candidates for the single at-large contest 'City of San Carlos Member, City Council,' Vote for 3, flagged 'On Ballot: Yes,' with each candidate's filed occupation/ballot designation and qualification date
- cityofsancarlos.org (opens in a new tab)City of San Carlos -- official City Clerk "Elections" page: confirms San Carlos is a General Law City holding elections in November of even years with six elected officers (five Councilmembers plus a City Treasurer) each serving 4-year terms, that the Mayor and Vice Mayor are appointed by the Council itself each December rather than separately elected, and that the Council adopted Resolution 2026-062 on June 8, 2026 calling a General Municipal Election for November 3, 2026 'for the election of three City Council Members for a term of four years'; also names a separate Measure G sales-tax ballot measure, out of scope for this dataset's display
- cityofsancarlos.org (opens in a new tab)City of San Carlos -- official City Clerk "Qualified Candidates" page: independently corroborates the same four candidates as the county roster, 'listed in the order they will appear on the ballot' -- Mark D. Iwanowski, Adam Rak, Pranita Venkatesh, Sara McDowell -- with matching filed designations, emails, and (for three of the four) phone numbers/websites
- cityofsancarlos.org (opens in a new tab)City of San Carlos -- official "City Council" (Meet the Council) page: confirms the Council has five members, that Mayor and Vice Mayor appointments 'change each year in December and [are] decided by a vote of the Council,' and names the current five members as of this retrieval (Mayor Pranita Venkatesh, Vice Mayor Adam Rak, Councilmembers John Dugan, Neil Layton, and Sara McDowell)
- en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia's San Carlos, California article -- confirms a council-manager government and a 2020 census population of 30,722; cited narrowly for structural/population facts, not for any candidate-specific or volatile claim
- cityofsancarlos.org (opens in a new tab)City of San Carlos -- Pranita Venkatesh's official Councilmember biography page: term of office November 2022-November 2026; elected 2022 after three years on the San Carlos Economic Development Advisory Commission; a Montessori preschool owner in San Carlos and early-childhood advocate; B.A. from Notre Dame de Namur, Master's in Early Childhood and Clinical Psychology; formerly a child psychologist in East Palo Alto and a buyer at Macy's -- the City's own non-campaign-authored biography
- cityofsancarlos.org (opens in a new tab)City of San Carlos -- Adam Rak's official Councilmember biography page: term of office November 2022-November 2026; first elected 2018, re-elected 2022; 25-plus years in government relations, including six years as a Capitol Hill aide to then-Rep. Barbara Kennelly and nine years leading global public affairs at Symantec; moved to San Carlos in 2001; a former San Carlos School Board Trustee (2011-2015); B.A. in International Affairs, George Washington University -- the City's own non-campaign-authored biography
- cityofsancarlos.org (opens in a new tab)City of San Carlos -- Sara McDowell's official Councilmember biography page: term of office November 2022-November 2026; elected 2018 after two and a half years on the San Carlos Economic Development Advisory Commission; moved to San Carlos in 2010; board service on the San Carlos Education Foundation, the Parks and Recreation Foundation, and the Day of Service; B.A. from UC Davis, Master's in International Affairs from George Washington University; previously worked on Latin America trade policy for the U.S. Department of Commerce and served as a Presidential Management Fellow (2003-2005) -- the City's own non-campaign-authored biography
- adamrak.org (opens in a new tab)Adam Rak's own campaign site (adamrak.org): describes eight years on the Council plus School Board Trustee service, and a platform of fiscal responsibility and public-safety funding, parks improvements, Eastside-plan economic development, downtown revitalization, street repair, and childcare funding via developer impact fees; publishes an FPPC Committee ID (1494797) and the disclaimer 'Paid for by Adam Rak for San Carlos City Council 2026'
- saramcdowell.org (opens in a new tab)Sara McDowell's own campaign site (saramcdowell.org): describes eight years on the Council including two terms as Mayor (2022 and 2025), and a platform of infrastructure improvements (roads, sidewalks, bike lanes, school-safety routes), parks and open space, affordable housing, traffic/parking management, and public safety funding; cites Fire Station 16's opening, the 33-unit Cherry Street Commons housing development, and 150-plus new child-care spots since 2024 as accomplishments; publishes an FPPC Committee ID (1492893)
- mark4sancarlos.com (opens in a new tab)Mark Iwanowski's own campaign site (mark4sancarlos.com, matching his roster-listed email exactly): a real, independently reachable multi-page static site describing a fiscal-discipline platform ('No Tax Increases,' a zero-based budget review, transparent spending, protecting core services) built on a stated record of $200 million in savings for San Diego County while at SAIC and $1 billion in savings as Oracle's Chief Information Officer; publishes no FPPC filer ID anywhere on the site
- cityofsancarlos.org (opens in a new tab)This dataset's own documented record that Pranita Venkatesh's roster- and city-listed campaign website, pranitasc.com, does not resolve at all -- confirmed by two independent DNS-failure fetch attempts this session (with and without the 'www' prefix) -- consistent with the City of San Carlos's own Qualified Candidates page, which lists her site as 'www.pranitasc.com - Coming Soon!' as of this retrieval. Documents the absence of a reachable campaign site for her, not any claim about her candidacy.
- netfile.com (opens in a new tab)This dataset's own documented record of a dedicated, unsuccessful attempt to retrieve campaign-finance filings for all four San Carlos candidates: the city's own linked NetFile public portal (netfile.com/public/SCS/campaign) is a client-rendered single-page app that returned only the static application shell for every fetch attempted this session, with no live browser session available in this worktree to work around it. Documents the absence of a reachable financial-disclosure source for these four candidates beyond the FPPC Committee IDs published on Rak's and McDowell's own campaign sites, not any of their actual finances.
Last updated September 1, 2026.
City of San Carlos
San Carlos City Council
This person would hold one of five at-large seats on San Carlos's City Council. San Carlos is a General Law city of about 30,700 residents. They vote on city laws, the budget, and land use. An appointed City Manager runs day-to-day operations. The term is four years. Each December, the council appoints one of its own members as Mayor. Another member becomes Vice Mayor. Both serve one-year terms. Neither office is separately elected.
San Carlos will elect three of its five at-large council seats in November. Three of the four candidates hold seats now. They are Adam Rak, Pranita Venkatesh, and Sara McDowell. Mark Iwanowski is the only new challenger.
San Carlos is a General Law city of about 30,700 residents. It has a council-manager government. An appointed City Manager handles day-to-day work. All five Council seats are elected at-large, not by district. Terms are staggered and last four years. Each December the Council picks one member as Mayor and another as Vice Mayor. Those one-year posts are not separately elected. Winners here will help set the budget, city ordinances, and land-use decisions through 2030.
Voters pick three names here, and the top three win outright. There is no runoff. Three incumbents and one challenger are running for three seats. So at most one incumbent can lose. Iwanowski would have to bump Rak, Venkatesh, or McDowell. That is the only way the Council changes this cycle. Rak is Vice Mayor now and Venkatesh is Mayor. Those are the Council's top rotating offices. McDowell has twice served as Mayor before. Rak and McDowell both campaign on continuing named projects from their current terms. Those cover infrastructure, parks, and downtown and economic development. Iwanowski runs on fiscal discipline and a private-sector cost-cutting record. Iwanowski pointedly opposes Measure G, a sales-tax measure also on this ballot.
Adam Rak
Adam Rak has served on the Council since 2018. He is now Vice Mayor. He runs on public safety funding and parks improvements. He also names downtown revitalization and street repair. He was a San Carlos School Board Trustee from 2011 to 2015.
Pranita Venkatesh
Pranita Venkatesh has served on the Council since 2022. They are now Mayor. They own a Montessori preschool. They have worked as an early childhood advocate. Their ballot designation is Councilmember and Educator. No platform statement is available.
Sara McDowell
Sara McDowell has served on the Council since 2018. They have twice been Mayor. They run on infrastructure, parks, and affordable housing. They also name traffic management and public safety funding. Their campaign points to Fire Station 16. It also points to the 33-unit Cherry Street Commons project.
Mark D. Iwanowski
Mark D. Iwanowski is a business owner. They are the race's only non-incumbent. They want no new taxes. They want a full review of every city department's budget. They say they cut $200 million at SAIC. They say they cut $1 billion at Oracle.
Your picks · choose up to 3
A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.