# San Carlos City Council

Compare records and positions simply between Mark D. Iwanowski, Adam Rak, Pranita Venkatesh, or Sara McDowell for San Carlos City Council at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. 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.

- Jurisdiction: City of San Carlos
- 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/san-carlos-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: 85 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

- **Mark D. Iwanowski** — Business Owner / Entrepreneur
- **Adam Rak** — San Carlos City Councilmember · Incumbent
- **Pranita Venkatesh** — Councilmember / Educator · Incumbent
- **Sara McDowell** — City Councilmember / Mother · Incumbent

A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

San Carlos elects three of its five at-large City Council seats this November, and an unusual dynamic shapes the race: three of the four candidates -- Adam Rak, Pranita Venkatesh, and Sara McDowell -- are the sitting Councilmembers whose terms expire together this cycle, all running for reelection at once. Only businessman Mark Iwanowski is a 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

Rak has served on the Council since 2018 (reelected in 2022) and currently holds the rotating Vice Mayor post. Before that he was a San Carlos School Board Trustee from 2011 to 2015. His professional background is 25-plus years in government relations: six years as a Capitol Hill aide to then-Rep. Barbara Kennelly, followed by nine years leading global public affairs at Symantec. He moved to San Carlos in 2001, has coached youth sports, and served on the Chamber of Commerce board. His campaign centers on continued "experienced leadership," naming public-safety funding, parks improvements, the Eastside economic-development plan, downtown revitalization, street repair, and childcare funding through developer impact fees as his priorities.

**Strengths:** Two City Council terms plus prior School Board service. He also has a long career working inside government at the federal and corporate level.

**Trade-offs:** He is one of three incumbents running together. His platform stresses continuity with the Council's current direction, not a contrast with it. Weigh that if you want change.

**Keep in mind:** His named priorities include the Eastside plan and downtown revitalization. They are specific enough to check against the city's own planning documents. You can verify progress apart from his campaign's framing.

## Pranita Venkatesh

Venkatesh has served on the Council since 2022, after three years on the San Carlos Economic Development Advisory Commission, and currently holds the rotating Mayor post. Venkatesh and their husband moved to San Carlos in 2009; Venkatesh owns a Montessori preschool in the city and has worked as an early-childhood advocate, holding a B.A. from Notre Dame de Namur and a master's in Early Childhood and Clinical Psychology. Before San Carlos, they worked as a child psychologist in East Palo Alto and as a buyer at Macy's. Their own campaign website (pranitasc.com) is listed on the city's own candidates page as "Coming Soon" and did not resolve at all when checked -- so, unlike the other three candidates, no independent campaign platform statement is available for Venkatesh here beyond their filed ballot designation, "Councilmember / Educator."

**Strengths:** A distinct background among the four candidates. Venkatesh comes from early childhood education and clinical psychology, not government relations or a corporate career. They have also served as Mayor.

**Trade-offs:** Venkatesh has no reachable campaign site this cycle. So there is no verifiable statement of their priorities or record beyond their city biography and ballot designation.

**Keep in mind:** If their priorities matter to your vote, email Venkatesh through the City Clerk's office. Attending a Council meeting is another direct way to get a platform statement.

## Sara McDowell

McDowell has served on the Council since 2018, after two and a half years on the San Carlos Economic Development Advisory Commission, and has twice held the rotating Mayor post (2022 and 2025). McDowell and their husband moved to San Carlos in 2010; McDowell holds a B.A. from UC Davis and a 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 from 2003 to 2005. Their campaign points to specific completed projects from their time on the Council -- Fire Station 16's opening, the 33-unit Cherry Street Commons affordable-housing development, and more than 150 new child-care spots added since 2024 -- and lists infrastructure (roads, sidewalks, bike lanes, school-safety routes), parks and open space, affordable housing, traffic/parking management, and public safety funding as ongoing priorities.

**Strengths:** The most Council tenure of the three incumbents, since 2018, plus two prior terms as Mayor. Their campaign names specific completed projects, not only broad priorities.

**Trade-offs:** Like Rak, McDowell is running on continuing the current Council's record rather than a contrast with it.

**Keep in mind:** Their cited wins are Fire Station 16, Cherry Street Commons, and the child-care expansion. Those reflect Council-wide votes, not their own initiatives alone. That is normal for incumbency, but worth weighing.

## Mark D. Iwanowski

Iwanowski is a business owner and entrepreneur running as the race's only non-incumbent. Their campaign site describes a corporate cost-cutting record -- leading a SAIC business unit that delivered $200 million in verified savings for San Diego County, and, as Chief Information Officer at Oracle, driving technology and process reforms that produced $1 billion in savings. Their platform applies that same discipline to city government: no new taxes, a zero-based review of every city department's budget, transparent plain-language spending reports, and protecting core services (public safety, roads, parks) by cutting inefficiency rather than services themselves. Their site pointedly frames its "No Tax Increases" plank against funding city priorities "within existing revenue" -- a position that lines up against Measure G, a separate half-cent sales-tax measure also on this November's San Carlos ballot.

**Strengths:** A concrete, quantified private-sector record in large-scale cost management. They offer it as directly relevant experience for city budget oversight.

**Trade-offs:** No prior elected office or San Carlos government experience. Corporate cost-cutting and city budgeting run under different constraints, such as public process and union contracts.

**Keep in mind:** Their campaign does not say which city spending they count as waste. Ask Iwanowski directly if the no-new-taxes pledge would decide your vote. Measure G is on the same ballot.

## Review notes

- 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.

## Sources

1. [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](https://smcacre.gov/system/files/2026-08/52_candidateroster0825.pdf)
2. [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](https://www.cityofsancarlos.org/city_hall/departments_and_divisions/city_clerk/elections/index.php)
3. [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](https://www.cityofsancarlos.org/city_hall/departments_and_divisions/city_clerk/elections/candidates.php)
4. [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)](https://www.cityofsancarlos.org/city_hall/city_council/index.php)
5. [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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Carlos,_California)
6. [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](https://www.cityofsancarlos.org/city_hall/city_council/pranita_venkatesh.php)
7. [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](https://www.cityofsancarlos.org/city_hall/city_council/adam_rak.php)
8. [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](https://www.cityofsancarlos.org/city_hall/city_council/sara_mcdowell.php)
9. [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'](https://www.adamrak.org)
10. [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)](https://www.saramcdowell.org)
11. [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](https://mark4sancarlos.com)
12. [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.](https://www.cityofsancarlos.org/city_hall/departments_and_divisions/city_clerk/elections/candidates.php)
13. [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.](https://netfile.com/public/SCS/campaign)

## The rest of the ballot

San Carlos 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, "San Carlos City Council — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/san-carlos-council (sources last retrieved September 1, 2026).

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