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City of San Marcos · Statewide General Election

San Marcos City Council, District 2

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

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 holds your district's seat on San Marcos's 5-member City Council, alongside the citywide-elected mayor: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. A 4-year term.

Justin Matsushita and Lindsey Smith are running for San Marcos City Council, District 2 -- an open seat, since incumbent Mike Sannella is instead running for mayor. Whichever candidate receives the most votes on November 3 wins outright; there is no runoff.

This person holds District 2's seat on San Marcos's 5-member City Council, alongside the citywide-elected mayor: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. A 4-year term.

Both candidates are first-time office-seekers already involved in city and community institutions. A third candidate, Alison Stanton, filed intention paperwork for this seat in 2025, but does not appear on the county's final qualified-candidate list and is not counted as a candidate here. Matsushita is endorsed by the San Diego County Democratic Party; Smith appears on the San Diego County Republican Party's voter guide for this seat.

Justin Matsushita

Justin Matsushita is the former Santee Fire Chief, retiring from that role in 2025, and now leads a new Public Safety Management bachelor's degree program at Miramar College. A third-generation San Marcos resident, he sits on the city's own Measure Q Oversight Committee, previously served on the board of the San Marcos Promise (now known as Project Next), and has supported the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos, which he attended as a child. His stated priorities are updating the city's General Plan and making sure Measure Q sales-tax funds are spent wisely. He has said his fire-service background gives him "a little bit more poised" perspective and a clear sense of "where my lane will be" as a council member, having seen firsthand the work of city staff.

Strengths

A full career leading a fire department, now paired with teaching public-safety management at the college level and hands-on oversight of Measure Q spending through his committee seat.

Trade-offs

No prior experience in elected office or on city land-use bodies specifically; his public-safety background is deep but narrower than a generalist council role.

Keep in mind

He has an active 2026 campaign committee registered with the city -- see Financial info.

Lindsey Smith

Lindsey Smith is president of the San Elijo Hills Homeowners Association and the San Elijo Hills Fire Safe Council, and currently serves as a San Marcos Planning Commissioner. Her professional background is in facilities and construction management. She says her top priority is a strong public-safety presence and keeping local control over development decisions rather than ceding it to the state; she describes herself as "pro-smart growth" -- housing and small-business growth that fits community needs, with adequate parking and amenities -- and wants to expand public transportation, including expanding the NCTD+ shuttle service to serve youth in District 2.

Strengths

A sitting Planning Commissioner with a construction-management background and HOA leadership experience -- current familiarity with the land-use questions the council votes on.

Trade-offs

No prior experience in elected citywide or district office; her fire-safe-council and HOA roles, while relevant, are volunteer and neighborhood-level rather than citywide.

Keep in mind

This dataset did not confirm whether she has a 2026 campaign committee registered with the city -- see Financial info.

Source review: Very strong (93/100) · 6 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • sdvote.com (opens in a new tab)San Diego County Registrar of Voters -- Candidate List, November 3, 2026 General Election (current through the 8/24/2026 2:44pm snapshot): confirms Mayor, City Council Districts 1 and 3, City Clerk, and City Treasurer as Carlsbad's five November 2026 races, and Mayor plus City Council Districts 1 and 3 as Poway's three November 2026 races, each Vote for 1
  • sanmarcosca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of San Marcos -- City Council page: describes the city as "a Charter City governed by a five-member City Council consisting of an elected Mayor and four City Council Members"; carries the sitting officeholders' own official biographies, including Mayor Rebecca Jones's tenure and Council Member Maria Nunez's and Deputy Mayor Mike Sannella's district, first-elected date, and background
  • thecoastnews.com (opens in a new tab)The Coast News Group (Leo Place) -- "Sharon Jenkins running for San Marcos mayor": announces her mayoral run after 12 years on the City Council (District 3, termed out end of 2024) and 14 years on the San Marcos Unified School District board; also reports the field of District 2 filers at that point, including Alison Stanton
  • thecoastnews.com (opens in a new tab)The Coast News Group (Leo Place) -- "Election 2026: San Marcos City Council": detailed, quoted platform profiles of Sannella, Jenkins, Smith, Matsushita, and Nunez as of mid-May 2026 -- the descriptive backbone of this shard, though it predates Gabriele's District 1 filing and describes Nunez as running unopposed at that point
  • thecoastnews.com (opens in a new tab)The Coast News Group (staff) -- "Election 2026: A guide to North County races": for San Marcos, confirms the final three-race field, including Thomas Gabriele's later filing against Nunez in District 1 -- the correction to the May 2026 "unopposed" reporting; for Vista, corroborates Mayor Franklin's departure and his June 2026 County Supervisor District 5 primary loss, and the District 1/District 4 incumbents-vs-challengers framing, and names two additional mayoral filers, Gabriel Chance and Alexandra Garcia Guzman, not present on the county's own certified, post-deadline qualified candidate list -- treated as filed-but-not-qualified, not part of the November ballot
  • netfile.com (opens in a new tab)City of San Marcos -- NetFile public campaign-disclosure portal, committee list (first page of 28 entities, alphabetized): shows an active "Matsushita for City Council 2026" committee, a "Mike Sannella for San Marcos City Council 2022" committee from his prior council run, and an "Alison Stanton for San Marcos City Council 2026" committee for the District 2 filer who did not make the county's final candidate list; a second page covering filings under N-Z (which would carry any 2026-specific committees for Nunez, Gabriele, Smith, and a possible new Sannella mayoral committee) could not be reached before this browser session was interrupted

Last updated August 31, 2026.