City of Sand City · Statewide General Election

Sand City Council

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

Luke Kilpatrick — Artist/Author/Innkeeper
Justin R. Rumps — Federal Civil Servant

This person would hold one of two Sand City Council seats up this cycle, elected at-large (not by district) to a 4-year term: the city budget, land use, and municipal ordinances for this Monterey County city of 325 residents (2020 Census), one of California's smallest incorporated cities, alongside a directly elected Mayor who is not part of this race.

Two candidates are running for Sand City's two open at-large City Council seats: Justin R. Rumps and Luke Kilpatrick. With exactly two candidates for two seats, both are effectively elected outright on November 3, 2026.

Council seats carry 4-year terms on Sand City's five-member Council -- the Mayor plus four Councilmembers, all elected citywide at-large rather than by district -- setting the budget, land use, and municipal ordinances for this Monterey County city of 325 residents (2020 Census), one of California's smallest incorporated cities. A directly elected Mayor, not part of this race, serves a separate 2-year term. Two seats are up this cycle: one is the seat held by Kim Scudder, whose term expires Dec. 31, 2026 and who did not file for reelection; the city's own current Council roster names only two other sitting Councilmembers besides Scudder and the Mayor, one short of the four the structure calls for, consistent with (though not explicitly confirmed by the city as) the second seat being currently vacant.

Neither Rumps nor Kilpatrick is a sitting Councilmember. With no third candidate in the field, the two seats are not competing against each other -- both qualified candidates fill the two openings barring a successful write-in campaign. Voters still cast a ballot to formally elect them.

Justin R. Rumps

Justin R. Rumps's county candidate filing lists his occupation as "Federal Civil Servant" and gives a personal email address; it lists no campaign website. No independent news coverage, campaign site, or further biographical detail about his candidacy was found this pass despite a genuine search.

Strengths

Unknown from this pass's research -- no biographical or platform detail beyond his filed occupation was found.

Trade-offs

The near-total absence of public information about his candidacy means voters have very little to evaluate beyond his name and stated occupation.

Keep in mind

This is a documented, expected sourcing gap for a first-time candidate in a town of 325 people with essentially no dedicated local press -- not a sign that this dataset skipped looking, and not a judgment on him as a candidate.

Luke Kilpatrick

Luke Kilpatrick's county filing lists his occupation as "Artist/Author/Innkeeper." Per his own campaign site, he has lived in Sand City since 2020, works as a marketing director for Sanctuary Cruises in Moss Landing, and owns the Ocean View BNB, a small bed-and-breakfast (explaining "Innkeeper"). He is the author of the "Mia Kingtide" series of children's ocean-adventure books and describes himself as an underwater photographer who dives Monterey Bay (explaining "Author" and "Artist"), and holds a UC Santa Barbara Engineering Leadership credential (2024) and a Seneca College Computer Graphics & Digital Media credential (2001). He says he has attended Sand City Council meetings, in person and remotely, for six years to speak on development, planning, fees, and spending. His stated platform includes denser in-town/infill housing rather than outward expansion, finishing the Coastal Trail and Multi-Use Commuter Trail, a short-term-rental cap sized to the city, and supporting Sand City's arts scene and Art Park. He also discloses, in his own words, that his wife's mother works for EMC Planning Group, a planning consultancy his site says has partnered with Sand City on its Housing Element and other city planning work.

Strengths

Six years of direct engagement with Sand City Council meetings as a resident, a locally rooted small business (the Ocean View BNB), and a specific, itemized platform rather than general goals.

Trade-offs

All of this comes from his own campaign site, not independent reporting. He discloses a family tie to a city planning consultant (his mother-in-law's employer), framed as background, not a conflict.

Keep in mind

With no third candidate, this is not a head-to-head contest with Rumps for a single seat -- both qualified candidates are expected to fill the two open seats.

Source review: Strong (82/100) · 6 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context; advocacy or endorsement sources are treated as attributed perspective.

Review note: Luke Kilpatrick's own campaign site, "Luke Kilpatrick for Sand City Council 2026" (kilpatrick4sandcity.org): self-description as a Sand City resident since 2020 (1875 Ocean View Ave, matching his county filing address), marketing director for Sanctuary Cruises in Moss Landing, owner of the "Ocean View BNB" (explaining his filed "Innkeeper" designation), author of the "Mia Kingtide" children's book series and an underwater photographer (explaining "Author" and "Artist"), a UC Santa Barbara Engineering Leadership credential (2024) and a Seneca College Computer Graphics & Digital Media credential (2001); states he has attended Sand City Council meetings for six years to speak on development, planning, fees, and spending; platform of denser in-town/infill housing, finishing the Coastal Trail and Multi-Use Commuter Trail, a short-term-rental cap, and support for the city's arts scene and Art Park; discloses his wife's mother works for EMC Planning Group, a planning consultancy the site says has partnered with Sand City on its Housing Element; site footer lists FPPC filer ID #1493571 for his committee, "Kilpatrick for Sand City Council 2026." may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

countyofmonterey.gov (opens in a new tab)Monterey County Elections -- official "Candidate List" page for the November 3, 2026 General Election: within the City section, exactly two Sand City rows appear -- "CITY OF SAND CITY MAYOR" and "CITY OF SAND CITY MEMBER, CITY COUNCIL". The live page's own DOM renders office titles only, never per-seat candidate names; a Wayback Machine snapshot captured 2026-08-23 (fetched via a direct curl request, not the WebFetch tool, which cannot reach web.archive.org this session) rendered the full roster: Mayor, "Vote for One" -- Mary Ann Carbone (ballot designation "Mayor"); Member, City Council, "Vote for no more than 2" -- Justin R. Rumps ("Federal Civil Servant") and Luke Kilpatrick ("Artist/Author/Innkeeper"). No later capture of this page exists per the Wayback CDX API as of this pass's own retrieval date.
sandcity.org (opens in a new tab)City of Sand City -- official "City Council" page: "The Council is composed of five members elected at large to staggered terms. The Mayoral term lasts for two years and the Councilmember terms last for four years." Names Mayor Mary Ann Carbone and gives her official biography (appointed to the Council in 1991; Mayor "for the past seven years"; first Indigenous woman Mayor in Sand City; extensive committee and regional-agency record). Also names the sitting Councilmembers: Marilee Diaz (Vice-Mayor, term ends Dec. 31, 2028), Michelle Adams (term ends Dec. 31, 2028), and Kim Scudder (term ends Dec. 31, 2026) -- only three named Councilmembers alongside the Mayor, one short of the structure's four.
sandcity.org (opens in a new tab)City of Sand City -- official "city elections" page: "Municipal Elections are held in November of even-numbered years in the City of Sand City. The elective officers of the City consist of a City Council made up of four Councilmembers and an elected Mayor. The Mayor is elected every two years, and council members are elected to four-year terms." Names City Clerk Kerry Lindstrom as the city's elections official.
en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia -- "Sand City, California": 2020 Census population (325), one of California's smallest incorporated cities; used narrowly for population, not for anything about the 2026 election.
kilpatrick4sandcity.org (opens in a new tab)Luke Kilpatrick's own campaign site, "Luke Kilpatrick for Sand City Council 2026" (kilpatrick4sandcity.org): self-description as a Sand City resident since 2020 (1875 Ocean View Ave, matching his county filing address), marketing director for Sanctuary Cruises in Moss Landing, owner of the "Ocean View BNB" (explaining his filed "Innkeeper" designation), author of the "Mia Kingtide" children's book series and an underwater photographer (explaining "Author" and "Artist"), a UC Santa Barbara Engineering Leadership credential (2024) and a Seneca College Computer Graphics & Digital Media credential (2001); states he has attended Sand City Council meetings for six years; platform of denser in-town/infill housing, finishing the Coastal Trail and Multi-Use Commuter Trail, a short-term-rental cap, and support for the city's arts scene and Art Park; discloses his wife's mother works for EMC Planning Group, a planning consultancy the site says has partnered with Sand City on its Housing Element; site footer lists FPPC filer ID #1493571 for his committee, "Kilpatrick for Sand City Council 2026."
cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS -- filer searches for Mary Ann Carbone, Justin Rumps, and Luke Kilpatrick: every query returned only a bot-detection (Incapsula) challenge page, not usable results, the same recurring Cal-Access access block documented elsewhere in this county this session.

Last updated September 1, 2026.