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City of Santa Barbara · Statewide General Election

Santa Barbara City Council, District 5

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 would represent one of Santa Barbara's six council districts on the City Council: the budget, land use, and ordinances for this Santa Barbara County city of about 88,700 residents. A 4-year term. The Mayor is elected separately, citywide, rather than chosen by the Council from among its own members.

Three candidates are running for Santa Barbara City Council, District 5 (Upper State Street, La Cumbre, and San Roque): Ian J. Baucke, Cevin Cathell, and James G. Zurlinden. Vote for one -- no primary, no runoff.

District 5's seat is one of six district Council seats on Santa Barbara's council-manager government -- the budget, land use, and city ordinances for this Santa Barbara County city of about 88,700 residents -- alongside a separately, citywide-elected Mayor. It's a 4-year term. The seat is open because its sitting Councilmember, Eric Friedman, is running for Mayor instead of re-election, on the same ballot as this race.

All three candidates are political newcomers to elected city office, though Baucke has direct government experience through his current job. Local reporting names him the field's leading candidate. He and Zurlinden both back housing-affordability measures, while Cathell is more skeptical of rent stabilization specifically; on reopening State Street to cars, Zurlinden and Cathell are each open to it in some form, while this pass found no equivalent statement from Baucke.

Ian J. Baucke

Ian J. Baucke, 27, is a district representative for State Senator Monique Limón and the son of longtime Planning Commissioner John Baucke. Local reporting describes him chairing a Transportation and Circulation Committee. He is endorsed by the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party and campaigns on housing affordability, and is described in local coverage as the leading candidate in this race.

Strengths

Direct current experience working inside state government (as a State Senate district representative), a party endorsement, and local reporting naming him the front-runner.

Trade-offs

At 27, he would be among the youngest members of the Council; this pass found no independent account of prior elected or appointed city office for him specifically, beyond his committee role.

Keep in mind

His father's own long tenure on the city's Planning Commission is a notable family connection to city land-use policy -- worth knowing, not disqualifying, when weighing his own independent record.

James G. Zurlinden

James G. Zurlinden is a political newcomer, a former chef now working in finance. He says he wants to represent voters who "feel like they don't have a voice," and supports both reopening State Street to traffic and a rent-stabilization measure for struggling families.

Strengths

A platform that crosses the usual dividing lines on this Council's two signature issues (supporting both State Street reopening and rent stabilization), rather than aligning fully with either camp.

Trade-offs

No prior appointed or elected city role, or civic-board service, is documented for him beyond his stated platform.

Keep in mind

His career shift from chef to finance is mentioned in local coverage without further detail on how it shapes his specific budget or policy views.

Cevin Cathell

Margaret "Cevin" Cathell is a political newcomer, a film producer and longtime local volunteer. She says she is concerned about polarization on the Council, is skeptical of rent stabilization, and is open to experimentally reintroducing some vehicle traffic to State Street.

Strengths

A stated focus on reducing Council polarization itself, distinct from either opponent's issue-specific framing, plus a described history of local volunteer work.

Trade-offs

No prior appointed or elected city role is documented for her; "longtime local volunteer" is not itemized to a specific organization or role in the source found this pass.

Keep in mind

Her openness to an experimental State Street traffic pilot is a more cautious position than Zurlinden's fuller support for reopening -- a distinction worth noting for voters focused specifically on that issue.

Source review: Mixed (77/100) · 8 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context.

  • santabarbaraca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Santa Barbara City Clerk -- "Final List of Candidates," City of Santa Barbara, November 3, 2026 Election (dated August 17, 2026, the certified post-nomination-period roster): lists Mayoral (Eric Friedman, Matt Kilrain, Wendy Sims-Moten, Kristen Sneddon), District 4 (Jason Dominguez, Genevieve Taft-Vazquez, Devon Wardlow, Monte Wilson), District 5 (Ian J. Baucke, Cevin Cathell, James G. Zurlinden), and District 6 (Jason Carlton, Gabe Escobedo, Anabella Lehne, Alexander Stoeber) -- 4 contests, 15 candidates
  • santabarbaraca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Santa Barbara -- "Elections" (City Clerk's Office): states the Council approved a resolution calling the general municipal election to fill District 4, District 5, District 6, and Mayor; gives the July 13-August 7, 2026 nomination period and links both the Final List of Candidates and the city's NetFile Public Access Portal for campaign-finance disclosure
  • santabarbaraca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Santa Barbara -- "Mayor & City Council": current-roster page naming Randy Rowse as Mayor and Wendy Santamaria (D1), Mike Jordan (D2), Oscar Gutierrez (D3), Kristen Sneddon (D4), Eric Friedman (D5), and Meagan Harmon (D6) as sitting Councilmembers -- confirms Sneddon and Friedman are each their district's incumbent, now running for Mayor instead of re-election, and that Harmon is not on this ballot; also states Councilmembers represent a district while the Mayor represents the entire city
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia -- "Santa Barbara, California": used narrowly for the 2020 Census population (88,665) and the council-manager government type; does not cover the 2026 election
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia -- "Mayor of Santa Barbara, California": gives a 4-year term and documents an existing four-consecutive-term limit (citing a court ruling that forced former Mayor Hal Conklin to step down mid-term for exceeding it); used narrowly for term length and the existence of a term limit, not for any 2026 candidate
  • netfile.com (opens in a new tab)City of Santa Barbara's NetFile-hosted Public Access Portal for campaign-finance disclosure (public.netfile.com/pub2/?AID=csb, redirecting to netfile.com/public/csb/campaign): a client-rendered single-page app -- no filer data loaded via WebFetch this session, and no live-browser workaround was available (the shared Chrome extension was disconnected all session) -- a documented access gap, not a finding about any candidate's actual fundraising
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS -- filer searches attempted for multiple 2026 Santa Barbara Mayor/Council candidates returned only an empty response each time this session, consistent with the Incapsula bot-blocking this dataset has repeatedly hit on this site -- a documented access gap, not a finding of no filer
  • independent.com (opens in a new tab)Santa Barbara Independent -- "Ready to Race: Who's Running for Santa Barbara City Council and Mayor" (Ryan P. Cruz, Aug. 11, 2026): comprehensive profile roundup of the Mayoral and District 4/5/6 fields, including two mayoral names (Mark Redmond, Michael Stilwell) later absent from the city's Aug. 17 certified Final List and therefore not built as options here

Last updated September 1, 2026.