Review note: The Press Democrat Editorial Board -- "PD Endorsement: Mark Stapp, Terry Sanders and Jeff Okrepkie for Santa Rosa City Council" (Oct. 14, 2022): independently corroborates that Stapp and Okrepkie were both on the 2022 Santa Rosa City Council ballot -- consistent with their current 4-year terms expiring this cycle -- and that Sanders also ran that year (the race he later conceded to Fleming). Cited only for this 2022 on-ballot corroboration, not for any 2026 claim. may have more bias because it is an editorial endorsement source compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

sonomacounty.gov (opens in a new tab)Sonoma County Registrar of Voters -- "Local Candidates Who Have Filed," November 3, 2026 General Election: lists exactly three Santa Rosa "CITY CONTESTS" -- City Council Districts 2, 4, and 6 -- with per-contest candidate name, ballot designation, qualification date, and incumbent flag; no Santa Rosa Mayor contest appears anywhere on the page. Page last updated 8/17/26, unchanged on a live re-check 2026-09-01 after both the regular (Aug. 7) and extended (Aug. 12) nomination deadlines had passed.
srcity.org (opens in a new tab)City of Santa Rosa -- official "Notice of Offices and Nominations" (per Elections Code 10224.5), dated July 31, 2026: certifies three 4-year-term City Council seats -- Districts 2, 4, and 6 -- and states City Clerk Dina Manis furnished nomination papers to the incumbents for only District 2 and District 6, not District 4 -- confirming District 4 incumbent Victoria Fleming did not seek reelection.
srcity.org (opens in a new tab)City of Santa Rosa -- own "2026 Candidates" page: independently names the identical three-district, four-candidate field with matching ballot designations, links each candidate's filed candidate statement (Stapp, Sanders, and Okrepkie each filed one; Jones-Carter did not, per the page, because she "did not qualify for public financing") and each candidate's own campaign website.
en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia -- "Santa Rosa, California": used narrowly for the 2020 Census population (178,127), Sonoma County seat status, the council-manager government structure, and the current Council roster (Mayor Mark Stapp plus six district councilmembers, including Victoria Fleming and Jeff Okrepkie) -- does not cover the 2026 election.
en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia -- "Mayor of Santa Rosa, California": confirms Santa Rosa's Mayor is not a separately elected office -- "the mayor is elected by the council to a single two-year term" -- from among sitting councilmembers.
nf4.netfile.com (opens in a new tab)Santa Rosa's NetFile-hosted public campaign-finance portal (linked from the city's own Campaign Finance Information and Campaign Disclosure Filings pages): the landing page loads without a CAPTCHA, but its candidate/filing search runs entirely through client-side ASP.NET postback controls with no URL-parameter or REST-API path reachable by this session's fetch tooling (no browser extension connected this pass); its own real-time filing RSS feed (max. 15-day/1,000-item window) returned zero Santa Rosa items as of this retrieval -- a documented access limitation, not a claim that no filings exist.
srcity.org (opens in a new tab)Mark Stapp -- filed candidate statement for Santa Rosa City Council District 2, 2026, hosted on the city's own site: ballot designation "City Councilmember," describes his current service as "Mayor of Santa Rosa and your District 2 City Councilmember" and his housing, infrastructure, and public-safety priorities.
pressdemocrat.com (opens in a new tab)The Press Democrat Editorial Board -- "PD Endorsement: Mark Stapp, Terry Sanders and Jeff Okrepkie for Santa Rosa City Council" (Oct. 14, 2022): independently corroborates that Stapp and Okrepkie were both on the 2022 Santa Rosa City Council ballot -- consistent with their current 4-year terms expiring this cycle -- and that Sanders also ran that year (the race he later conceded to Fleming). Cited only for this 2022 on-ballot corroboration, not for any 2026 claim.
vote411.org (opens in a new tab)League of Women Voters -- Vote411 voter guide, 'City of Santa Rosa City Council Member, District 2' race (statewide All Races list): each candidate's self-submitted ballot designation and campaign contacts, plus answers to the League's questions -- If elected, what are your top 3 priorities?; What background, experience and/or education qualify you for this elected office?; Is there anything else that you would like the voters to know about you? No answers were on file at capture. Capture in data/nov-2026/sources/vote411/santa-rosa-council-2.json.

Last updated October 7, 2026.

City of Santa Rosa

Santa Rosa City Council, District 2

This person would represent one of Santa Rosa's seven City Council districts. They vote on city laws, the budget, and land use. Santa Rosa is Sonoma County's largest city and county seat. It has 178,127 residents. A professional city manager runs day-to-day operations. There is no separately elected Mayor. The seven-member council elects one of its own members as Mayor. The Mayor serves a two-year term and also keeps their own district seat. Council seats are elected by district for staggered 4-year terms. Districts 2, 4, and 6 are up this November. Districts 1, 3, 5, and 7 are not up again until 2028.

Only one candidate qualified for Santa Rosa's District 2 council seat. Incumbent Mark Stapp is unopposed for another term. This contest is settled. Your vote here will not change the outcome.

This is one of Santa Rosa's seven district council seats. Santa Rosa is Sonoma County's largest city and its county seat. Its population was 178,127 in the 2020 Census. The city runs council-manager. Councilmembers set the budget, ordinances, and land-use policy. A professional city manager runs day-to-day work. There is no separately elected Mayor. The seven-member Council picks one of its own to preside as Mayor for two years. That member keeps their own district seat. Council seats run four years and are staggered. Only Districts 2, 4, and 6 are up this November.

With no opponent, the useful question is not who to choose. It is what the officeholder has done and what to watch next. Accountability for this seat over the next four years runs through Council meetings and public records requests. It does not run through the ballot. The city's Notice of Offices and Nominations confirms nomination papers went to Stapp as District 2's sitting incumbent. A candidate statement was filed and posted for this race. So the city printed this as a live, on-ballot contest. It did not cancel the race and appoint him directly. California law allows that for single-filer seats. Santa Rosa did not use it here.

Mark Stapp

Mark Stapp holds the District 2 seat now. He is also Santa Rosa's Mayor. He highlights affordable housing and public safety. He also cites more than $150 million in infrastructure investment. He was on the 2022 council ballot. He now seeks another 4-year term.

Your pick

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

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