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City of Sebastopol · Statewide General Election

Sebastopol 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

Councilmembers vote on Sebastopol's city budget, ordinances, and land use for this Sonoma County city of 7,521 residents (2020 Census). Sebastopol is a council-manager city: a professional city manager runs day-to-day operations while the five-member elected Council sets policy, each seat serving a staggered 4-year term. The Council elects Mayor and Vice Mayor titles from among its own members. Unlike several neighboring Sonoma County cities that have moved to district-based elections, Sebastopol keeps all five Council seats at-large; this November's ballot includes three of them.

Seven candidates are running for three at-large seats on Sebastopol's City Council: attorney Brandie L. Solovay, Vice Mayor Sandra Maurer, SMART rail agency Board Clerk Kyreen Jorgensen, Mayor Jill McLewis, welder James Woodruff, environmental planning student Erin Mitchell, and structural engineer Ian Hoff. Vote for up to three -- the three highest vote-getters win, no runoff.

Sebastopol is a council-manager city of 7,521 residents (2020 Census), Sonoma County. The elected, five-member City Council sets the budget, ordinances, and land-use policy for the city, while a professional city manager runs day-to-day operations; each seat serves a staggered four-year term, and the Council selects Mayor and Vice Mayor titles from among its own members. Unlike several neighboring Sonoma County cities -- Healdsburg and the city of Sonoma both moved to district-based Council elections this cycle -- Sebastopol keeps all five seats at-large; this November's ballot includes three of them.

Two of the three outgoing incumbents, Mayor Jill McLewis and Vice Mayor Sandra Maurer, are seeking reelection to their seats. The third, Councilmember Stephen Zollman, chose not to run again, leaving an open seat -- part of why the field grew to seven candidates for three spots. None of the challengers has previously held elected office in Sebastopol.

Brandie L. Solovay

Brandie L. Solovay's filed ballot designation is "Attorney." Her own campaign site describes her as a parent who moved to Sebastopol and bought a home there in 2023, with professional experience in immigration law, criminal defense, family law, disability law, and civil litigation across private practice and nonprofit work. She identifies as legally blind and a member of the LGBTQIA community. She qualified for the ballot August 3, 2026.

Strengths

Broad legal background -- immigration, family, disability, and civil law -- with a direct tie to her stated accessibility priority.

Trade-offs

A more recent Sebastopol resident (since 2023) than most opponents; no independent news coverage found beyond her own campaign site.

Keep in mind

No Form 460 was reachable in this pass -- Sebastopol's finance portal is client-side gated (see Financial info) -- so her donor base isn't yet checkable.

Sandra Maurer

Sandra Maurer is Sebastopol's sitting Vice Mayor, a Councilmember since 2022, and her filed ballot designation is "Incumbent." Her own campaign site describes 38 years as a Sebastopol resident, a nonprofit-director background, prior service as a California Public Utilities Commission intervenor, and small-business ownership. She qualified for the ballot August 4, 2026.

Strengths

A four-year Council record to run on, plus 38 years of local roots and utility-regulation experience relevant to infrastructure votes.

Trade-offs

As an incumbent she owns the current Council's record; this pass found no independent, critical assessment of her tenure beyond her own site.

Keep in mind

Her site credits her with preserving public comment periods and restoring the Labyrinth of Life Teen Memorial -- checkable but not independently verified here.

Kyreen Jorgensen

Kyreen Jorgensen's filed ballot designation is "SMART Board Clerk" -- she is Clerk of the Board for the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit district and previously served as Deputy Clerk of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, per her own campaign site. She qualified for the ballot August 5, 2026, and describes her platform as fiscal sustainability, transparency and open government, and planning for growth while protecting Sebastopol's character.

Strengths

Direct government-operations experience at both the county and a regional rail agency, mapping onto her fiscal-transparency platform.

Trade-offs

Has not previously held elected office; no independent news coverage of her campaign was found beyond her own site.

Keep in mind

No Form 460 was reachable in this pass, for the same portal-access reasons noted for the other non-incumbent candidates.

Jill McLewis

Jill McLewis is Sebastopol's sitting Mayor, and her filed ballot designation is "Incumbent." Her own campaign site describes her as a downtown business owner and executive director of a Northern California food-and-beverage trade association. She qualified for the ballot August 6, 2026.

Strengths

Sitting Mayor with a specific record: her site credits her with a policy directing 40% of Measure U revenue to public safety and infrastructure.

Trade-offs

As Mayor she is most directly tied to the current Council's budget decisions; no independent assessment of her tenure was found beyond her own site.

Keep in mind

Her downtown business ownership is a direct stake in the downtown-revitalization priority her campaign highlights.

James Woodruff

James Woodruff's filed ballot designation is "Welder/Fabricator." His own campaign site describes 32 years as a Sebastopol resident, wastewater-treatment and water-supply certifications from his trade work, and volunteer activism with the Indivisible movement. He qualified for the ballot August 11, 2026 -- under the extended nomination window that opened because an incumbent (Zollman) didn't refile.

Strengths

32-year Sebastopol resident with hands-on wastewater and water-supply certifications, directly relevant to infrastructure votes.

Trade-offs

Has not previously held elected office; no independent news coverage of his campaign was found beyond his own site.

Keep in mind

His platform (economic justice, immigration-enforcement resistance, reproductive rights) leans more national in framing than his opponents', a difference in emphasis, not a judgment.

Erin Mitchell

Erin Mitchell's filed ballot designation is "Environmental Planning Student." She qualified for the ballot August 12, 2026, the last day of the extended nomination window. Her own campaign site carries only a slogan ("VOTE a Local Council Woman that Cares") and a contact form as of this pass -- no biography or stated platform beyond her ballot designation was found.

Strengths

Her ballot designation suggests subject-matter interest in land use and environment, though her program or coursework isn't independently verified.

Trade-offs

The least documented candidate in this pass -- no independent coverage or platform beyond her designation and a bare campaign-site landing page.

Keep in mind

This depth limit reflects what her campaign has published as of this pass, not a judgment about her candidacy -- it may be updated before the election.

Ian Hoff

Ian Hoff's filed ballot designation is "Engineer/Business Owner." His own campaign site describes him as a Sebastopol business owner, a structural engineer, and a multi-year volunteer firefighter with both the City of Sebastopol and the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District, and names Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins as a supporter. He qualified for the ballot August 12, 2026, the last day of the extended nomination window.

Strengths

Pairs an engineering background with volunteer firefighting for both the city and Gold Ridge Fire District -- direct exposure to infrastructure and public safety.

Trade-offs

Has not previously held elected office; no independent news coverage of his campaign was found beyond his own site.

Keep in mind

His site cites recent fiscal emergencies and public-safety changes as motivating his run, a critique voters can weigh against incumbents' own account.

Source review: Strong (83/100) · 7 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: Each of the seven Sebastopol City Council candidates' own campaign sites, linked from the city's own Elections and Voting page and read directly this pass: Brandie L. Solovay (votebrandie.com), Sandra Maurer (sandimaurer.com), Kyreen Jorgensen (kyreenforsebastopol.com), Jill McLewis (jill4sebastopol.com), James Woodruff (electjameswoodruff.com), Ian Hoff (ianhoff.com, including its /about page), and Erin Mitchell (erinforsebastopol.com -- a bare slogan-and-contact-form page with no biography or platform as of this pass). may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide 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 a City of Sebastopol section with one heading, "Sebastopol City Council (Elect 3)," naming seven qualified candidates -- Brandie L. Solovay, Sandra Maurer (Incumbent), Kyreen Jorgensen, Jill McLewis (Incumbent), James Woodruff, Erin Mitchell, and Ian Hoff -- with ballot designation, qualification date, and incumbent flag for each. 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.
  • cityofsebastopol.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Sebastopol -- own "Elections and Voting" page: states "Three council seats are open. Seven qualified candidates are running," names the identical seven-candidate field, and links each candidate's own campaign site or contact info; states the nomination period ran July 13-August 7, 2026 with an extension through August 12, consistent with Woodruff, Mitchell, and Hoff's later qualification dates. Links the FPPC's own site and Sebastopol's SouthTech Hosting campaign-finance portal.
  • cityofsebastopol.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Sebastopol -- own "Mayor & Council" page: states "The City Council has five members, each elected to a four-year term. Terms are staggered," and lists the sitting Council -- Jill McLewis (Mayor, term expires Dec. 2026), Sandra Maurer (Vice Mayor, term expires Dec. 2026), Stephen Zollman (term expires Dec. 2026), Phill Carter (term expires Dec. 2028), and Neysa Hinton (term expires Dec. 2028) -- independently confirming the county roster's incumbent flags for McLewis and Maurer and that Zollman, the third sitting incumbent whose seat is up this cycle, did not seek reelection. Does not state whether Mayor/Vice Mayor are separately elected or Council-selected titles.
  • pressdemocrat.com (opens in a new tab)The Press Democrat -- "Nomination period opens for dozens of council seats across Sonoma, Napa counties" (July 14, 2026): independently corroborates that "three at-large seats on the Sebastopol City Council are on the November general election ballot," held by "Mayor Jill McLewis, Vice Mayor Sandra Maurer, and Council member Stephen Zollman," and confirms Sebastopol is keeping at-large elections this cycle while Healdsburg and Sonoma (city) move to district-based elections. Names no specific candidates.
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia -- "Sebastopol, California": used narrowly for the 2020 Census population (7,521) and the city's council-manager government structure; does not cover the 2026 election.
  • cityofsebastopol.gov (opens in a new tab)Each of the seven Sebastopol City Council candidates' own campaign sites, linked from the city's own Elections and Voting page and read directly this pass: Brandie L. Solovay (votebrandie.com), Sandra Maurer (sandimaurer.com), Kyreen Jorgensen (kyreenforsebastopol.com), Jill McLewis (jill4sebastopol.com), James Woodruff (electjameswoodruff.com), Ian Hoff (ianhoff.com, including its /about page), and Erin Mitchell (erinforsebastopol.com -- a bare slogan-and-contact-form page with no biography or platform as of this pass). Self-description, attributed in text; not an independent evaluation of any candidate.
  • southtechhosting.com (opens in a new tab)A documented financial-disclosure access gap: Sebastopol's own Elections and Voting page links a SouthTech Hosting "CampaignDocs eRetrieval" portal. It loads (HTTP 200), but a direct inspection of the served HTML shows an ASP.NET WebForms application driven entirely by client-side __VIEWSTATE/postback controls, with no static filer or candidate data reachable by this session's fetch tooling -- the same client-side-gated pattern documented elsewhere in this dataset for SouthTech- and NetFile-hosted portals. No FPPC Form 460, 470, or 501 could be confirmed present or absent for any of the seven candidates.

Last updated September 1, 2026.