LAFAYETTE, CALIFORNIA – Lafayette residents will still receive ballots for the November 3 general election, but they may not be asked to vote for anyone on the City Council.
Exactly three candidates qualified for three available council seats before Lafayette’s extended nomination period closed on August 12. That leaves city officials with an unusual choice: place three uncontested races on the ballot or appoint all three candidates without holding a municipal election.
The Lafayette City Council will consider those options during a special meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday, August 20.
Three Candidates for Three Seats
The qualified candidates are:
- James Cervantes and Stella Wotherspoon for the two four-year terms
- Mario DiPrisco for the single two-year term
All three are familiar figures in Lafayette government.
Cervantes is a current councilmember who won a closely contested election against DiPrisco in 2024. That race filled the final two years of a term originally won by former Councilmember Teresa Gerringer. Cervantes is now seeking a full four-year term.
Wotherspoon is also a current councilmember. The council appointed her in July 2025 to replace Gina Dawson, who resigned before completing her four-year term. Wotherspoon was selected unanimously after the council interviewed five applicants.
DiPrisco, a former Albany city councilmember, currently serves on Lafayette’s Transportation and Circulation Commission. He lost the 2024 Lafayette council race to Cervantes by fewer than 700 votes but is now the only qualified candidate for the two years remaining in Dawson’s original term.
Councilmember Susan Candell did not file to seek another term. Her decision triggered a legally required extension of the nomination period from August 7 to August 12, giving non-incumbents additional time to enter the race.
One other resident, Brian Parsons, obtained paperwork for the two-year seat during that extension but elected not to complete the nomination process, according to the city’s official candidate filing list.
California Law Allows the Council to Cancel the Contests
California Elections Code Section 10229 allows a city council to appoint qualified candidates when the number of candidates does not exceed the number of offices being filled.
City Clerk Joanne Robbins formally certified that condition on August 13.
The council can now appoint Cervantes, Wotherspoon and DiPrisco to the offices for which they qualified. Alternatively, it can allow the uncontested races to proceed to the November ballot.
If appointed, the candidates would take office and serve exactly as if they had been elected. The city would also stop accepting declarations from potential write-in candidates after the appointments are made.
August 20 is an important deadline. Under state law, if the appointments are not made by the 75th day before the election, the council contests must proceed to the ballot.
The outcome among the three named candidates is not in much doubt. Each is seeking a separate seat or group of seats with no more candidates than positions available. The practical question is whether voters will formally cast ballots in those races and retain the possibility of supporting qualified write-in candidates.
Lafayette Has Done This Before
Canceling an uncontested council election would not be unprecedented in Lafayette.
In 2022, the council appointed Susan Candell, Teresa Gerringer and Wei-Tai Kwok after they became the only qualified candidates for three available seats. The city consequently left those council contests off the ballot.
At the time, Lafayette staff estimated that canceling the municipal contests would save the city between $38,000 and $57,000 in election expenses. The city has not published an equivalent estimate for the proposed 2026 appointments.
Earlier city records also identify 1993 and 2014 as years when Lafayette appointed council candidates in lieu of holding uncontested elections.
The General Election Is Still Happening
Even if Lafayette cancels its City Council contests, the broader November 3 election will continue. Local voters will still receive ballots containing applicable federal, state, county, school district, special district and ballot-measure contests.
Only the races for the three Lafayette City Council seats are at issue.
Thursday’s special meeting will take place in Conference Room 240 at Lafayette’s main city offices, 3675 Mt. Diablo Boulevard. Residents can attend in person, participate through Zoom or watch the meeting online through the links on the city’s meeting page.
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