Carlsbad, CAVoter Guide 2026 · not a ballot

Voter guide · Nov 3, 2026

Carlsbad Mayor & City Council Election 2026

3 of 5

council seats up

3 contests

8 candidates

Updated Oct 2, 2026. Every claim links to its source. How we check →

The candidates

Listed alphabetically by last name. Every position links to its source.

Mayor · 1 seat

City Council District 1 · 1 seat

City Council District 3 · 1 seat

All Carlsbad voters choose the mayor; voters in District 1 or District 3 also pick their district's council member. The most votes wins each seat.

6 notes on these statements

Wayland Lim appears on the ballot as Wayland T. Lim. City of Carlsbad · Aug 13, 2026

The League of Women Voters of North County San Diego held a Sept. 28, 2026 forum with mayoral candidates Keith Blackburn, Bill Arsenault, Eric Nixon and Stephen Banister. San Diego Union-Tribune · Sep 29, 2026

Ballotpedia lists the San Diego County Republican Party among endorsers of Keith Blackburn. Ballotpedia

Ballotpedia lists the San Diego County Democratic Party and the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council among endorsers of Priya Bhat-Patel. Ballotpedia

Ballotpedia lists the San Diego County Democratic Party and the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council among endorsers of Nate Larson. Ballotpedia

Ballotpedia lists the San Diego Young Republicans and the California Women's Leadership Association among endorsers of Melanie Burkholder. Ballotpedia

Already on the council, not on the ballot

Whoever you elect will govern alongside these members.

Teresa AcostaDistrict 4 council member, a small business owner and former professor. She has more than 20 years of experience in public policy.13sourcedKevin ShinDistrict 2 council member, a Marine Corps veteran, retired fire captain and small business owner.12sourced

Officeholders' pages compare what they've said with how they've voted, with sources.

Start here

Match quiz5 questions · answers stay on your phoneSeat the CouncilPick winners, see the councilWhat council decidesVillage development and state housing laws, Local control over housing, HomelessnessKey datesDeadlines and vote centers

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Next date

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Mon, Oct 5, 2026

TodayAll key dates

What the next council decides

Village development and state housing laws

Where it standsIn July 2026 the council approved a five-story, 50-condominium building at 840 Carlsbad Village Drive 4-1, with members saying state housing laws left them little choice.

What's on the tableThe next council will vote on more Village projects that use state density bonus waivers, starting with Carlsbad Village Square.

  • The 840 Carlsbad Village Drive project nearly doubles the 26 units otherwise allowed under the Village & Barrio Master Plan, through the state Density Bonus Law. The Coast News · Aug 3, 2026
  • City staff said the council could deny the project only for a specific, unmitigable public health or safety impact. The Coast News · Aug 3, 2026
  • The Planning Commission recommended approval of Carlsbad Village Square, a four-story building with seven condominiums at 430 Carlsbad Village Drive. The Coast News · Aug 7, 2026
  • A 33-condominium project on Roosevelt Street was withdrawn from the council agenda in September 2026 after staff found former tenants had been displaced without required notice and relocation help. San Diego Union-Tribune · Sep 30, 2026

Local control over housing

Where it standsIn June 2025 the council voted 2-3 against bringing back a resolution backing the Our Neighborhood Voices initiative, which seeks to return land-use control to cities.

What's on the tableThe next council will decide how hard to push back on state housing laws and whether to endorse statewide efforts to change them.

  • Our Neighborhood Voices proposes a state constitutional amendment to return land-use and zoning control to local governments. The Coast News · Jun 24, 2025
  • Oceanside, Encinitas and San Marcos had endorsed the initiative by June 2025. The Coast News · Jun 24, 2025
  • Under the state housing plan, Carlsbad had to designate space for about 3,900 new housing units, about 2,100 of them affordable to lower-income households. City of Carlsbad

Homelessness

Where it standsThe council adopted the fiscal year 2026-27 Homelessness Action Plan funding plan 5-0 in December 2025, and in March 2025 barred living in vehicles on public property.

What's on the tableThe next council will set each year's homelessness funding plan and decide whether to allow a safe parking program.

Coastline and the Terramar project

Where it standsIn June 2026 the council voted 3-2 to resurface and restripe Carlsbad Boulevard in the Terramar area without sidewalks; in September 2026 the city declared a local emergency to shore up an eroding bluff.

What's on the tableThe next council will decide whether to add Terramar sidewalks later and how to protect Carlsbad Boulevard from coastal erosion.

  • The approved Terramar option costs about $1.5 million; the sidewalk option was estimated at $3 million to $4 million and would remove about 23 shoulder parking spaces. The Coast News · Jun 16, 2026
  • Sidewalks could be reconsidered after the Seaside Transaction Agreement, which is expected to take five to seven years to complete. The Coast News · Jun 16, 2026
  • Carlsbad Boulevard carries about 13,000 vehicles a day and is the city's most heavily used bicycle corridor. The Coast News · Jun 16, 2026
  • The bluff work extends an existing rock revetment about 192 feet north along south Carlsbad Boulevard, north of the Las Encinas Creek bridge. City of Carlsbad · Sep 9, 2026

Who matches you?

Answer any of these questions. We compare your answers with each person's sourced record, and nothing is stored. Questions where no one has a sourced record yet are left out. Tap a selected answer again to skip it.

  1. 1. When a multi-story housing project in the Village qualifies under state housing laws, how should the council vote?

  2. 2. Should Carlsbad endorse the Our Neighborhood Voices ballot initiative to return land-use control to cities?

  3. 3. Should Carlsbad keep spending city money on its Homelessness Action Plan?

  4. 4. Should Carlsbad open a safe parking lot where people living in vehicles can stay overnight?

  5. 5. Should the Terramar stretch of Carlsbad Boulevard get new sidewalks?

Seat the Council →

Pick a winner for each open seat and see where the resulting council stands on each issue.

Key dates

The seat math

2 stay (not up this year): Teresa Acosta, Kevin Shin3 on this ballot

5 council seats. The council decides by a 3-vote majority.

Every claim here links to its source and was checked against it before publishing. How this guide works →

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