Carlsbad City Council District 3 · Nov 3, 2026
Priya Bhat-Patel
Candidate for City Council District 3 (incumbent)
Priya Bhat-Patel, the incumbent, is running for Carlsbad City Council District 3 in the Nov 3, 2026 election, against Wayland Lim.
Ballots start going out · Mon, Oct 5, 2026
TodayCarlsbad mayor pro tem and public health professional in her second term on the City Council. She chairs the North County Transit District.
- Occupation (from candidate statement)
- Council Member, City of Carlsbad
- Endorsed by
- Carlsbad Firefighters Association and Carlsbad Police Officers' Association, as listed on her site. Priya Bhat-Patel campaign site
- Campaign website
- www.priyabhatpatel.com
Ballotpedia lists the San Diego County Democratic Party and the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council among endorsers of Priya Bhat-Patel. Ballotpedia
Where Priya Bhat-Patel stands: positions on the record
Village development3 sourced positions
Moved and voted yes on a five-story mixed-use building with 50 condominiums at 840 Carlsbad Village Drive (passed 4-1, July 2026).
Council voteCarlsbad City Council minutes, July 28, 2026 · Jul 28, 2026
As reported by The Coast News
Said state law leaves cities a narrow legal standard for denying housing projects.
“Tonight’s vote isn’t really a referendum on whether we like the project’s size,”
Own statementThe Coast News · Aug 3, 2026
Moved and voted yes on a four-story mixed-use building with 23 apartments at 2621 Roosevelt Street in the Village (passed 4-1, July 2025).
Council voteCarlsbad City Council minutes, July 29, 2025 · Jul 29, 2025
Drive-thru ban1 sourced position
Voted no on allowing privately initiated code amendments after reviewing the city's drive-thru ban; she spoke for keeping the ban (passed 3-2, April 2025).
Council voteCarlsbad City Council minutes, April 29, 2025 · Apr 29, 2025
Local control2 sourced positions
Voted no on directing staff to bring back a resolution supporting the goals of the Our Neighborhood Voices ballot initiative (failed 2-3, June 2025).
Council voteCarlsbad City Council minutes, June 17, 2025 · Jun 17, 2025
As reported by The Coast News
Said she was not saying no to the Our Neighborhood Voices initiative but wanted to see its full language first.
“I’m not saying no at all, I’d like to see the full language first,”
Own statementThe Coast News · Jun 24, 2025
Homelessness2 sourced positions
Moved and voted yes on the city's Homelessness Action Plan funding plan for fiscal year 2025-26 (passed 4-1, Jan. 2025).
Council voteCarlsbad City Council minutes, Jan. 28, 2025 · Jan 28, 2025
Moved and voted yes on the city's Homelessness Action Plan funding plan for fiscal year 2026-27 (passed 5-0, Dec. 2025).
Council voteCarlsbad City Council minutes, Dec. 2, 2025 · Dec 2, 2025
Terramar sidewalks4 sourced positions
Voted no on resurfacing and restriping Carlsbad Boulevard in the Terramar area with no sidewalks, leaving a possible later project (passed 3-2, June 2026).
Council voteCarlsbad City Council minutes, June 9, 2026 · Jun 9, 2026
As reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune; not a direct quote
Pushed with Teresa Acosta to add a sidewalk on at least one side of Carlsbad Boulevard in the Terramar area.
Own statementSan Diego Union-Tribune · Jun 14, 2026
As reported by The Coast News
Said the council was putting off the Terramar project by not discussing a compromise.
“We are shortchanging ourselves by not having this compromise conversation,”
Own statementThe Coast News · Jun 16, 2026
Moved a smaller Terramar project with roadway and sidewalk improvements and no roundabout (passed 4-1, Oct. 2025).
Council voteCarlsbad City Council minutes, Oct. 28, 2025 · Oct 28, 2025
Traffic lanes1 sourced position
Voted no on a council policy statement on traffic lane reductions; the minutes say she objected that changing it would take a supermajority (passed 4-1, March 2026).
Council voteCarlsbad City Council minutes, March 10, 2026 · Mar 10, 2026
Council pay2 sourced positions
Moved and voted yes on adopting a cost-of-living pay raise for council members tied to the regional Consumer Price Index (passed 3-2, Jan. 2025).
Council voteCarlsbad City Council minutes, Jan. 28, 2025 · Jan 28, 2025
Moved and voted yes on introducing the 2026 council pay raise tied to the regional Consumer Price Index (passed 4-1, Jan. 2026).
Council voteCarlsbad City Council minutes, Jan. 13, 2026 · Jan 13, 2026
Anti-bullying1 sourced position
Moved a resolution declaring that bullying has no place in Carlsbad's public spaces (passed 4-1, April 2026).
Council voteCarlsbad City Council minutes, April 14, 2026 · Apr 14, 2026
Budget2 sourced positions
Moved and voted yes on the city's fiscal year 2026-27 operating budget and capital improvement program (passed 5-0, June 2026).
Council voteCarlsbad City Council minutes, June 16, 2026 · Jun 16, 2026
Says she helped grow city reserves to 58% of the general fund, above the 40% minimum.
Own statementCandidate statement of Priya Bhat-Patel, City of Carlsbad, Nov. 3, 2026
Climate1 sourced position
Says she led Carlsbad to divest from fossil fuels and invest in clean energy jobs.
Own statementCandidate statement of Priya Bhat-Patel, City of Carlsbad, Nov. 3, 2026
Past candidacy1 sourced position
Ran for Carlsbad City Council, District 3 in 2022 (won).
Own statementSan Diego County Registrar of Voters · Nov 8, 2022
What Priya Bhat-Patel said vs. how Priya Bhat-Patel voted
Terramar sidewalks
In their words
Said the council was putting off the Terramar project by not discussing a compromise.
Jun 16, 2026 ·As reported by The Coast News ·The Coast News · Jun 16, 2026
On the record
Moved a smaller Terramar project with roadway and sidewalk improvements and no roundabout (passed 4-1, Oct. 2025).
Oct 28, 2025 ·Carlsbad City Council minutes, Oct. 28, 2025 · Oct 28, 2025
Voted no on resurfacing and restriping Carlsbad Boulevard in the Terramar area with no sidewalks, leaving a possible later project (passed 3-2, June 2026).
Jun 9, 2026 ·Carlsbad City Council minutes, June 9, 2026 · Jun 9, 2026
Budget
In their words
Says she helped grow city reserves to 58% of the general fund, above the 40% minimum.
Candidate statement of Priya Bhat-Patel, City of Carlsbad, Nov. 3, 2026
On the record
Moved and voted yes on the city's fiscal year 2026-27 operating budget and capital improvement program (passed 5-0, June 2026).
Jun 16, 2026 ·Carlsbad City Council minutes, June 16, 2026 · Jun 16, 2026
Also running for City Council District 3
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