Del Mar City Council · Nov 3, 2026
Terry
Gaasterland
Terry Gaasterland, the incumbent, is running for Del Mar City Council in the Nov 3, 2026 election; 4 candidates are running for 2 seats.
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The race · City Council
- 01Terry GaasterlandYou’re reading
- 02Jas Grewal
- 03Meghan O. Spieker
- 04Jeff Sturgis
Background
- About
- UC San Diego professor of computational biology and genomics, on the Del Mar City Council since 2018. She served as mayor in 2021 and 2025.
- Occupation (from candidate statement)
- City Councilmember/Professor
- Party
- Nonpartisan race. California Constitution, Article II, Section 6
- Campaign website
- terryfordelmar.com
A video of the Oct. 2, 2026 candidate forum moderated by the League of Women Voters features all four candidates: Meghan O. Spieker, Jeff Sturgis, Terry Gaasterland and Jas Grewal. City of Del Mar · Oct 5, 2026
On the record: Terry Gaasterland
14 sourced01City budget2 sourced positions
Voted no on transferring $425,000 to the pension reserve fund (failed 2-2, March 2026).
Council voteCity of Del Mar · Mar 3, 2026LinkHow the council voted
Voted yes on the fiscal year 2026-27 budget update (passed 3-1, June 2026).
Council voteCity of Del Mar · Jun 16, 2026LinkHow the council voted
02Fire services1 sourced position
Voted yes on a preliminary joint fire management structure with Solana Beach, adding three fire department positions (passed 3-1, April 2026).
Council voteCity of Del Mar · Apr 21, 2026LinkHow the council voted
03Streets and medians2 sourced positions
Voted yes on approving the major arterial medians design and a $120,585 final design task order (passed 3-1, April 2026).
Council voteCity of Del Mar · Apr 7, 2026LinkHow the council voted
Lists repairing aging residential roads throughout the city as a top priority.
REPAIR AGING ROADS throughout the city - Bring all our residential roads up to high standards”
Own statementTerry Gaasterland for City Council 2026 (campaign website)Link
04Undergrounding3 sourced positions
Voted yes on directing staff to evaluate cash flows and phased construction for all upcoming undergrounding districts (passed 3-1, March 2026).
Council voteCity of Del Mar · Mar 3, 2026LinkHow the council voted
Voted yes on adopting a Measure Q financing policy for the undergrounding program (passed 4-0, September 2026).
Council voteCity of Del Mar · Sep 22, 2026LinkHow the council voted
Says she advocates starting design of each upcoming undergrounding district early so design is never the bottleneck.
I am advocating that we initiate schematic design of each upcoming district early enough so that design is never the bottleneck and plans are ready when construction funding becomes available.”
Own statementDel Mar Times (San Diego Union-Tribune) · Oct 16, 2026Link
05Housing4 sourced positions
Voted yes on denying the Seaside Ridge 259-unit development application as incomplete (passed 4-0, May 2026).
Council voteCity of Del Mar · May 19, 2026LinkHow the council voted
Voted yes on declaring the city-owned 10th Street lot, a lower income housing site, exempt surplus land (passed 4-0, February 2026).
Council voteCity of Del Mar · Feb 17, 2026LinkHow the council voted
Voted yes on introducing an ordinance updating special needs housing rules, including supportive housing and emergency shelters, to match state law (passed 3-0-1, August 2026).
Council voteCity of Del Mar · Aug 25, 2026LinkHow the council voted
Says state housing allocation formulas must be corrected to count year-round long-term jobs for the next housing cycle.
The formulas for housing unit allocations must be corrected to reflect year-round long-term jobs for the next 7th Cycle housing plan that will start July 1, 2029.”
Own statementDel Mar Times (San Diego Union-Tribune) · Oct 16, 2026Link
06Regional representation1 sourced position
Voted yes on keeping Terry Gaasterland as Del Mar's primary SANDAG board member (failed 2-2, January 2026).
Council voteCity of Del Mar · Jan 20, 2026LinkHow the council voted
07Rail relocation1 sourced position
Says the rail line should go around Del Mar along the San Dieguito River and over to I-5, with no tunnels and no eminent domain.
The only approach to realignment that makes sense is to go around Del Mar along the San Dieguito River and over to the I-5 as far north as possible.”
Own statementDel Mar Times (San Diego Union-Tribune) · Oct 16, 2026Link
Every claim links to its source and was checked against it before publishing. How this guide works
Terry Gaasterland: their words and their votes on the same issue
Undergrounding
In their words
Says she advocates starting design of each upcoming undergrounding district early so design is never the bottleneck.
Oct 16, 2026 ·Del Mar Times (San Diego Union-Tribune) · Oct 16, 2026
On the record
Voted yes on directing staff to evaluate cash flows and phased construction for all upcoming undergrounding districts (passed 3-1, March 2026).
Mar 3, 2026 ·City of Del Mar · Mar 3, 2026
Voted yes on adopting a Measure Q financing policy for the undergrounding program (passed 4-0, September 2026).
Sep 22, 2026 ·City of Del Mar · Sep 22, 2026
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