Sunnyvale City Council District 5 · Nov 3, 2026
Richard Mehlinger
Candidate for City Council District 5 (incumbent)
Richard Mehlinger, the incumbent, is running for Sunnyvale City Council District 5 in the Nov 3, 2026 election, unopposed.
Vote-by-mail ballots begin mailing · Mon, Oct 5, 2026
TodayDistrict 5 councilmember since 2023 and the council's vice mayor in 2026. His ballot statement cites a city 311 app, changes to the council's study-issue process and support for local retail.
- Occupation (from candidate statement)
- Software Engineer/City Commissioner
- Endorsed by
- Supervisor Otto Lee, Mayor Larry Klein, Councilmember Alysa Cisneros and SNAIL Neighborhood Chair Valérie Suarès Richard Mehlinger campaign site
- Campaign website
- www.richardforsunnyvale.com
Where Richard Mehlinger stands: positions on the record
Tenant protections1 sourced position
Seconded and voted for directing staff to draft an ordinance raising relocation assistance for no-fault evictions to three months of rent (passed 5-2, February 2025).
Council voteCity Council minutes · Feb 25, 2025
Streets and bike lanes1 sourced position
Seconded and voted for removing parking on both sides of Hollenbeck Avenue for buffered bike lanes (passed 6-1, December 2025).
Council voteCity Council minutes · Dec 2, 2025
License plate cameras2 sourced positions
Moved to keep the city's Flock license plate readers with added oversight and to reevaluate vendor options before the 2027 contract renewal (passed 7-0, April 2026).
Council voteCity Council minutes · Apr 21, 2026
As quoted by San José Spotlight
Said the license plate readers have helped stop and solve serious crimes, but that he does not trust Flock as a vendor.
“I do not trust Flock as a vendor.”
Own statementSan José Spotlight
Budget1 sourced position
Moved to cut the planned pension trust contribution by $2 million and add $1 million each to reserves and infrastructure (failed 2-4, December 2025).
Council voteCity Council minutes · Dec 9, 2025
Homelessness and RVs2 sourced positions
Moved to have staff develop interim housing at the Fair Oaks site, an RV buyback program and permitted RV parking on designated streets (passed 6-0, April 2026).
Council voteCity Council minutes · Apr 21, 2026
As quoted by San José Spotlight
Criticized the city's lack of progress on a safe parking program for people living in vehicles.
“I cannot accept that there is nowhere in this city that can support a safe parking program.”
Own statementSan José Spotlight
Priorities1 sourced position
Candidate statement of qualifications
Says that as a councilmember he has worked to make streets safer, tackle homelessness, improve housing affordability and support small businesses.
Own statementCandidate Statements of Qualifications (City of Sunnyvale) · Aug 7, 2026
What Richard Mehlinger said vs. how Richard Mehlinger voted
Homelessness and RVs
In their words
Criticized the city's lack of progress on a safe parking program for people living in vehicles.
As quoted by San José Spotlight ·San José Spotlight
On the record
Moved to have staff develop interim housing at the Fair Oaks site, an RV buyback program and permitted RV parking on designated streets (passed 6-0, April 2026).
Apr 21, 2026 ·City Council minutes · Apr 21, 2026
Also running for City Council District 5
No one else is running for this seat.
All 3 Sunnyvale candidates →Every claim here links to its source and was checked against it before publishing. How this guide works →
See something wrong? Report an error
Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.