Ashland City Council · Nov 3, 2026
Bob Kaplan
Candidate for City Council (incumbent)
Bob Kaplan, the incumbent, is running for Ashland City Council in the Nov 3, 2026 election; 12 candidates are running for 4 seats.
Voter registration deadline · Tue, Oct 13, 2026
Retired economist who has served on the Ashland City Council since 2023. Previously led the Inter-American Foundation as president and CEO (2010-2017).
- Occupation (from candidate statement)
- Retired Economist
- Campaign website
- www.bobkforashland.com
Councilors Jeff Dahle, Eric Hansen, Bob Kaplan and Derek Sherrell hold seats with terms ending December 2026. City of Ashland
Bob Kaplan is the lone council incumbent among the 12 candidates, according to Ashland.news. Ashland.news · Aug 20, 2026
Bob Kaplan's wife, Lorrie Kline Kaplan, is board president of Ashland.news, which wrote several of the candidate profiles cited here; Ashland.news disclosed this in its June 23, 2026 article. Ashland.news · Jun 23, 2026
Where Bob Kaplan stands: positions on the record
Homelessness and shelter2 sourced positions
Voted no on declining a $1.8 million ACCESS grant for renovations to continue emergency shelter at 2200 Ashland St. (motion passed 5-1, March 2024).
Council voteAshland.news · Mar 6, 2024
Said he supported the OHRA night lawn pilot and that the lawn needs professional social-service management, not policing.
Own statementAshland.news · Aug 5, 2026
City manager1 sourced position
Voted yes to appoint Sabrina Cotta as city manager (passed 5-1, August 2024).
Council voteAshland.news · Aug 21, 2024
Utility fee measure2 sourced positions
Voted no on referring the utility-fee voter-approval charter amendment to the November ballot (passed 4-2, August 2026).
Council voteAshland.news · Aug 11, 2026
Co-signed with Councilor Dylan Bloom the voters' pamphlet argument against Measure 15-243, favoring public-notice rules set by ordinance instead.
“Fix the process. Keep the ability to fix the fix.”
Own statementJackson County Voters' Pamphlet, Nov 3, 2026 General Election (Measure 15-243, p. 15-13) · Sep 14, 2026
Wildfire1 sourced position
Says Ashland has made progress on wildfire but must accelerate implementation of its Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
“None of our houses or businesses can be resilient to wildfire while other houses and businesses are vulnerable to wildfire”
Own statementAshland.news · Jun 23, 2026
Also running for City Council
- Linda Adams
- Jack Buckley
- Teresa Cisneros
- Brian Hellwig
- Kerry Kencairn
- Ronan Kilkelly
- Clarinda Merripen
- Brandon Polanco
- Dan Ruby
- Victoria Slaboda
- Aydin Timmons
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