Run for City Council

Thinking about running for a position on the San Leandro City Council? Here's how.

Eligibility

Any person is eligible to hold office as an elected Councilmember if the person is:

A registered voter of the City at the time of filing nomination papers and for a period of 30 days immediately preceding the date of filing.
A resident of the district for which they are seeking office at the time of filing nomination papers and for 30 days immediately preceding the date of filing.

What You Can Do Now to Prepare

If you are not sure if you are registered to vote in San Leandro, contact the Alameda County Registrar of Voters at 510-272-6973 or check online.
Read the City Council agenda and staff reports, available on the City's website.
Attend City Council meetings on the first and third Mondays of each month at 6:30 pm and City Council Work Sessions on the second Monday of the month at 6:30 pm in the City Council Chambers, 835 East 14th Street.
Familiarize yourself with the City Charter, Municipal Code, Administrative Code and Zoning Code, all of which are available on the City's website.
File a Form 501 Candidate Intention Statement with the City Clerk. This form must be filed prior to soliciting or receiving any contribution or spending any personal funds for the election.

How to Run for Office

Nomination Period

The City of San Leandro holds its elections on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years. The offices of The Mayor and Council Districts 1, 3 and 5 will be up for election in 2022. Check here to see what district you are in.

The nomination period opens 113 days before Election Day, and ends 88 days before Election Day. This is the period of time during which you can obtain your nomination packet, which includes the forms you need to submit in order to run for office. Please contact your City Clerk for an appointment to obtain a nomination packet.

For the November 8, 2022 election, the nomination period opens at 8:30 am on July 18, 2022 and closes at 5 pm on Friday, August 12, 2022.

Nomination Paper

Your official nomination paper will be included in your nomination packet. To qualify as a candidate, you must obtain the signatures of at least 20, but not more than 30, registered voters in your district.

Ballot Designation

This is the word or words which appear on the ballot under your name. It designates your principal profession, vocation or occupation, subject to certain requirements of the Elections Code.

Candidate Statement

This is an up to 200-word statement that is published in the Sample Ballot and mailed to all registered voters. If you choose to have a candidate statement, you will be responsible for the cost of printing, translating and publishing the statement in the Sample Ballot.

Campaign Finance Reporting

If you plan to raise or spend more than $2,000, you should do the following:
Obtain a copy of Campaign Manual 2 from the Fair Political Practices website or from your City Clerk; read it and give a copy to your Treasurer.
File a Form 501 Candidate Intention Statement with your City Clerk, if you haven't already.
Within 10 days of receiving $2,000 in contributions, file a Form 410, Statement of Organization with the Secretary of State.
Open a bank account for your campaign committee.
Become familiar with campaign report filing requirements and deadlines.
Attend an FPPC seminar (information available on the FPPC website or call the FPPC at 916-322-5660).

Campaign Signs

If you wish to install campaign signs, the following rules apply:

A Declaration of Intent to Install Temporary Election Campaign Signs in the City of San Leandro (PDF) must be filed with the City Clerk at least 2 days prior to installing campaign/political signs.
No campaign signs are allowed on public property.
The maximum allowable size of political signs is 16 square feet.
Signs must be removed within 10 days following the election.