Election season is underway and the Goleta City Council adopted a resolution approving a General Municipal Election to be held on November 3, 2020. For the first time ever, this election will be conducted by mail-in ballot only.  On this year’s ballot, voters will be electing a Mayor and two City Council seats. Voters will also be asked to decide whether the Mayor’s term of office should stay at two years or increase to four years. The City Council decided not to move forward with a 1% sales tax increase measure on the November ballot.

The candidate filing period for the Mayor and the two City Council seats will be from July 13, 2020, through August 7, 2020. However, the candidate filing period may be extended to August 12, 2020, for persons other than the incumbents should an incumbent who is eligible to file elect not to file nomination papers. No incumbent may file during the extended candidate filing period.

If no one, or only one person is nominated for an elective office, appointment to the elective office may be made as prescribed by Section 10229, Elections Code of the State of California.

Eligible candidates must be registered voters residing within the boundaries of the City of Goleta. Nomination papers may be obtained from the Office of the City Clerk located at: City of Goleta, 130 Cremona Drive, Suite B, Goleta, CA 93117. An appointment is mandatory to ensure safety and accessibility during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Deborah Lopez, City Clerk, can be reached at 805-961-7505 or via email at dlopez@cityofgoleta.org.

For more information on the upcoming election go to our website at www.cityofgoleta.org/elections.