November 2026 City Council Candidates

This page reports official candidate statements as filed with the El Cerrito City Clerk, and campaign contact information as listed on the City’s Campaign Disclosure page. It is a voter information service. No opinions, endorsements, or comparisons are offered on this page.

Statements transcribed verbatim from each candidate’s official Candidate Information Packet, City of El Cerrito City Clerk’s Office. Contact information: elcerrito.gov/215/Campaign-Disclosure. Additional candidate biographies and Q&As: El Cerrito Wire.

Carolyn Wysinger (Incumbent)

Ballot Designation: Pending Approval Website: carolyn-wysinger.com

Carolyn Wysinger Educator, City Councilmember

As a proud El Cerrito High School graduate, community advocate, former high school teacher, and your city councilmember, I am working to make our city safer, healthier and more financially secure. Growing up in El Cerrito, public service has always been personal, because every decision we make affects the neighborhoods where our families live, work, and build their lives.

I’ve produced results by strengthening our city’s financial foundation and improving our S&P bond rating to A+, increasing city government transparency, sustaining our prompt emergency medical and fire response times, strengthening our wildfire prevention efforts, and attracting economic development.

I will continue working to keep our police and fire departments staffed and accountable; repair our streets, sidewalks, and storm drains; welcome new businesses to grow our tax base; and maintain and expand programs for youth and seniors.

My support of strong environmental and climate change policies have earned me the endorsement of the Sierra Club. Contra Costa Labor Council and Contra Costa Building and Construction Trades Council supports me based on my record of improving affordability for families. I’m honored to be endorsed by neighborhood leaders, Congressman John Garamendi, and County Supervisor John Gioia.

I promise to continue listening to our residents and small businesses so that I can deliver results that you can see on your own block and that improve the quality of life that makes our city such a special place to call home.

Gabe Quinto (Incumbent)

Ballot Designation: Incumbent Website: quintoforelcerrito.com Email: gquinto@elcerrito.gov

I grew up in El Cerrito and graduated from El Cerrito High School and CSU Long Beach. I’m honored to serve our diverse community where I was raised, and I have worked to build healthy and safe neighborhoods as your Councilmember and Mayor. Some of my accomplishments include:

Improving our public safety through maintaining fast emergency medical response times and increasing wildfire prevention efforts and community policing.

Protecting taxpayers by responsibly managing city finances leading S&P to raise our bond rating to A+, saying that they’ve seen “a continued improvement in (our) financial position and enhanced financial management policies and practices.”

Protecting our environment by supporting laws on the Bay Area Air District board to reduce air pollution and city policies to increase recycling and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Supporting policies making our streets safer and more walkable.

Promoting equity by supporting affordable housing near transit as recognized by Governor Newsom declaring us an official Prohousing Community.

I’m working to grow our revenues and tax base to build a sustainable future for our residents and small businesses, and ensure public safety, recreation and senior services meet our residents’ needs.

I work with our Federal, State and County representatives to deliver results for El Cerrito, and I’ve earned endorsements from Congressmember John Garamendi, State Senator Jesse Arreguín, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, Supervisor John Gioia, and many neighborhood leaders. Contra Costa Labor Council, representing 85,000 working families, supports me for working to improve affordability for residents.

I’d be honored to earn your vote.

Kimberly White

Ballot Designation: Executive Advisor Website: 2votes4changeec.com Email: info@2votes4changeEC.com

Public service has defined my career. Everything I have worked toward, across every role and every endeavor, comes down to one thing: quality of life for residents and the people who depend on public agencies to deliver quality services at the lowest cost practicable.

As a lifelong Bay Area native, I put down roots in El Cerrito in the early 2000s, drawn to its strong sense of community. This is still my city, and I’ve watched it change over the years. These are my neighbors, and their concerns are mine.

As founder of my own management consulting agency, I advise public agencies on financial management and performance. My direct public-sector experience comes from senior leadership roles inside a public agency, where I led a team that saved over $100 million over five years with no layoffs. Throughout my career, I have a history of partnering with unions to achieve organizational goals. Earlier in my career, as Director of Finance at a management consulting firm, I partnered with hospitals to improve service delivery and reduce costs. I hold a B.S. in Accounting and dual graduate degrees in Finance and Strategic Management, and serve on El Cerrito’s Financial Advisory Board.

El Cerrito needs experienced leadership and hard-won knowledge built from decades solving complex problems in the public sector. I’ll ask hard questions before problems become crises, and push for real accountability and transparency.

I’m committed to improving service delivery and to a sustainable budget that doesn’t rely on reserves to balance.

Mary Ann “MJ” Jawili

Ballot Designation: Accessibility Product Manager Email: votemjforec@gmail.com

I’m Mary Ann (MJ) Jawili, and I’m running for El Cerrito City Council.

I’ve been a resident and homeowner in El Cerrito for 18 years, and I love this city. But in all the time I’ve lived here, I’ve never seen an election as polarized as our last primary. People feel they’re not being listened to, and they’ve turned away from their city and their community as a result.

Community is what I do. From hosting dinners with friends to serving as president of an 850-member cycling club, I work to bring people together. I do this professionally, too: For over a decade I’ve worked as a product leader in accessible technology, translating standards and people’s needs into practical solutions that serve everyone, including people with disabilities and older adults. I’ve contributed to international standards and served on nonprofit boards, work that taught me how to listen, collaborate, and turn community input into tangible outcomes.

Our city deserves leadership that listens first, cares deeply, and acts with integrity. As a city councillor I’ll listen with empathy, especially to residents who feel unheard. I’ll proactively meet residents where they are and communicate in plain language. I’ll bring transparency to how decisions are made and how money is spent. I’ll keep community at the center of policy because a city’s greatness is measured by how well it serves its residents.

El Cerrito doesn’t need more division. It needs someone who will do the necessary work to bring us back together, and that’s what I’m committed to doing.

Wally Nowinski

Ballot Designation: Clean Energy Marketer Website: 2votes4changeec.com

I’m a new father, a homeowner, and an experienced business leader. I’m running for City Council because I believe we need to change the status quo in El Cerrito.

If elected, I won’t spend my time on junkets or networking for higher office. I’m running to serve El Cerrito: to make sure the city listens to residents, to provide real oversight, and to invest in our quality of life.

I’m someone who digs into the details and asks hard questions when something doesn’t add up.

I helped lead the opposition to the proposed library tax. We read the fine print and flagged its problems, from the ballooning price tag to a senior exemption almost no senior could qualify for. Voters agreed, defeating it by a 70 to 30 margin.

My wife and I bought our first home in El Cerrito in 2023 and are raising our newborn daughter Margot here. I run the consumer team at Impulse Labs, a San Francisco electronics company. Earlier, I helped grow a startup to 140 employees with no outside investment. We competed against Walmart and Costco, so wasting money wasn’t an option.

On the Council, I will bring that discipline to our budget, demand transparency in how decisions get made, and listen to neighbors before the city makes plans, not after.

You won’t always agree with me, but I’m happy to meet with anyone and will always be honest about what’s going on and why.

I hope to earn your vote.

Forrest Lanning

Ballot Designation: Pending Approval Website: forrestforelcerrito.org Email: ForrestForElCerrito@gmail.com

Forrest Lanning is a Bay Area native, structural engineer, and neighbor. He earned a degree in Architectural Engineering from California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) and later conducted earthquake engineering research at Stanford University. A career spanning more than two decades, Forrest has dedicated his work to helping communities become safer and more resilient through practical problem-solving, and responsible stewardship of public resources.

Forrest lived and worked overseas, helping communities recover from major earthquakes and tsunamis in New Zealand, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Costa Rica, and Colombia. Working with organizations including USAID, the United Nations, the World Bank, and local governments, he led disaster recovery programs that rebuilt and retrofitted schools, strengthened critical infrastructure, and improved earthquake preparedness. Managing projects with limited budgets taught him the importance of prioritizing investments, eliminating waste, and finding practical solutions that deliver the greatest benefit for every dollar spent. These experiences reinforced his belief that effective leadership begins with listening to the community, evaluating the facts, and making thoughtful, practical decisions that put residents first.

Forrest and his wife, Sara, are proud to call El Cerrito home. He is committed to serving the community with integrity, common sense, and sound judgment, working collaboratively to solve problems and make thoughtful decisions that reflect the best interests of both today’s residents and future generations.

White and Nowinski are running as teammates and share campaign website 2votes4changeec.com. Lanning is running separately, with his own campaign website (forrestforelcerrito.org) and email (ForrestForElCerrito@gmail.com).