Novato Mayor Rachel Farac was leading her District 2 City Council race late Tuesday night, while longtime Councilmember Pat Eklund held a narrower edge in District 4, according to unofficial results released after polls closed. Seven candidates competed for the two open seats, and as of 10:50 p.m., neither race had been called.
As of that hour, Farac was ahead of challengers Mike Little and Bob Rasmussen in District 2, according to Patch. In District 4, Eklund was narrowly ahead of Chris Carpiniello, with Dan Christian and Luiggino Galletto trailing behind, the outlet reported. The winner of the District 2 seat will serve a four-year term, per the same report.
Farac was first elected to the Novato City Council in 2022 and currently serves as mayor, having previously served on the Novato Planning Commission. Little works as a PG&E engineer, while Rasmussen is an electrician, according to the article. The three had been the only names on the District 2 ballot since the field was set earlier this fall.
A Crowded Field With Deep Roots in City Government
The District 2 and District 4 contests were set back in September, when the Marin Independent Journal reported that seven candidates were vying for the two council seats. For District 2, the contenders were Farac, Rasmussen and Little. In District 4, Eklund — described as an incumbent for more than 30 years — faced challengers Galletto, Carpiniello and Daniel Christian.
Eklund's tenure on the council stretches back decades, and the newspaper's pre-election coverage framed her as the race's clear institutional figure against three newcomers hoping to unseat her. Farac, by contrast, was defending a seat she has held only since 2022, making her early lead in a three-way race notable even as the count continued.
Where the Candidates Stood on the Issues
Ahead of the election, Farac told the Independent Journal that her key priorities were long-term financial sustainability, economic development and housing availability. Eklund said her focus included supporting downtown businesses, addressing vacant buildings and housing affordability, according to the same report.
Christian, one of Eklund's challengers, said he wanted to streamline permitting processes to support the city's businesses, while also promoting affordable housing projects and helping steward the natural environment and open spaces, the Independent Journal reported. Those priorities were laid out well before Tuesday's returns began trickling in, giving voters a clear contrast between the incumbent and her challengers heading into Election Day.
Budget Backdrop Shaped the Campaign
The pre-election coverage also noted that Novato had passed a sales tax, tamed a structural deficit and adopted two balanced budgets in the two years leading up to the election — a fiscal backdrop that loomed over both council races as candidates staked out positions on spending and development.
With unofficial results still developing late Tuesday, the outcome in both districts remained unsettled. Final vote totals, margins and certified winners had not yet been established as counting continued.
