Just two votes. That is the razor-thin margin separating challenger Joe Tagliaboschi from incumbent Mayor Margie Mohler in early, unofficial results from Yountville's mayoral election, with both candidates sitting near 50% of the vote as counting continues.
The early numbers, reported by The Press Democrat, represent just the first wave of tallies in a town of roughly 3,000 residents where only two candidates sought the four-year mayoral term. Tagliaboschi, a former Yountville public works director, was appointed to the Town Council in 2022 but fell short in his bid for an elected council seat in 2024, according to the same report. Mohler, meanwhile, has served on the council since 2008 and won her first term as mayor in 2022.
According to Local News Matters, Tagliaboschi was Mohler's only challenger in the race. The outlet's reporting on campaign filings also shows Tagliaboschi reported no direct campaign contributions, even as Gary Jabara's Build a Better Yountville PAC — tied to the owner of Hotel Yountville — spent around $5,000 on signage supporting his campaign.
Housing Fight Looms Over the Ballot
The mayoral contest unfolded against the backdrop of a bitter dispute over Yountville Commons, a proposed workforce-housing project at the former Yountville Elementary School site that was envisioned to house an estimated 120 families of local workers, per Local News Matters. Plans were ultimately halted after residents organized and signed a petition against the project, the outlet reported.
That petition drive, which required about 200 signatures — at least 10% of Yountville voters — emerged in March, according to The Press Democrat's earlier coverage. A citizen referendum later led the Town Council to undo several earlier changes, including zoning adjustments, that had set the stage for planning to move forward.
Tagliaboschi staked out a middle position on the issue, saying the town should explore affordable-housing options beyond the Commons site specifically. “I think the town should explore all available and viable affordable housing including, but not limited to, the former Yountville Elementary School site,” he told the Napa Valley Register. Mohler, for her part, argued any housing project needed to serve the town's long-term needs rather than simply maximizing unit count, telling a candidate forum, “the goal of a workforce housing project should be fulfilling long-term needs of the town and its residents and not just maximizing unit count. Financial sustainability of the project is equally important,” the Press Democrat reported.
Council Races Also Up for Grabs
The mayoral race was not the only contest on Yountville ballots. Two Town Council seats were also at stake, part of what the Press Democrat's August coverage described as a broader Upvalley election cycle in which three mayoral seats across Napa County communities were up for grabs.
At a late-September candidate forum covered by the Press Democrat, about 150 people turned out in the small town to hear candidates debate the Commons project and other local priorities. Robert Moore, a candidate at that forum, suggested the town explore reopening the Lincoln Theater on the Veterans Home property — shuttered since 2020 — as a way to attract convention business to Yountville.
What Comes Next
Napa County's election office has indicated that initial unofficial results are typically posted shortly after polls close on Election Night, with subsequent reports following until results are certified. No final, certified outcome in the Yountville mayoral race was available as of the early returns reported by the Press Democrat, and the newspaper's own account characterized Tagliaboschi's two-vote edge as part of an early and unofficial count that could shift as additional ballots are tallied.
