Six candidates are now competing for three Palo Alto City Council seats in the Tuesday, Nov. 3 election, and the first campaign finance reports show a lopsided money race that splits along an unusual fault line: where the dollars come from.

Parks and Recreation Commissioner Yudy Deng has raised $82,307 through June 30, a record for a Palo Alto council candidate at this stage, according to Palo Alto Online. Her donors include the Asian American Civic Leadership Committee ($5,900, the maximum allowed), California Lt. Gov. candidate Fiona Ma ($2,000), real estate brokers, attorneys and employees of Google and Yahoo. Some contributors live in Bellevue, Washington, where Deng resided before moving to Palo Alto in 2018.

Planning and Transportation Commission Chair Bryna Chang, the fundraising runner-up at roughly $17,109, drew almost entirely from local donors. Her contributors include Councilmember Keith Reckdahl ($500), fellow planning commissioners Todd James and Allen Akin ($102.90 each), and Parks Commissioner Shani Kleinhaus ($102.90). Chang also loaned her campaign $5,000.

The two incumbents in the race are barely fundraising. Mayor Vicki Veenker filed no campaign finance report for the Jan. 1–June 30 period, meaning she reported zero contributions. Councilmember Ed Lauing reported only a $25 self-loan.

Nathalie Tcholagheu, the newest entrant, and Henry Etzkowitz, 86, an academic who previously ran in 2024, have both filed intentions to run but reported no monetary contributions as of June 30. As we reported Monday, Aug. 3, only four candidates had filed at that point; Tcholagheu's entry brings the field to six.

Filing deadline and what's next

The nomination period closes Friday, Aug. 7, but is expected to extend to Wednesday, Aug. 12, because Councilmember Julie Lythcott-Haims has announced she will not seek reelection. Under California law, when an incumbent doesn't file, the window opens for five additional days. The field could still grow.

Lythcott-Haims announced her decision at the May 11 council meeting. "I'm making this announcement now so that members of our community will know that there is an open seat available," she said at the time.

The city's election page confirms nomination petitions are filed with City Clerk Mahealani Ah Yun by appointment at 250 Hamilton Ave., seventh floor.

What the new council will face

Whoever wins these three seats will inherit a $17.1 million structural budget deficit driven by falling sales tax revenue, according to city CFO Lauren Lai. City Manager Ed Shikada's proposed fiscal year 2027 budget already eliminates 22 full-time positions and eyes cuts to crossing guards, park irrigation and the Palo Alto Link rideshare program.

The new council will also grapple with fallout from SB 79, the state law allowing housing developments of up to nine stories near Caltrain stations. Nine developers filed applications for 384 units during a two-week window in early July before the city's local restrictions took effect.

Voters will also weigh in on the Cubberley Community Center sales tax, a half-cent measure to renovate the 15-acre Middlefield Road campus. City-commissioned polls show support hovering around 50%.

The next campaign finance deadline is Thursday, Sept. 24, when preelection statements are due. Vote-by-mail ballots begin mailing Monday, Oct. 5.