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San Ramon Vice Mayor Marisol Rubio is seeking to defend her City Council District 4 in this year’s general election, with a campaign announcement pointing to a commitment to remain in city government following a State Senate bid two years ago.
Rubio confirmed her campaign on social media July 21, going on to file candidate paperwork in the following days ahead of the upcoming Aug. 7 deadline.
“Over the past four years as your Councilmember, we’ve made significant strides on environmental initiatives, affordable housing, transportation management, the budget and economy, and established meaningful opportunities for more diversity, equity, inclusion, and upward mobility within our city regardless of someone’s socioeconomic background,” Rubio wrote on July 21.
“These accomplishments have been recognized locally, statewide, and nationally! We are proud of the progress we’ve made together, but much work remains to be done,” she continued.
A former board director for Dublin San Ramon Services District, Rubio emerged as a last-minute contender for the District 4 seat in 2022, going on to beat out opponent Heidi Kenniston-Lee with a decisive win that November.
While Rubio is now coming to the end of her four-year term on the City Council, her tenure could have been cut short by a State Senate bid in 2024. She was ultimately beat out by Tim Grayson to succeed Steve Glazer.
Throughout that campaign and her tenure on the council, Rubio has been an outspoken advocate for environmental protections, reproductive rights, affordable housing, and disability and LGBTQ+ rights, drawing from her own experiences as a single mother of a daughter who survived brain cancer and a longtime resident of the city.
In recent months, Rubio has been a prominent figure in the restructuring of the city’s committees and the establishment of a new Sustainability Advisory Committee, bringing to life a vision put forth in the city’s Climate Action Plan update approved last summer.
More recently, Rubio served as a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ visibility and the city’s annual Pride Flag display in June after critiques from opponents of the practice at an April council meeting led to a months-long debate and revision to the city’s commemorative flag policy despite the council approving a resolution to fly the flag and proceed with celebrations this year.
While Rubio was the city council’s new kid on the block upon her election in 2022, she is now the third longest-tenured sitting member of the San Ramon government, ascending to vice mayor this year as she approaches the end of her first term amid turnover in the 2024 election.
Last week’s announcement from Rubio, along with Mayor Mark Armstrong’s reelection campaign launch earlier this year, point to signs of stability in the city government following Hudson’s retirement as well as his fellow longtime councilmember Scott Perkins’ retirement in 2024.
As it stands now, District 3 councilmember Sridhar Verose is the city’s only elected official to have been in his position for more than one term, following an uncontested reelection in 2024.
Perkins was succeeded by first-time District 1 Councilmember Robert Jweinat that year, who won a tight race against opponent Vasanth Shetty, with Armstrong beating out opponent Chirag Kathrani for the mayor’s seat vacated by Hudson. Richard Adler was appointed early last year to fill the District 2 seat vacated by Armstrong’s ascent to the mayor’s seat.
In addition to Rubio’s and Armstrong’s seats, Adler’s District 2 seat will also be on the ballot this November. While Adler had not put out any public campaign announcements as of this week, he filed paperwork with the city earlier this month to establish an election campaign.
Although Rubio confirmed her reelection campaign last week, it remained in its early fundraising phase as of this week, with no official website or other materials yet available.
“It has been my honor and privilege to serve the City of San Ramon and I look forward to continuing our work together,” Rubio said in her campaign announcement.
