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SIX CANDIDATES ARE contending for four spots on the Lafayette City Council, three of which belong to incumbents.
With councilmember Wei-Tai Kwok deciding not to run for re-election, current Mayor Gina Dawson (Lafayette rotates council members into the position annually) and councilmembers Carl Anduri and John McCormick are running, with McCormick — who was appointed earlier this year when Teresa Gerringer retired — running for a full four-year term.
Former Albany City Councilmember Mario DiPrisco and former chair of the Lafayette General Plan Advisory Committee and public finance expert Jim Cervantes are running to finish the last two years of Gerringer’s original term.
Rounding out the field is Lauren McCabe Herpich, a former member of the city’s parks, trails and recreation commission, who is also running for a four-year term.
Gina Dawson
Dawson was first elected to the council in 2020. She previously worked at tech startups and moved to Lafayette in 2008.
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On her campaign site, Dawson counts among her council accomplishments helping update the city’s general plan and voting for the new housing element, which she said will provide opportunities for more affordable, diverse, and inclusive housing.
She said she helped adopt a comprehensive safety element — including utility safety — into the plan and furthered public education and awareness for wildfire prevention, preparedness, and evacuation planning. Dawson said she helped approve numerous traffic and safety improvements around schools and neighborhoods, including safer traffic speeds to reduce risk and accident impact.
Dawson supported a safe gun storage ordinance and served on the fiscal sustainability ad hoc committee, recommending this year’s Measure H sales tax measure to maintain the current level of municipal services.
Dawson also served on the council’s finance committee, reviewing proposed budgets and assuring transparency and served on the legislative committee, advocating for legislation, funding, and regulation that aligns with city goals and policies.
Dawson said on her site her priorities are maintaining fiscal responsibility, enhancing community safety, fostering a thriving downtown, creating more housing opportunities, and promoting environmental sustainability.
“These interconnected goals aim to preserve Lafayette’s high quality of life, address current challenges, and secure a vibrant future for our community,” she said.
Carl Anduri
Anduri seeks to extend his second stint on the council, of which he was a member from 2002 to 2012, then again from 2020 until now. Anduri, a former financial attorney, was mayor in 2005, 2011 and 2023.
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Anduri said on his campaign site (www.anduriforlafayette.com) he wants to make residents’ sense of community stronger, residents safer, downtown more vibrant, and to make Lafayette an even better place to live.
Anduri said, if re-elected, he’ll use his experience to help Lafayette meet challenges like increased risks of wildfire and implementing the state-required housing element that adds housing opportunities while providing for downtown parks and making Lafayette friendlier to pedestrians and bicyclists.
He also said he’ll help expand retail and commercial business and keep development away from hillsides, ridges and open spaces. He also wants to help the city maintain services and infrastructure while meeting the challenge of increased costs.
“I want our city to meet those challenges in a manner that not only improves the lives of our residents but makes us a model for others to emulate — a model of a safe, sustainable, inclusive, supportive community,” Anduri said on the site.
John McCormick
McCormick was appointed to the council earlier this year when Gerringer retired. He spent seven years on the board of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce. He’s also the co-founder of Lamorinda Music.
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His campaign statement with contracostadems.com said he worked in the software industry for 25 years in product management before retiring from tech to “get a master’s in history from Harvard, write a history book, and focus on giving back to my community.”
McCormick has also been on the city’s planning commission and on the Park Theater Trust.
Among his council accomplishments, he counts his involvement passing a balanced budget, the state-required housing plan, and numerous traffic and safety improvements.
On his campaign site, he said if re-elected he’ll be a champion for the downtown area and local businesses, expand green spaces, strive for fiscal sustainability and transparency, and prioritize public safety and fire preparedness.
“I am committed to thorough preparation, welcoming diverse perspectives, and making decisions that benefit our long-term future,” McCormick said, on his candidate statement. “I value your opinion.”
Lauren McCabe Herpich
Herpich is a small business owner and former member of the city’s parks, trails and recreation commission. She said on her campaign site her priorities will be Lafayette’s open spaces, balancing growth and governance and effective communications.
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One of her priorities is local parks.
“Did you know that while Lafayette’s general plan calls for 218 (square feet) of minimum parkland per resident,” Herpich said on her campaign site, “Downtown Lafayette residents only have 2 (square feet) per person? That number will only continue to decrease with the building of more housing unless it is prioritized.”
She also said more parks would bring more money into the city.
“According to the city’s proposed budget, recreation programs like Camp Awesome and year-round classes/activities at the Lafayette Community Center bring in around $2 million in revenue each year,” Herpich said. “We also saw restaurants adjacent to parks thrive during COVID because of their proximity to outdoor spaces. Especially if we are projecting a budget shortfall, we should prioritize the expansion of our amazing city programs and spaces that not only bring in needed city revenue, but also much-desired services for families and seniors.”
She said she believes in balanced growth and governance and responsible spending, pointing out most of the current council doesn’t live in the downtown area, where “the majority of change is being considered.”
“As a resident of Moraga Boulevard, Lauren will be a voice for those where more housing and transportation pathways are being discussed,” her site said.
Herpich said she has a background in marketing and communications that can help the city more effectively communicate what city government is doing. She said too many residents didn’t know the city put sales tax increase Measure H on the ballot to raise another $2.4 million annually to fund city services. She is against the measure because she says the city should instead do a better job of recouped unfunded mandates from the state, including tax money from online sales that otherwise go to the cities in which distribution centers operate.
Mario DiPrisco
In the race to serve the last two years of McCormick’s term, DiPrisco grew up in Albany, where he served on the City Council in his 20s. On his campaign site, he said he spent the past 26 years working as an analyst and portfolio manager at a large financial firm.
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“I understand budgets, financial statements and the industries that affect our lives on a daily basis: banks, insurers, construction companies, and building materials,” DiPrisco said on his site.
DiPrisco said he would prioritize reducing wildfire risk, lowering the cost of construction while creating the right incentives for developers and not creating more traffic on Moraga Road, which with area schools and being the main artery to Moraga is already choked with traffic.
“I will bring a new and fresh perspective,” DiPrisco said on the site. “And I won’t blink from doing the right thing for the future of Lafayette.”
Jim Cervantes
Cervantes said on his campaign site he spent 34 years in public finance, “working with scores of California cities and public agencies on their financing programs. I served as a community volunteer and a board member for city, county and state organizations.”
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That included chairing Lafayette’s General Plan Advisory Committee. He also spent time working for a nonprofit housing development organization in San Francisco’s Mission District, managing and financing affordable housing. He’s also served on the county’s Measure X advisory board.
Cervantes said his priorities include financial sustainability, as Lafayette is operating with a long-term structural deficit. He also wants to focus on wildfire risk and the city’s traffic safety issues.
“I worked with scores of California communities,” Cervantes said on the site. “Almost all were well run with dedicated management and thoughtful elected boards. A few were not. I think the notion of ‘service over self’ makes for an important part of the distinction. As citizens elected to public leadership, city council members must listen to the community and different points of view before using their own best judgement on a given issue.”
Election Day is Nov. 5. Visit the Contra Costa County Clerk Recorder’s website to find out more about county elections.
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