Election season is underway, and ballots have been mailed to voters who will choose among candidates vying for a seat on Pacifica City Council.
Five candidates are running across three city council districts proposing solutions to the city’s budget deficit, lack of affordable housing, solutions to protect ecosystems and navigating new development.
Sam Casillas and Margo Meiman are running to represent District 5, which includes Pedro Point and Lower Linda Mar. They will face off to fill the seat of Sue Beckmeyer, who is termed out after serving two consecutive four-year terms.
Pacifica Mayor Christine Boles is seeking a second term representing District 2, which includes Manor. Boles, the only council member seeking reelection, will face Dan Urban.
In District 3, Cindy Abbott is running unopposed for the seat held by Mary Bier, who is termed out, representing the Sharp Park area.
District 2
Christine Boles
Despite budget constraints and limited city employees, Christine Boles said deciding to seek reelection wasn’t easy.
“I had to really weigh thinking about running again because I’m tired and it’s been a cost to my family, and certainly to my income,” Boles said.
Budget cuts eliminated many city employee positions, leaving council members to take on extra work. Boles describes the city’s staffing as “bare bones,” noting that no employees are dedicated exclusively to issues like housing or climate, but she wants to complete the initiatives she started in her first term.
Boles, 62, an architect, said she wants to keep working to address sea-level rise, coastal erosion, flooding, and other hazards.
Boles said she wants to explore an offshore reef designed to reduce wave energy, support beach stability and create marine habitat. The concept could also benefit fishing and potentially provide a venue for better-quality surf competitions, she said.
“This concept has been used in other parts of the world, but never in such a rough coastal environment as ours,” she said. “If this is something that works, it can be something that can be replicated in other parts of California and the world.”
Boles said Pacifica has failed to build enough affordable houses in recent decades. She supports increasing residential density, including larger complexes, higher height, reduced setbacks and less parking in areas with access to transportation.
Boles is also pursuing several initiatives that have received less public attention.
Addressing Pacifica’s unhoused issue is one of them. She has begun speaking with local churches about developing housing on church property, which has become easier under certain state laws. She’s also discussed rehabilitating Sharp Park Golf Course with San Francisco supervisors. The city and county of San Francisco own the golf course.
“It’s so important because the neighborhood of West Sharp Park — there by Clarendon — is flooding regularly now with these increased storms, and so this could really be a win-win for the golf course and for the city,” Boles said.
Boles was first elected to council in 2022.
Boles’ endorsements include Rep. Sam Liccardo, state Sen. Josh Becker, Assemblymember Marc Berman, Supervisor Ray Mueller, San Mateo County Democrats, California Working Families Party, Climate Action California and the Sierra Club, among others.
Dan Urban
Despite being a new face to Pacifica, Dan Urban says his background in sales, cooking and food service will help bring the change the city needs.
“We’re no better off today than we were four years ago or eight years ago. Something’s got to change, and I feel like my transferable skills speak to that,” Urban said.
Urban, 62, switched careers from sales and hospitality to chef, then to regional operations management in the food industry.
I think a lot of the skills that I acquired along the way have prepared me for this,” Urban said. “I think it’s transferable to what we’re trying to do and what needs to be done in Pacifica.”
Urban said residents are divided between those who want to preserve the city’s character and those who support attracting more businesses to generate revenue.
“We need to put an emphasis on local businesses, keeping the ones that are here here, and then bringing other businesses into Pacifica so that we can be packed with visitors on the weekends and the evenings to increase our revenue,” Urban said.
Urban proposed attracting high-tech companies to open satellite offices in Pacifica while supporting a strong small-business presence.
Pacifica’s crumbling pier could become an attraction like the waterfront areas in San Diego or Santa Cruz, Urban said. He is against spending city funds to restore the pier and would prefer to pursue grants and bond funding.
He also sees Palmetto Avenue as Pacifica’s best opportunity to establish a more defined downtown, with additional dining options among his goals.
Urban has also spoken publicly about his sobriety, drawing a parallel between his recovery and the accountability he believes is needed on city council.
“You have to hold yourself accountable before you hold others accountable, and there are people on the City Council right now who do not admit that they’re wrong. They just don’t,” Urban said.
Urban has addressed traffic as another issue during his campaign. He argues that housing and traffic are interconnected and that new housing must be matched with transportation to meet the state’s housing requirements. He said he is open to several potential solutions — intersection improvements, signal light synchronization, lane reconfigurations and measures to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety.
Urban has been endorsed by the San Mateo County Association of Realtors.
District 5
Margo Meiman
After more than two decades in the classroom, Margo Meiman believes her teaching experience offers a new perspective on council. Although teaching and public service are different, both are fundamentally people-oriented, she said.
Meiman, 61, sees opportunities to expand Pacifica’s commercial base with hotels and restaurants while preserving what she describes as the city’s “small town, coastal vibe.” She says city officials should focus on developing ideas rather than dwelling on the obstacles to implementing them.
“For example, someone is talking about bringing in concerts and using city space to put on concerts and bring in food trucks,” Meiman said. “Of course, you think about all the reasons why that would be difficult to do. No, we should think about the reasons why it would be great to do so.”
Meiman describes herself as an environmentalist and supports exploring an artificial reef — a structure that could help mitigate rough waves — with funding from university and international research programs.
“Pacifica is ground zero for sea level rise, and we are positioned well to be a guinea pig for some of these solutions,” Meiman said. “I don’t think it’s pie in the sky to imagine attracting some research dollars to look at that kind of solution.”
Meiman recognizes pressure on cities to meet state housing requirements. She supports infill housing, which adds housing in areas with existing infrastructure rather than expanding into undeveloped land. She sees potential for housing or another development on 1.6 acres of city-owned land behind Sanchez Library.
Although Palmetto Avenue is often considered Pacifica’s downtown, Meiman sees a different alternative.
“If we really want to have this notion of a downtown for Pacifica, let’s try and find space for that in the Linda Mar area where the beach is,” she said. “Linda Mar is where the vast majority of out-of-town visitors come to visit Pacifica.”
Meiman’s biggest focus is San Pedro Creek, which empties into Linda Mar Beach and has suffered from chronic water pollution and high fecal bacteria levels for several years. She says federal funding could help replace aging sewer laterals and mains along the creek.
If elected, Meiman says she plans to use social media and newsletters to update residents on city developments and city council discussions.
“I love Pacifica and I want the best for Pacifica’s future,” Meiman said. “We’ve been able to raise our kids here and I want Pacifica to be thriving so that future families can thrive here as well. I think I’ve got the right blend of skills and experience to help guide the city through the challenging times that we have ahead of us.”
Meiman’s endorsers include the Sierra Club, San Mateo County Labor Council, California State Senator Josh Becker, San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller and Pacifica Mayor Christine Boles, among others.
Sam Casillas
If elected, Sam Casillas wants to use his nonprofit experience to push his goal of preserving open spaces in the city.
“I want to be able to run to be able to actually start enacting a lot of programs that will secure the city financially and also build climate resiliency because we’re ground zero,” Casillas said. “The only action that I’ve seen our city council doing is hard armoring.”
Casillas recently made headlines after spray-painting a negative political sign against his campaign. He was cited for vandalism and the sign has since been restored. He denied any malicious intent.
Casillas, 59, works in commercial operations for a pharmaceutical company but previously spent two years in the Peace Corps.
“I’ve always been sort of civically minded,” Casillas said.
Casillas is involved in several different local organizations, including Pacifica Land Trust, where he serves as president. The nonprofit focuses on preserving and protecting open spaces in the city. Through the Land Trust, he has become more involved in climate-resilience research and wants to apply what he has learned to council if elected.
Casillas says he has seen insufficient accountability and strategic planning from council.
“I want to be able to run to be able to actually start enacting a lot of programs that will secure the city financially and also build climate resiliency because we’re ground zero,” Casillas said. “The only action that I’ve seen our city council doing is hard armoring.”
Casillas identifies nature-based solutions and housing development as two of his central campaign issues.
Like Meiman, he wants to reduce pollution in San Pedro Creek and create meadows and mini-wetlands that could act as biofilters. He also plans to closely monitor the proposed 125 mixed housing units proposed at Higgins Road.
“The problem with that is it’s in the middle of eucalyptus forest and on top of the mountain,” he said. “You’re basically building in a fire zone — in a severe fire zone —which will put the current homes and neighborhood in danger. I want to be able to use that property instead for fire mitigation for the existing homes and infrastructure.”
Casillas is pushing for the abandoned Sea Bowl to be labeled as a historical designation so the building can’t be knocked down for condos. For the rest of the property, he proposed negotiating with the builders to infill with mixed-use development and some residential.
“I definitely love the open space and the recreational assets that we have,” Casillas said. “Our environment is our economy. It’s a very friendly place as well. Here in the community, neighbors really look out for each other.”
Former Pacifica mayors Sue Digre and Mike Vasey, councilmember Mayra Espinosa, California Working Families Party, San Mateo County Democrats, North Coast States Carpenters Union and others endorse Casillas.
District 3
Cindy Abbott
15-year-long Pacifica volunteer Cindy Abbott is running because she believes city officials have not adequately considered residents’ input over the last five years.
Abbott, 68, said public participation has become a procedural formality rather than a meaningful part of local decision-making. She said experience as executive director of the Sanchez Arts Center and previous director at Macy’s helped her develop problem-solving skills that could benefit council.
She said she wants to improve the shortage of activities and recreational opportunities for residents of all ages.
“We have not focused as a city on commercial development,” Abbott said. “Even though we’ve had a number of economic development plans over the past several years, they’ve never been implemented.”
Abbott is the only candidate running unopposed, and she says the circumstance has given her more opportunities to listen to residents and learn about their concerns.
“It’s changed the dynamic where I can just simply be listening to people and having more learning sessions,” Abbott said.
Pacifica’s beaches and nature trails are major attractions, but Abbott wants the city to offer more reasons for visitors to stay longer rather than make day trips. She pointed to recreational businesses such as the newly opened Replay Classic Arcade in Rockaway as examples of attractions that could broaden the city’s appeal.
Abbott said Pacifica lacks a single, clearly defined downtown and views Park Mall as a viable site for economic growth.
“There’s a lot of open vacant land there,” Abbott said. “I think there could be some really good connections between affordable housing, maybe family-oriented affordable housing, and redeveloping that shopping center area.”
Abbott also cited climate change and coastal hazards as concerns for Pacifica, where she has lived for 30 years. She supports implementing measures from the city’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, including nature-based solutions.
“We need to be thinking about nature-based solutions, and how do we make sure that we don’t put more people in harm’s way? They consider how to, instead of trying to engineer things, which is really expensive to do in the first place — and then requires constant maintenance in the future, which the city won’t be able to afford properly,” Abbott said.
Abbott has been endorsed by the Sierra Club and 350 Silicon Valley Action.