Elections in Marina will shake up the City Council, with two new members guaranteed.

Elections this year will be different than last time voters went to the polls. For jurisdictions like the city of Marina that use districts, the 2020 Census means new district lines, drawn with the intent to keep communities of interest together, rather than incumbent councilmembers’ location.

The new map in Marina put current councilmembers Kathy Biala and Lisa Berkley in the same district, preventing Berkley from seeking re-election in her old District 4. (Her term ends in 2022 while Biala’s ends in 2024.) Similarly David Burnett, who was appointed mid-term, is not seeking re-election in District 1 because redistricting placed him in a different district that is not up for election this year.

The only contested race in Marina is in District 4, where two candidates hail from The Dunes – for the first time, Marina will have a representative from this area. Candidate Les Martin, a Navy retiree, also ran for council in 2020 in what was then a different district. He faces Liesbeth Visscher, who is involved in local water issues as chair of the group Citizens for Just Water.

Mayor Bruce Delgado is running unopposed for a seventh term. Brian McCarthy, a member of the Planning Commission, is running unopposed for District 1.

McCarthy, Martin and Visscher support a bond measure to fund facilities improvements in Marina including a new City Hall and fire station. (The council postponed a vote on such a bond measure to a future election.) The candidates also agree on restructuring council meetings to make them more efficient such as setting time limits for discussions and announcements or reducing time for public comments (currently it’s four minutes per person, the longest in the county).

Visscher hopes to increase public engagement not just at official meetings, but with a city booth at the farmers market. McCarthy wants to use technology and different ways of contacting the public. Martin says he does not have a strategy for boosting public engagement, but wants to continue Zoom meetings for ease of participation.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that David Burnett cannot run for re-election because redistricting placed him in a different district that is not up for election this year. In addition, the development where both District 4 candidates live is The Dunes, not Sea Haven.