Three vie to fill the seat of Marina’s longtime mayor Bruce Delgado as he retires.

For the first time since 2008, Marina will have a new mayor.

Current Mayor Bruce Delgado is not seeking reelection. Three candidates are running to fill the role: Current Councilmember Liesbeth Visscher, health care professional Mike Moeller and Hartnell College professor Ana Luz Acevedo-Cabrera.

Marina’s next mayor will have to contend with public facilities that officials say are no longer adequate to meet the needs of a growing populace. Marina voters will also decide on Measure Q, a utility users tax to help fund new facilities.

With a background in engineering, Acevedo-Cabrera says she has spent her life coming up with solutions for problems that affect the community. She views the lack of workforce housing, the cost of living and public safety as some of the issues facing Marina.

She decided to run because she sees the majority of the council as “disconnected from the reality of the community.” Acevedo-Cabrera says the 7-percent tax is too high for many residents. The current public safety building is inadequate for police and fire, she says, but could be used as a city hall.

Moeller works as a respiratory care practitioner for Santa Clara Valley Healthcare. He first got involved in civic life in Marina when he joined a group of residents opposed to a proposed casino in 2022. The council, in response to the public outcry, eventually nixed the casino plan.

Since then, Moeller has been active in various organizations, founding a local chapter of the Repair Cafe and recently became president of the nonprofit Marina in Motion.

He also served on the City Facilities Citizens Advisory Committee, which recommended a tax to fund new facilities. But Moeller says the 7-percent tax is too steep, and a lower tax that only focuses on public safety facilities would be easier for voters to swallow.

Visscher was first elected in 2022, and says she’s running for mayor to help steer ongoing projects to the finish line, including an aquatics center, a long-term maintenance plan and downtown revitalization. She views the Cypress Knolls property as Marina’s last option for a large housing development, one that could be dedicated to “missing middle” housing.

Visscher says the city can’t justify spending to update current facilities that are already too small and lack ADA accommodations. She supports Measure Q, and if it passes, says she will look for ways to reduce the tax rate in the future if elected.