TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH
San Mateo County
Sophie Cole, Mayor Town Hall
Leslie Marden Ragsdale, Vice Mayor 1600 Floribunda Avenue Laurie Davies Adams, Councilmember Hillsborough, CA 94010 Marie Chuang, Councilmember www.hillsborough.net
Christine Krolik, Councilmember 650-375-7400
REVISED A G E N D A
THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026
9:00 AM SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Council Chambers and Zoom
TELECONFERENCE NOTICE
Under Government Code Section 54953(b), this special City Council meeting will include teleconference participation by Councilmember Leslie Marden Ragsdale from the Galmont Hotel, Lough Atalia Road, Hotel Lobby, Galway, H91 CYN3, Ireland. The agenda will be posted at the teleconference location. Public comment from this address shall be allowed under Government Code Section 54954.3
To attend the special meeting in person: 1600 Floribunda Avenue, Hillsborough, CA 94010 or the Galmont Hotel, Lough Atalia Road, Hotel Lobby, Galway, H91 CYN3, Ireland To provide public comment in person: Members of the public wishing to speak on the agenda item are requested to complete a yellow speaker card and submit it to the City Clerk. Speakers may speak for up to three minutes.
To participate in the meeting via Zoom:
• Log in to the meeting at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88581228174?pwd=y5nbWT8lbjeDnyDPx9ZaF2CRFk6GCI.1 • Dial-in via phone:
+1 669 444 9171 US
Meeting ID: 885 8122 8174
Passcode: 364336
To provide public comment via Zoom: Live verbal public comments may be made by requesting to speak using the “raise hand” feature in Zoom or, if calling in by phone, by pressing *9 on the telephone keypad prior to the close of the public comment period for the item. In response, the Town will unmute the speaker and allow them to speak for up to three minutes.
I. CALL TO ORDER
II. ROLL CALL
III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
IV. PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA
This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to address the City Council on any matter not on the agenda.
Members of the public participating in person are requested to complete a yellow speaker card and submit it to the City Clerk before addressing the City Council. Members of the public may provide comments via the Zoom platform by using the “raise hand” feature or, if calling in by phone, by pressing *9 on the telephone keypad. In response, the Town will unmute the speaker and allow them to speak on any topic for up to three minutes. If there appears to be a large number of speakers, speaking time may be reduced to no less than 2 minutes, at the discretion of the Mayor. Members of the public are limited to one comment at this time. State law prohibits the Council from discussing or acting on non-agenda items, and generally limits the ability of the Council to respond to any public comments made regarding non-agenda items.
Revised Special Meeting Agenda – Hillsborough City Council Thursday, August 20, 2026
V. ANNOUNCEMENT OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST
This portion of the agenda is for Councilmembers to disclose any conflict of interest related to any item on the agenda. Any Councilmember who has confirmed a conflict of interest or has reason to believe they have a conflict of interest should disclose the conflict for the record and abide by the disqualification requirements contained in FPPC regulations.
VI. NEW BUSINESS
1. Consideration of Resolution Appointing Jeff Baxter and Leslie Marden Ragsdale to the Town of Hillsborough City Council
VII. ADJOURNMENT
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS:
If you need a disability-related modification or accommodation, including auxiliary aids or services, to participate in the City Council meeting, or if you need an agenda in an alternate form, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at 650-375-7412 at least 24 hours before the scheduled City Council meeting.
ADDRESSING THE CITY COUNCIL:
Members of the public may provide written comments to the City Council regarding any item on the agenda by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting to [email protected] or by mail/in person at 1600 Floribunda Avenue, Hillsborough, CA 94010. Any writings or documents provided to a majority of the City Council regarding any item on this agenda prior to the deadline, except as exempt from public disclosure under applicable law, will be available for public inspection on the Town website, and in the City Clerk’s Office at 1600 Floribunda Avenue, Hillsborough, CA 94010, during regular business hours. All oral comments made at public meetings, including a speaker’s name, are recorded and included as part of the public record in the meeting minutes. Meeting minutes are publicly accessible via the Town website and via various internet search engines. Written comments, including a commenter’s name, are a public record and subject to disclosure on the Town website and/or upon request under the California Public Records Act (with personal contact information including personal email addresses and personal phone numbers redacted).
AUDIO / VISUAL ADVISORY:
Those persons who wish to use PowerPoint or other mediums when presenting to the City Council will be required to submit media items to the City Clerk by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting. Media items can be emailed to [email protected].
AUDIO OR VIDEO RECORDINGS:
Please be advised that under the Brown Act, any person has the right to record the City Council meeting, including the audience in attendance, using an audio or video recording device subject to certain exceptions. Please be aware that by attending a City Council meeting, you may be audio or video recorded.
TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH
San Mateo County
1600 Floribunda Avenue
Hillsborough, CA 94010
1 NEW BUSINESS
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
AUGUST 20, 2026
AGENDA STAFF REPORT
ITEM SUBJECT: Consideration of Resolution Appointing Jeff Baxter and Leslie Marden Ragsdale to the Town of Hillsborough City Council
SUMMARY: At the June 8, 2026 City Council meeting, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 26-34 calling a General Municipal Election to be held in the Town of Hillsborough on November 3, 2026 for the election of two members to the City Council.
The nomination period began on July 13, 2026. At the close of the extended nomination period on August 12, 2026 at 5:00 p.m., only two persons, Jeff Baxter and Leslie Marden Ragsdale, had filed nomination papers for the two City Council seats to be filled at the election. The San Mateo County Elections Official verified the necessary number of signatures filed on the nomination papers for the two candidates.
Per Elections Code Section 10229(a), a statement presenting the fact that there are not more candidates than offices to be elected was delivered to the City Council on August 12, 2026 after 5:00 p.m. Per Elections Code Section 10229(a)(3), a notice was published in the San Mateo Daily Journal on August 14, 2026. After 5:00 p.m. on August 12, 2026, the notice was also posted on the three official bulletin boards in the town and on the Town website.
Per Section 10229(a) of the Elections Code, the City Council may consider one of the following courses of action at this time:
1. Appoint to the office the persons who have been nominated. • If appointed, Jeff Baxter and Leslie Marden Ragsdale will take office at the first regular meeting of the City Council in December 2026.
• Since the 1992 election year, the Town has had the same number of candidates as seats in 12 of the 17 election years. In each instance, the City Council took action to appoint the nominees rather than proceed with holding the election. • Per Elections Code Section 10229(c), if the City Council makes the appointments, the City Clerk may not accept any statement of write-in candidacy submitted after the appointments are made.
2. Hold the election.
• If the City Council chooses to proceed with the election, the General Municipal Election will be held on November 3, 2026. The cost range for holding the election, as provided by the County and including noticing and notice translation costs, is between $43,000.00 and $51,000.00.
• The filing period for write-in candidates is Monday, September 7, 2026 through Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Write-in candidates must obtain and file nomination documents with the Agenda Staff Report – Hillsborough City Council
August 20, 2026
City Clerk, including, but not limited to, a nomination paper requiring 20 signatures of registered voters in the town, a statement of write-in candidacy, and a Form 700 Statement of Economic Interests. If qualified as a write-in candidate during the filing period, the write-in candidate’s name will be counted if written on the ballot by a voter.
FISCAL IMPACT: Appointing the two nominees and therefore cancelling the election would result in a savings of $43,000.00 – $51,000.00 in the FY 2026-27 adopted budget for the cost of County services, required noticing by the Town, and notice translation costs. To date in 2026, the Town has incurred approximately $3,300.00 in supplies, required noticing, and notice translation costs.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: The proposed action is exempt from environmental review under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines sections 15378(b)(2) and 15378(b)(5) as ongoing administrative or organizational activities that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
ATTACHMENT(S): Resolution
PREPARED BY: Lisa Natusch, City Clerk
RECOMMENDATION: That the City Council consider the following options:
1. Adopt the resolution appointing Jeff Baxter and Leslie Marden Ragsdale to the Town of Hillsborough City Council; or
2. Take no action to appoint nominees and proceed with the November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election for the election of two Councilmembers.
RESOLUTION NO. 26-
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH
APPOINTING JEFF BAXTER AND LESLIE MARDEN RAGSDALE TO THE TOWN
OF HILLSBOROUGH CITY COUNCIL
WHEREAS, two (2) City Council seats are to be filled in the General Municipal Election scheduled to be held in the Town of Hillsborough on November 3, 2026; and
WHEREAS, per Section 10229 of the California Elections Code, as of the close of the extended nomination period on August 12, 2026 there were not more candidates than offices to be elected, and that Section 10229 of the California Elections Code allows one of the following courses of action to be taken by the City Council:
1. Appoint to the office the person(s) who have been nominated.
2. Appoint to the office any eligible elector if no one has been nominated.
3. Hold the election if either no one or only one person has been nominated.
WHEREAS, only two persons, Jeff Baxter and Leslie Marden Ragsdale, timely filed nomination papers for those two City Council seats by the conclusion of the extended nomination period on August 12, 2026; and
WHEREAS, the City Elections Official (the City Clerk) has submitted a certificate of these facts to the City Council and informed the City Council that it may either appoint the persons nominated or hold the election per Section 10229 of the California Elections Code; and
WHEREAS, a notice was published on August 14, 2026 in the San Mateo Daily Journal per Section 10229 of the California Elections Code and posted on the three official bulletin boards in the town and on the Town website on August 12, 2026; and
WHEREAS, appointing the two nominees per Section 10229 of the California Elections Code rather than holding an election will save the Town $43,000.00 – $51,000.00 in the FY 2026-27 budget.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the Town of Hillsborough as follows:
1. Jeff Baxter and Leslie Marden Ragsdale are hereby appointed to the Hillsborough City Council in lieu of election.
2. Per Section 10229 and 10263 of the California Elections Code and Section 36503 of the California Government Code, Jeff Baxter and Leslie Marden Ragsdale shall take office at the regular meeting of the City Council in December 2026 (that being the meeting at which the City Council would have adopted the official canvass of Resolution No. 26-
August 20, 2026
2 votes at the municipal election had there been one) and shall serve exactly as if elected at the November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election for the two City Council seats.
3. The General Municipal Election scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026 is now cancelled.
4. This resolution shall be printed and posted upon the three official bulletin boards of the Town of Hillsborough.
Mayor of the Town of Hillsborough
Attest: City Clerk
This resolution was adopted by the City Council of the Town of Hillsborough at its special meeting held on the 20th day of August 2026, by the following vote of the members thereof:
AYES: Councilmembers
NOES: Councilmembers
ABSENT: Councilmembers
ABSTAIN: Councilmembers