A growing field of candidates has filed paperwork or announced plans to run for Morgan Hill’s mayor, City Council and school board seats, according to election officials.
Incumbent Mayor Mark Turner has confirmed he is running for reelection. He faces a challenge from Kristopher Clayton, who filed nomination paperwork July 13, according to the City of Morgan Hill’s elections web page.
In a campaign message posted to Facebook, Clayton cast himself as an outsider candidate, arguing that decisions about Morgan Hill have too often been made by people disconnected from residents’ daily lives, and pledging to give the community a stronger voice in shaping its future.
For City Council District B, Steven Hayes II, a former fire captain and paramedic, filed July 15. In announcing his campaign, Hayes pointed to his emergency-services background and said he wants to keep the city safe while supporting local businesses, youth programs and families.
District B incumbent Yvonne Martinez Beltran has not yet confirmed whether she will seek reelection.
For City Council District D, Incumbent Marilyn Librers filed July 13 to run for another term. She will face Dolores Alvarado, CEO of Community Health Partnership and former County Public Health official.
Four trustee areas on the Morgan Hill Unified School District board are on the ballot. In Area 1, incumbent Nancy Altman is running unopposed so far. In Area 2, Board President John Horner is seeking reelection against challenger Gabriela Winter, according to an unofficial candidate list compiled by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters.
For Area 3, board Vice President Sarah Northrup Gadus faces two challengers: Art Cohen, a former tech executive who has received the endorsement of the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers, and Cesar Gamboa.
In Area 4, two candidates have entered the race: Claudia Ortiz, an MHUSD parent and owner of a local Benjamin Moore paint store; and Glen R. Webb, a retired teacher and former principal of Live Oak High School who also served as the district’s director of curriculum, instruction and assessment.
Incumbent Pamela Gardiner does not appear on the candidate list and has not responded to requests for confirmation of her filing plans.
Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Raeena Lari, who represents Area 7, is running for reelection unopposed so far.
For the Valley Water Board of Directors, District 1 incumbent John Varela has indicated he plans to file. He will face Jimmy Forbis, who served as Gilroy’s city administrator for nine years before retiring in 2025.
The nomination period for the Nov. 3 general election closes at 5pm Aug. 7, and can be extended to Aug. 12 for offices in which an eligible incumbent does not file.
The candidate list is growing, but a few questionsdeserves more attention: Who recruited Steven Hayes II to run for District B, and who is backing Kristopher Clayton’s mayoral campaign?
Voters deserve to know not only what candidates say they stand for, but also who encouraged them to run, who is funding and organizing their campaigns, and whose interests they may represent. Transparency matters before ballots are cast, not after.
I hope local media asks these questions and gives voters those answers.
You asked who is Kristopher Clayton and who is backing his campaign. The answer is simple: the people who believe the great City of Morgan Hill deserves positive change before it’s too late.
I have proudly called Morgan Hill home for 46 years, and today I’m raising my two boys in the city I love. I have a personal stake in the future of our community because I want my children—and every family here—to enjoy a safe, thriving, and vibrant Morgan Hill.
I’m also proud to say that I am funding my own campaign. That means my commitment is to the residents of Morgan Hill—not to special interests or political insiders. My only priority is serving our community with honesty, accountability, and common sense.
This campaign is about our families, our neighborhoods, our local businesses, and the future of our city. If you believe Morgan Hill needs fresh leadership, new ideas, and a mayor who puts the community first, then you’re the reason I’m running.
Together, we can protect what makes Morgan Hill special while building a stronger future for everyone.
Thanks for your reply Mr. Clayton. Since I cannot find a website or social media page for your campaign, I’ll ask you a few questions here, in this forum.
Morgan Hill, what is broken?
What policies would you change?
What makes the current leadership inadequate?
From City of Morgan Hill Netfile Public Portal and SCC ROV I see the following candidates initiated filings and not yet qualified.
As of July 31 7:30pm-
Morgan Hill Mayor- Kristopher Clayton (qualified), Mark Turner (qualified)
Morgan Hill City Council DB- Steven Hayes, Yvonne Martinez-Beltran
Morgan Hill City Council DD- Dolores Alvarado
MUSD A1- Nancy Kay Altman-Palm, Jason Amezcua
MUSD A2- John T. Horner, Gabriela “Gabby” Winter
MUSD A3- Art Cohen, Cesar Gamboa (qualified), Sarah Northrup Gadus
MUSD A4- Glen R Webb (qualified), Claudia Ortiz
Santa Clara Valley Water D1- Jimmy Forbis (qualified), John Lisandro Varela
Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee for A7- Raeena Lari, Karla Dominguez Vega
Gavilan College Trustee A1- Kathy Chavez Napoli (qualified)
Mr. Clayton, congrats on your decision to run. I applaud
and appreciate your stated intention to fund your own campaign. That means you will have to work extra hard to counter the mail propaganda (full of lies) that Mark Turner’s favorite big business, RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, owners will flood our mail boxes with using PAC money that they think they can hide via the tried and true LLC shell game. How dumb.
For example , you probably already know that in his 2024 campaign, Turner had more than $100,000 in campaign assistance from residential development related entities with Ten South , the builder of the Big Ugly thing at Tennant and Butterfield investing more than $38,500 ALL ALONE.
Morgan Hill residents have seen how those developers are getting a huge ROI , at our expense.
Unfortunately, the reason we will once again get Turner Junk Mail is because some voters actually believe what they see on glossy print, or maybe they just vote for whoever sends them the most Junk.
Despite the DEVELOPER DOLLARS Turner has undoubtedly already secured, that you will have to overcome, I think Morgan Hill residents are waking up to the reality of what allowing the status quo in our local government decision-making process has created and they want to change direction in order to KEEP MH a great place to live.
I have one initial, simple question for you.
For there to be lasting change, there HAS TO BE an actual commitment to true transparency. The lip service transparency by which Turner & Turner run the public’s business is a core part of everything that is happening in our wonderful city. Turner’s x2 idea of ‘transparency’ has inarguably (just examine the voting record of city council agenda items) led to the reality that a handful of unelected public employees with inherent self-interests make practically every decision that involves how Public Resources are allocated and how the business of the people is managed.
If you had been mayor when the MH City Council vote to support the lawsuit against the Gilroy Amazon Data Center was held, would you have hid behind a closed door session like Mark Turner did, or would you have insisted the entire discussion and vote be conducted as part of a Public Hearing?
Thank you for you anticipated reply and good luck in your campaign. The bar is low. So low nobody could possibly crawl under it. If you can convince voters that you would keep your promise to bring the voice of residents back into the decision-making process, which is the only way Representative Democracy can properly function, you might just clear the bar by a mile!
Hi Mr. Baranowski
No Decisions Should Ever Be Made Behind Closed Doors
In a City like Morgan Hill — where families have lived for generations, where neighbors know each other, where community actually means something — no decision that affects the people should ever be made out of sight.
When leadership makes choices behind closed doors:
• trust breaks
• transparency disappears
• residents feel shut out
• developers gain influence
A community can’t function when the people who live in it feel like they’re the last to know what’s happening.
Hi Karen
Here are some answers to your questions:
Morgan Hill, what is broken?
Morgan Hill is becoming one of the most expensive small Cities in the South Bay. What’s broken isn’t just high prices — it’s why the housing is being built at such a high price point.
• Housing built for investors instead of families who already live here
• Rising rents pushing out long-time residents
• Limited starter homes for working-class families
• New developments outpacing infrastructure
People who grew up here are feeling squeezed out of their own hometown.
What policies would you change?
Policies I would recommend change if the great people of MH are in agreement with Me:
Growth caps tied to infrastructure- No major development unless roads, water, and schools can support it.
Community impact reviews- Require developers to prove their projects benefit current residents.
I’m not anti-growth — I’m anti-chaos. At the end of the day the city’s future belongs to the people not the ones that hold office. Everyone voice counts.
What makes the current leadership inadequate?
I wouldn’t put it that way they aren’t inadequate some of them have just lost their way over time.
For years, the leadership has shifted to developer‑driven priorities and by doing so has meant one thing: developers drive the priorities, and the community gets whatever’s left over. That’s how you end up with projects approved without community benefit, neighborhoods squeezed, and long‑time residents priced out of the town they built.
Planning development should follow the needs of residents, not the profit goals of outside investors.
This is just one of issues in town that need to be worked on by all and if you have any other questions for me, please fill free to ask.
I am running to bring the voice bake to the people that this town pushed aside for too long.
From City of Morgan Hill website and SCC ROV I see the following candidates initiated filings and not yet qualified.
As of August 3 7:00pm-
Morgan Hill Mayor- Kristopher Clayton (qualified), Mark Turner (qualified)
Morgan Hill City Council DB- Steven Hayes, Mazhar Hussain
Morgan Hill City Council DD- Dolores Alvarado (qualified), Marilyn Libers
MUSD A1- Nancy Kay Altman-Palm, Jason Amezcua
MUSD A2- John T. Horner, Gabriela “Gabby” Winter
MUSD A3- Art Cohen, Cesar Gamboa (qualified), Sarah Northrup Gadus
MUSD A4- Glen R Webb (qualified), Claudia Ortiz
Santa Clara Valley Water D1- Jimmy Forbis (qualified), John Lisandro Varela
Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee for A7- Raeena Lari (qualified), Karla Dominguez Vega
Gavilan College Trustee A1- Kathy Chavez Napoli (qualified)
From City of Morgan Hill website and SCC ROV I see the following candidates initiated filings and not yet qualified.
As of August 10 7am-
Morgan Hill Mayor- Kristopher Clayton (qualified), Mark Turner (qualified), Deborah Africa (qualified)
Morgan Hill City Council DB- Steven Hayes (qualified), Yvonne Martinez Beltrán (qualified)
Morgan Hill City Council DD- Dolores Alvarado (qualified), Marilyn Librers (qualified)
MUSD A1- Nancy Kay Altman-Palm (qualified), Jason Amezcua (qualified)
MUSD A2- John T. Horner (qualified), Gabriela “Gabby” Winter (qualified)
MUSD A3- Art Cohen (qualified), Cesar Gamboa (qualified), Sarah Northrup Gadus (qualified)
MUSD A4- Glen R Webb (qualified), Claudia Ortiz (qualified)
Santa Clara Valley Water D1- Jimmy Forbis (qualified), John Lisandro Varela (qualified)
Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee for A7- Raeena Lari (qualified), Karla Dominguez Vega (qualified)
Gavilan College Trustee A1- Kathy Chavez Napoli (qualified)