MENLO PARK, California — November 5, 2026. In the City Council District 1 election, Wonman Lee has 510 votes (approximately 74.45%) and James Rohr 175 (25.55%) in an early county report dated November 4 at 2:06 a.m. The recorded difference is 335 votes. These are preliminary selections in a district-specific contest rather than the official result for the entire city.
A small district electorate
The source’s 685 reported valid candidate selections are not the number of voters throughout Menlo Park or San Mateo County. City Council district boundaries determine which addresses can vote for this seat, and a countywide outstanding-ballot estimate does not reveal how many District 1 voters still have ballots in the canvass.
Another Menlo Park council seat is much closer
In the separate District 2 contest, the same early returns showed Vamsi Velagapudi with 721 votes and incumbent Drew Combs with 712, a nine-vote difference. California58 has already reported that contest in its District 2 news story. These are independent council districts and should not be added together to create a hypothetical citywide ranking.
Public policy comes after election certification
Council members decide matters such as housing policies, local budgets, land use, community facilities and traffic infrastructure through public proceedings. This early vote does not mean any particular city proposal has been approved or defeated. The county results and subsequent San Mateo County Elections reports provide the appropriate basis for later updates.
Official results are still pending
The San Mateo County Elections office is continuing to review eligible mailed ballots, provisional votes and other canvass items. The county’s next reports may raise candidate or measure totals. An election-night expected-vote percentage is not the same thing as certification. California county canvasses are required to conclude by December 3, and statewide certification is scheduled for December 11, 2026. Readers can consult San Mateo County Elections for the current election report.
California58 Local Elections Desk, published November 5, 2026. Vote tallies reflect the dated early-November-4 report carried by NBC Bay Area and other cited official local election sources. All figures remain unofficial.
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