South San Francisco District 3: Flor Nicolas Leads Two Challengers in Only Contested Council Race

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, California — November 5, 2026. The city’s only contested November 3 City Council election is in District 3, where incumbent Buenaflor “Flor” Nicolas leads two challengers. County results as of early November 4 list Nicolas 961 votes (51.47%), Melanie Olson 671 (35.94%) and Sophia Cyris 235 (12.59%). Nicolas’s numerical lead over Olson is 290 votes, with certification still pending.

Three very different candidate backgrounds

Bay City News’ pre-election reporting describes Nicolas as a longtime council representative who served as South San Francisco’s first Filipino mayor in 2023. Olson is a Woodside city planner, while Cyris, 19, is a former youth commissioner and a college student. The candidates discussed affordability and street safety in different terms; the election count alone cannot establish which argument persuaded a particular voter.

Why Districts 1 and 5 are different

The city’s official election page lists only one qualified candidate for each of the District 1 and District 5 council seats. District 1’s Aysha Dominguez Pamukcu and District 5’s Eddie Flores are therefore not comparable to District 3’s three-person race. The county tracker reports 1,814 votes for Pamukcu and 1,267 for Flores in those uncontested district entries; the city clerk and official canvass determine their legal outcomes.

Offices also appearing on the ballot

The city listed the City Clerk and Treasurer offices for the same election cycle, with single qualified candidates. City council district voting and these at-large administrative offices are not the same electoral question or electorate. Residents should read the exact ballot and official city appointment records rather than infer that every office had a competitive race.

Why local representation matters

As South San Francisco grows, council decisions can concern housing supply, industrial land use, public services, streets and infrastructure. Residents can follow council agendas and votes after the election rather than assume a campaign pledge has been adopted. The early figures were independently reported by NBC Bay Area and remain unofficial.

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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