A campaign for Novato City Council — District 2 — Election day Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Foster kid → Engineer → Foster dad
I grew up in foster care right here in Novato. This town gave me a shot, so I stayed. Now I'm a foster dad and an engineer, and I'm running for City Council because the city made promises about your money — and somebody should make sure it keeps them.
The story ✦ 01
Mike grew up in foster care in District 2. He went to Hill Middle, then Novato High. When he talks about these neighborhoods, he's talking about the places that raised him.
Mike has spent 15 years in the electric utility industry. Today he's a distribution design engineer— he designs and engineers high-voltage electrical systems. He's also a shop steward with Engineers and Scientists of California, Local 20. When a coworker has a problem, Mike is the one they call.
Today Mike is a foster parent himself. He's fought for foster kids at the state level too, standing before the Judicial Council of California to argue that kids belong with families, not in institutions.
The platform ✦ 02
Every claim on this page comes with a source you can check yourself. If Mike's asking for your vote on transparency, he figures it should start here.
Novato voters agreed to pay another ¾ cent in sales tax so the city could fix streets, keep 911 staffed, and get ahead of wildfire season. That's about $10 million a year. Mike's job on council is to make sure it goes exactly where voters were told it would go.
THE RECEIPT— Measure M: ¾¢ local sales tax, ≈$10.3M/yr for streets, 911, parks & wildfire prevention. novato.gov
Mike designs utility infrastructure for a living. He knows what it takes to build something right. Novato's streets don't need another speech about potholes. They need somebody on council who has actually done this kind of work.
THE RECEIPT — 15 years in the electric utility industry; designs and engineers high-voltage electrical systems as a distribution design engineer; union shop steward, Engineers and Scientists of California, Local 20.
Last year, the people who fix Novato's streets and staff its parks had to go on strike before the city settled their contract. Five months later, the council voted 4–1 to more than triple its own pay. Mike will push for transparency and accountability.
Accountability does not mean constant conflict, it means asking hard questions, working constructively with staff and residents, and making sure public decisions can withstand public scrutiny.
THE RECEIPT— City workers struck Aug 5–7 & Sep 2, 2025; contract ratified Oct 2025. Council pay: $400 → $1,552/mo ($18,624/yr), approved 4–1, March 2026. SEIU 1021 · North Bay Business Journal · Marin IJ
Every year, Sacramento and Washington set aside money for the problems that land on a city's doorstep — mental health, addiction, getting people off the street. Novato taxpayers shouldn't have to pay twice for work that's already funded. When there's a dollar out there with this town's name on it, Mike will go get it.
THE RECEIPT— Sacramento: Homeless Housing, Assistance & Prevention grants for cities and regions. Washington: HUD's Continuum of Care program — $4.04B in FY 2026. HCD · HUD
In Mike's words ✦ 03
When my brother, Josh, died, my family needed answers. I assumed obtaining the public records surrounding his death would be straightforward, especially when many of those records are required by law to be disclosed.
I was wrong.
Instead, I encountered delays, resistance, and a system that made it extraordinarily difficult for an ordinary family to understand what had happened. That experience changed how I view government. Transparency should not depend on who you know, how much money you have, or whether you're willing to spend years fighting for information that belongs to the public.
As I worked to obtain records, I learned how important accountability and open government are to maintaining public trust. When government operates behind closed doors, confidence suffers. When decisions and records are accessible, communities are stronger and public officials are more accountable.
That experience is one of the reasons I'm running for City Council. I believe Novato residents deserve a city government that is responsive, transparent, and committed to earning the public's trust — not only when it's easy, but especially when it's difficult.
Read the reporting Pacific Sun → ✦ Bloomberg Law →
“What I saw broke my heart. Everything Josh described was real.”
— Mike Little, in the Pacific Sun
Get involved ✦ 04
Mike doesn't have consultants or a war chest. He has a clipboard and the people he grew up with. Leave your name and we'll knock on the first doors together.
Want to donate? Hold that thought — contributions open once our committee paperwork is filed with the FPPC. Sign up and you'll be the first to know.
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