Election cycles are not created equal, with the early stages of the 2026 version shaping up to have no shortage of storylines.
In Los Altos, a last-minute dash by Roger Heyder to qualify for the ballot in the City Council District 4 race was all for naught.
Heyder, who ran for council in 2022 as a write-in candidate, waited until the 11th hour, pulling papers on the final day, Aug. 7, and racing against the clock, attempting to file his papers the same day before the 5 p.m. cutoff.
The city’s election page had listed that Heyder filed his papers on Aug. 7, however, it was later ruled invalid.
“After reviewing your submitted candidacy paperwork,” the city wrote in a statement to Heyder Aug. 11, “the City Election Official determined that the submittal was incomplete and did not adhere to the city’s candidate requirements. We appreciate your participation in the electoral process.”
The city did not elaborate on what Heyder did incorrectly. In the end, the District 4 ballot will have Larry Lang, a sitting council member, running unopposed for the new district council seat.
Lang had long been established as a candidate for the inaugural District 4 election. While he is currently serving as a councilmember from his at-large selection in 2022, he is not running as the incumbent, though his place in the council is now all but a formality. Lang pulled papers to run for the seat on the first day of the nomination phase, July 13. By July 21, he had fully qualified for the ballot.
Over a week went by until someone stepped up to run against Lang: Juno Szalay, a community activist and vice regent of the Los Altos chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Szalay pulled papers on Aug. 3. She, however, did not file those papers before the Aug. 7 deadline.
