Eve Marie Little, a City Council member from Newark, and John Morada, a City Council member from Dublin, recently shared their experiences from their first year in elected office.
Despite serving in different cities, the two council members have several notable similarities in how they approached their campaigns and how they govern.
Nonpartisan Approach
Both CCM Morada and CCM Little chose not to affiliate themselves with a political party. In fact, CCM Little intentionally avoided describing herself as “political,” emphasizing common sense and community-focused decision-making instead.
First-Time Candidates: Neither had previously held public office. Both ran for elected office for the first time, making them true political newcomers when they entered their respective city councils.
Low-Cost Campaigns:Their campaigns were also run on modest budgets. CCM Little spent just over $4,000 dollars, while Morada ran a similarly lean campaign. In contrast, several first-time candidates we interviewed—who came close to winning—shared that financial strain discouraged them from running again.
Strong Community Engagement While in Office: Since being elected, both council members have maintained direct engagement with residents. Morada personally hosts community town halls every Monday at different cafés around Dublin, covering the costs himself.
Photo : CCM Morada, in Screenshot of the interview
CCM Little as she quotes "has used her extensive background in event planning to personally organize youth activities such as yo-yo days, Pokemon meet-ups, and summer camps for kids as well as senior citizen workshops and veterans networking mixers".
Responsive to the Press: Among the council members we routinely contact for comment on community concerns raised at council meetings, CCM Morada and CCM Little have consistently been among the most responsive. Their prompt engagement with the press has been documented in our prior reporting.
Encouraging Others to Run for Office: Both have also expressed a commitment to encouraging and supporting community members who are interested in running for office. While this may sound obvious, it is far less common in practice than many might expect.
Photo : CCM Little, City of Newark
CCM Little also highlighted GoodParty.org as a valuable resource for first-time candidates. She noted that the platform helped her run a competitive campaign without significant financial burden.
Our own review of GoodParty.org found that the platform exclusively supports independent candidates and does not allow partisan campaigns to use its tools. It offers a broader set of campaign resources than many traditional party organizations—at roughly one-tenth of the cost.
We also reviewed BallotReady.org, which shows that there could be nearly 50 local positions up for election across the Bay Area in 2026, presenting significant opportunities for new candidates to step forward.
During the discussion, CCM Morada also shared his goal is to “flip the script” by ensuring that elected officials provide clear direction to city staff—rather than the other way around.
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