Art Kiesel is the mayor of Foster City, in a council term that ends in December 2026, after serving eight years on the council in an earlier stint. In the city's first district election he faces Councilmember Phoebe Shin Venkat for the District 1 seat on November 3, 2026.
Background
Art Kiesel is a third-generation San Franciscan who has lived in Foster City for more than 30 years, according to his city biography. He was raised in San Francisco until he was drafted into the U.S. Army. His career of more than 50 years has been in software development and consulting: he built five accounting and financial support systems and retired after 13 years as chief financial officer of a privately owned company focused on government and military contracts. His civic work began in 2000 on the city's Information Technology Advisory Committee, followed by three and a half years on the Planning Commission. He has been a Foster City Lions Club member since 2004 and is married, with two sons.
In office
Kiesel was twice elected to the council, serving eight years and two turns as mayor, and left the council in 2015, according to his city and campaign biographies. He was elected to the League of California Cities board in 2011 and chaired one of its policy committees, on housing and community and economic development. He also served four years on the board of the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County, and he ran for the State Assembly in 2016. He returned to the council in the November 2022 election and is the current mayor.
In July 2024 the law firm Shenkman & Hughes sent the city a letter alleging a violation of the California Voting Rights Act. The council declared its intent to move to district elections on September 3, 2024, and adopted a five-district map on December 2. Districts 1 and 2 vote in 2026 and the other three in 2028.
His campaign lists as priorities state-required housing kept within the city's built-out four square miles and its infrastructure, fiscal restraint and reserves, protecting parks, levee and flood protection, and public safety.
On the ballot
Kiesel's ballot designation is Mayor. District 1 is one of the first two seats Foster City fills by district, for a four-year term ending in 2030. His opponent is Councilmember Phoebe Shin Venkat, whose own at-large term runs to December 2028. His campaign site lists no endorsements; the San Mateo County Republican Party's voter guide for the November 3 election lists him. The League of Women Voters held a forum for the District 1 candidates on October 8.
What supporters say
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What critics say
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On the ballot
Councilmember, Foster City
- Art Kiesel IncumbentMayor
- Phoebe Shin Venkat Endorsed by the San Mateo County Democratic PartyNonprofit Executive / Councilmember
Party endorsements are each party's official list, linked on each tag; a party preference on the ballot is not an endorsement. How we report endorsements.
SFBAYHCC does not endorse candidates in these pages. Every candidate in a contest gets the same fields, listed in the order the official source lists them. How we write these profiles. Profile last reviewed October 17, 2026.
