Phoebe Venkat has served on the Foster City City Council since her election in November 2024, in an at-large seat whose term runs to December 2028. In the city's first district election she faces Mayor Art Kiesel for the District 1 seat on November 3, 2026, appearing on the ballot as Phoebe Shin Venkat.
Background
Phoebe Venkat is the child of an immigrant single mother and attended New Jersey public schools, according to her city biography. She was the first in her family to attend college and earned a bachelor's degree at Boston University. She began her career at a New Jersey startup and worked for global companies in technology, pharmaceuticals and finance, joining Salesforce in 2014 and later holding roles at Facebook, Okta and TripActions, as well as consulting for large corporations. She moved to Foster City in 2014 with her husband and son. She is vice chair of the board of CORA (Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse), where she was treasurer, and a founding executive board member of the San Mateo County Asian American Pacific Islander Alliance.
In office
Venkat served on the Foster City Planning Commission from 2022 to 2024 and won an at-large council seat in November 2024. Her city biography says she is the city's first renter, first resident of a homeowners association and first Chinese woman on the council. Her council liaison roles include the Citizens Sustainability Advisory Committee, the Youth Advisory Committee, the Chamber of Commerce, Commute.org and the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District.
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.
Her campaign lists as priorities economic vitality and fiscal responsibility, community safety, support for seniors and youth, mental health, environmental sustainability, child care, the arts, and housing for teachers and other workers.
On the ballot
Venkat's ballot designation is Nonprofit Executive / Councilmember. District 1 is one of the first two seats Foster City fills by district, for a four-year term ending in 2030. Her opponent is Mayor Art Kiesel, whose at-large term ends in December 2026. Her campaign site lists endorsements from the San Mateo County Democratic Party, the San Mateo Labor Council and Supervisor Noelia Corzo. The city has not said what happens to her current seat if she wins. The League of Women Voters held a forum for the District 1 candidates on October 8.
What supporters say
We have not yet found published praise from a named person that meets our sourcing rules.
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.
