Matthews drops Arcata reelection bid, opening council race

Meredith Matthews abandoned her Arcata City Council reelection bid less than three weeks after launching it, leaving a suddenly open seat in a race that already had five non-council candidates pulling paperwork for two openings. For Arcata voters, the immediate effect is practical: the contest is no longer about whether an incumbent can hold on, but about who will shape council decisions on housing, public safety, downtown activity, budgeting, climate policy and the city’s relationship with Cal Poly Humboldt.

Matthews’ exit landed after a long run in city politics that began with an appointment. The Arcata City Council picked her in July 2021 to fill the vacancy left by Sofia Pereira, then she served the rest of that term through November 2022 before Arcata voters elected her to a term running until December 2026. During the 2021 selection process, the council considered six self-nominated applicants in a July 28 candidate forum at City Council chambers, and Matthews was sworn in on August 17, 2021.

Her earlier electoral showing gave her a foothold in Arcata politics. In the 2022 municipal election, Matthews was among the leading candidates on election night as then-Mayor Brett Watson conceded, a result that signaled she had already built a base with local voters. That history made her decision to step away this year more consequential than a routine campaign shuffle, because it removed the incumbent presence from a seat that had already moved from appointment to election.

The city’s own biography for Matthews ties her priorities to the changes Arcata is facing around Cal Poly Humboldt, housing pressure, new airline routes and new businesses. Those same pressures are likely to define the 2026 council race now that the seat is open. Candidates who stay in the field will have more room to argue over how Arcata handles growth, affordability and the demands of a city that is still adjusting to fast-moving economic and campus changes.

The race was already active before Matthews bowed out, and her withdrawal gives challengers a clearer path while forcing voters to rethink the contest around policy direction instead of incumbency. In Arcata, where council decisions reach into daily life as much as campaign talk, one abrupt exit can still change the balance of the field.