Municipal elections in California are officially non-partisan, though some candidates do receive funding and support from various political parties.

Since the incumbent Golding received a majority of primary votes, she was reelected outright with no need for a runoff in the November general election.

Incumbent mayor Susan Golding was seen as an overwhelming favorite going into the election against five relatively unknown candidates with little prior political experience.

[3] On March 26, 1996, Golding received an overwhelming majority of the votes and was easily re-elected mayor.

[4] Because Golding won a majority of the votes in the March primary, there was no need for a runoff in the November general election.