'', March 1, 1976 Hamburg first ran for public office in 1976, when he campaigned unsuccessfully for Ukiah City Council. He continued to be active in politics as a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected to the
Mendocino County Board of Supervisors, serving a four-year term from 1981 to 1985. In the 1994 mid-term elections, in which Republicans made gains, Riggs defeated Hamburg in a rematch.
Green Party Hamburg later became a member of the
Green Party and ran as the Green Party nominee for
California governor in 1998. He was the first candidate from the
Green Party of California to run for governor. He finished a distant third among seven candidates with 104,117 votes, gaining 1.3% of the total vote. During the
2000 presidential election, Hamburg backed Green presidential candidate
Ralph Nader.
Return to board of supervisors In November 2010 Hamburg was elected for a second time to the 5th District seat on the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors. Hamburg ran unopposed for reelection in June 2014, and retired from the board in 2018. ==Advocacy==