Skip to main content

City of Anaheim · Statewide General Election

Mayor of Anaheim

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

This person presides over City Council meetings and represents Anaheim publicly, but votes as one of seven members (six district councilmembers plus the mayor) on the budget and city ordinances -- day-to-day city government runs through an appointed city manager. Anaheim's mayor is the only member of the council elected citywide rather than by district. A 4-year term.

Three candidates are running for Mayor of Anaheim: incumbent Ashleigh Aitken faces two challengers, Imran Sharief and Alfredo Rodriguez. Whichever candidate gets the most votes on November 3 wins outright; there's no runoff.

Anaheim's mayor presides over City Council meetings and represents the city publicly, but votes as one of seven members (six district councilmembers plus the mayor) on the budget and city ordinances -- the same as any other councilmember. Day-to-day city government runs through an appointed city manager, not the mayor's office. It's the only council seat elected citywide rather than by district. A 4-year term.

The choice is mostly about continuity versus a fresh start: Aitken is campaigning for a second term on her record -- two decades as a trial lawyer and federal prosecutor, prior civic-board service, and a first term she frames around public safety, affordable housing, and growing the visitor-industry economy. Both challengers are first-time candidates for citywide office; neither has published a detailed platform reachable in this pass, so their campaigns are represented here mainly by their stated occupations.

Ashleigh Aitken

The incumbent, elected in November 2022 and sworn in Dec. 6, 2022 as Anaheim's first female mayor in the city's 167-year history. A trial lawyer for over two decades at Aitken Aitken Cohn, a Santa Ana personal-injury firm founded by her family, she also served as a federal prosecutor in the Central District of California, handling armed bank robbery, narcotics, fraud, and firearms cases. Before her election she completed two terms on Anaheim's Community Services Board (chair 2011-2013), sat on the OC Fair & Events Center board from 2012 to January 2023 (chair in 2015), and served as Orange County Bar Association president in 2015. She holds a bachelor's degree from Boston College and a law degree from USC's Gould School of Law. She names public safety, affordable housing, and growing Anaheim's economy -- including the visitor industry and streamlining processes to attract new industries -- as her priorities for a second term.

Strengths

A two-decade legal and prosecutorial career, plus a full first term in office and prior civic-board and OC Bar Association leadership before running.

Trade-offs

A four-year incumbency means her record is also the fullest one on this ballot for voters to weigh, for better or worse.

Keep in mind

This dataset could not independently verify her 2026 campaign-finance filings -- see Financial info.

Imran Sharief

A doctor and businessman, per the city's own certified candidate list. A first-time candidate for elected office. No campaign website, detailed platform, or news interview was found for him in this pass beyond that stated occupation.

Strengths

A medical and business background distinct from Aitken's legal career and Rodriguez's management background.

Trade-offs

No stated platform was reachable in this pass -- an honest gap, not a claim he lacks one.

Keep in mind

This dataset could not independently verify his campaign-finance filings, and no campaign website or social presence was found under his name -- see Financial info.

Alfredo Rodriguez

A general manager, per the city's own certified candidate list. A first-time candidate for elected office. No campaign website, detailed platform, or news interview was found for him in this pass beyond that stated occupation.

Strengths

A management-career background distinct from Aitken's legal career and Sharief's medical background.

Trade-offs

No stated platform was reachable in this pass -- an honest gap, not a claim he lacks one.

Keep in mind

This dataset could not independently verify his campaign-finance filings, and no campaign website or social presence was found under his name -- see Financial info.

Source review: Very strong (94/100) · 6 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context.

  • ocvote.gov (opens in a new tab)OC Registrar of Voters — Contest/Candidate Proof List, General Election 11/3/2026 (169 contests, 430 candidates filed)
  • anaheim.net (opens in a new tab)City of Anaheim -- Elections page (anaheim.net/2917): confirms the Nov. 3, 2026 General Municipal Election fills the Mayor (at-large) and City Council Districts 2, 3, and 6, each a 4-year term, and names Ashleigh Aitken, Carlos A. Leon, Natalie Rubalcava, and Natalie Meeks as the incumbents in each of the four races, each "eligible for re-election"
  • anaheim.net (opens in a new tab)City of Anaheim -- 2026 Candidate List: names all nine qualified candidates across the four November 2026 races, including each candidate's stated occupation (Sharief: "Doctor/Businessman"; Rodriguez: "General Manager"; Renteria-Garcia: "Nonprofit Development Director") and flags each incumbent
  • ocregister.com (opens in a new tab)Orange County Register (Laylan Connelly et al.) -- "Candidate fields take shape for City Council elections in Orange County": independently confirms Anaheim's roster and contest status across all 34 OC cities that held filing -- "Incumbent Ashleigh Aitken is facing challenges from Alfredo Rodriguez and Imran Sharief for the mayoral seat and Elia Renteria-Garcia is going up against Natalie Rubalcava for the District 3 seat. Incumbents Carlos Leon and Natalie Meeks are unchallenged for districts 2 and 6"
  • anaheim.net (opens in a new tab)City of Anaheim -- Mayor Ashleigh Aitken (official biography): elected Nov. 2022 and sworn in Dec. 6, 2022 as Anaheim's first female mayor; a trial lawyer at Aitken Aitken Cohn and former federal prosecutor; two terms on the Community Services Board, OC Fair board 2012-Jan. 2023, and OC Bar Association president in 2015; names public safety, affordable housing, and economic growth as her priorities
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia -- Ashleigh Aitken: sourced biography confirming her 2018 mayoral run (31.9% to Harry Sidhu's 32.5%), her 2020 run for OC Board of Supervisors (lost to Donald P. Wagner), her 2022 mayoral win (42.85%), and her career as a federal prosecutor in the Central District of California

Last updated August 31, 2026.