# Mayor of Anaheim Compare records and positions simply between Ashleigh Aitken, Imran Sharief, or Alfredo Rodriguez for Mayor of Anaheim at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person presides over Anaheim City Council meetings and represents the city publicly. They vote as one of seven members on the budget and city laws. The council has six district members plus the mayor. An appointed city manager runs day-to-day government. Anaheim's mayor is the only council member elected citywide. The other six are elected by district. The term is four years. - Jurisdiction: City of Anaheim - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/anaheim-mayor - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: October 6, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 92 out of 100 (Very strong), across 7 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Ashleigh Aitken** — Incumbent - **Imran Sharief** - **Alfredo Rodriguez** A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. 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 the mayor votes as one of seven members on the budget and city ordinances. Those seven are six district councilmembers plus the mayor. That vote is the same as any other councilmember's. Day-to-day city government runs through an appointed city manager, not the mayor's office. It is the only council seat elected citywide rather than by district. The term is four years. The choice is mostly about continuity versus a fresh start. Aitken is campaigning for a second term on her record. That record includes two decades as a trial lawyer and federal prosecutor. It also includes earlier service on civic boards. She frames her first term around public safety and affordable housing. She also points to growing the visitor-industry economy. Both challengers are first-time candidates for citywide office. In their League of Women Voters' Vote411 questionnaire, Rodriguez names public safety, fiscal accountability and economic growth as their priorities. Sharief's campaign shows up here mainly through their stated occupation. ## 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, a full first term, and earlier civic-board and Orange County Bar Association leadership. **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:** Her stated priorities come from the city's biography. Her campaign-finance filings are not verified here; see Financial info. ## Imran Sharief A doctor and businessman, per the city's own certified candidate list, and a first-time candidate for elected office. No campaign website, detailed platform or news interview was found for them 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 is on record, so voters have little to weigh beyond their occupation, a cost if you want to compare positions. **Keep in mind:** No campaign website was found under their name. Sharief's campaign-finance filings are not verified here; see Financial info. ## Alfredo Rodriguez A general manager, per the city's own certified candidate list, and a first-time candidate for elected office. In their Vote411 questionnaire they say they grew up with little, worked their way through college and graduated from Cal State Fullerton, then built a career in business and operations. By their own account they spent six years helping a small local team of about ten grow into a statewide operation of more than 180 employees, and as a general manager they oversee budgets and growth. They describe themselves as not a career politician. Their three stated priorities are public safety, with support for police and fire services, a focus on crime, drugs, homelessness and traffic, and trust between residents and public safety; fiscal responsibility, meaning transparent spending, measurable results and a more accessible City Hall; and economic growth and strong neighborhoods, with support for small businesses, good jobs, less red tape and well-kept streets, parks and services. On Flock cameras they say they do not support widespread use in Anaheim, citing privacy and constitutional rights, while backing police and targeted crime-fighting technology. **Strengths:** By their own account, six years growing a business from about 10 to 180-plus employees, with budget and operations duties as a general manager. **Trade-offs:** As a first-time candidate they have no record in elected office to weigh, a cost if you want a mayor who has already voted on city budgets. **Keep in mind:** The growth figures are their own account in a candidate questionnaire, not independently verified. ## Sources 1. [OC Registrar of Voters — Contest/Candidate Proof List, General Election 11/3/2026 (169 contests, 430 candidates filed)](https://ocvote.gov/fileadmin/user_upload/data/candlog/GEN2026/candlog.pdf) 2. [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"](https://www.anaheim.net/2917/Elections) 3. [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](https://www.anaheim.net/3321/2026-Candidate-List) 4. [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"](https://www.ocregister.com/2026/08/14/candidate-fields-take-shape-for-city-council-elections-in-orange-county/) 5. [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](https://www.anaheim.net/5174/Anaheim-Mayor-Ashleigh-Aitken) 6. [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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashleigh_Aitken) 7. [League of Women Voters -- Vote411 voter guide, 'City of Anaheim Mayor' race (statewide All Races list): each candidate's self-submitted ballot designation and campaign contacts, plus answers to the League's questions -- 'If elected, what are your top 3 priorities?', 'What background, experience and/or education qualify you for this elected office?' and 'What is your position on the use of Flock cameras or similar devices?'. Answers on file from Alfredo Rodriguez. Capture in data/nov-2026/sources/vote411/anaheim-mayor.json.](https://www.vote411.org/plan-your-vote) ## The rest of the ballot Mayor of Anaheim is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "Mayor of Anaheim — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/anaheim-mayor (sources last retrieved October 6, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.