# Arcadia City Council, District 2 Compare records and positions simply between Sharon Kwan or Burton Brink for Arcadia City Council, District 2 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat on Arcadia's 5-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. - Jurisdiction: City of Arcadia - 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/arcadia-council-2 - 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: September 7, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 86 out of 100 (Strong), across 4 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Sharon Kwan** — Incumbent - **Burton Brink** A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Incumbent Sharon Kwan was first elected in 2022. They also served a turn as Arcadia's first female Asian American mayor. They face Burton Brink. Brink is a retired law enforcement sergeant and a former city commissioner. The seat is District 2 on the Arcadia City Council. The winner serves a four-year term on Arcadia's five-member City Council, which sets city ordinances, adopts the budget, and decides land use citywide — and holds a share in the ceremonial mayor's chair, which the council fills by rotating it among its own members rather than by direct election. Kwan is running on a record already made: two-plus years in the seat and a turn as mayor. Brink is running on decades spent outside elected office but inside the city's own institutions, as a former commissioner and a career law-enforcement officer. The choice turns less on differing platforms than on whether continuity or a change in kind better serves the district. ## Sharon Kwan Kwan holds the District 2 seat now. They own a small business and once worked in financial services. They were first elected in 2022. They led the Rancho Santa Anita Property Owners Association for a decade. They also served on the USC Arcadia Foundation board and the Downtown Arcadia Improvement Association board. In April 2025 they became Arcadia's first female Asian American mayor. That post rotates. The council fills it from among its own members. **Strengths:** They have served a full term. They also had a turn as mayor. Before that they led the district's largest property owners association for a decade. **Trade-offs:** Their plan for a second term is not set down beyond their record. They have stated no agenda for what changes next. **Keep in mind:** They are the only candidate here who has governed. That cuts two ways. Their record is the clearest to judge. Their promises are the hardest to separate from what already happened. ## Burton Brink Brink is a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's sergeant. They spent nearly 40 years in law enforcement. They also served eight years on an Arcadia city commission. They are self-funding their campaign and take no contributions. Their campaign site lists public safety, government transparency, and fiscal accountability. **Strengths:** Decades of law enforcement work. They also spent eight years inside Arcadia's civic process as a commissioner. **Trade-offs:** They have not held an elected legislative seat. Budget and land use votes differ from a commission's advisory role. **Keep in mind:** Turning down contributions removes one question voters often weigh. That question is whose money funds the campaign. It also means less is on the public record about who is organized behind them. ## Review notes - Arcadia District 2, 3 and 5 candidates' own campaign sites and social pages (Burton Brink, Steve Rhee, Grace Arabella Lee) may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources. ## Sources 1. [Arcadia City Clerk — Nominations for Members of the City Council, November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election (Districts 2, 3, 5)](https://www.arcadiaca.gov/Document%20Center/Government/City%20Clerk/Elections/Nov.%203%2C%202026%2C%20Election/Candidates%20for%20City%20Council%20November%203%2C%202026%20%28Public%29.pdf) 2. [Arcadia City Clerk — Elections information and Campaign Filings portal, November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election](https://www.arcadiaca.gov/government/city_clerk/campaigns_filings.php) 3. [City of Arcadia — City Council member pages (Sharon Kwan, Michael Cao, and John Han's June 2026 appointment)](https://www.arcadiaca.gov/government/city_council/index.php) 4. [Arcadia District 2, 3 and 5 candidates' own campaign sites and social pages (Burton Brink, Steve Rhee, Grace Arabella Lee)](https://www.burtonbrink.com/) ## The rest of the ballot Arcadia City Council, District 2 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, "Arcadia City Council, District 2 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/arcadia-council-2 (sources last retrieved September 7, 2026). 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