City of Arcadia · Statewide General Election
Arcadia City Council, District 5
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
- Michael Cao — Incumbent
- Steve Rhee
This person holds your district's seat on Arcadia's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use.
Incumbent Michael Cao, a cardiologist first elected in 2022, faces Steve Rhee, a local business owner making his second council campaign after an unsuccessful 2024 run in a different Arcadia district, for the District 5 seat.
The winner serves a four-year term on Arcadia's five-member City Council: city ordinances, the citywide budget, and land-use decisions, plus a share in the council's rotating mayor's chair.
Cao is running on a first term and a medical career that predates it, practicing cardiology and teaching at USC's Keck School of Medicine alongside his council seat. Rhee, self-funding his second campaign in two years, centers public safety and homelessness — the same issues he ran on in 2024. The choice is between a specialist's first-term record and a repeat challenger's persistence on a narrower set of concerns.
Michael Cao
Cao is the sitting District 5 councilmember, a cardiologist in private practice and an assistant professor of medicine at USC's Keck School of Medicine, who also practices at Arcadia Methodist Hospital. He was first elected to the seat in 2022. No second-term platform beyond his professional background and incumbency is separately documented.
Strengths
A practicing cardiologist's expertise brought to a part-time council seat, plus a full term already served.
Trade-offs
No second-term platform beyond his incumbency and professional background is documented from public sources.
Keep in mind
A physician's day job differs from most council members' — worth asking how he balances a clinical practice against a legislative one, and whether that balance shows in his engagement record.
Steve Rhee
Rhee is a local business owner and civic volunteer running for the District 5 seat after an unsuccessful 2024 campaign for a different Arcadia council district. He is self-funding this campaign and not accepting contributions. His platform centers on public safety and homelessness, per his campaign site.
Strengths
A second campaign in two years shows sustained commitment, and public safety and homelessness are concrete, specific priorities.
Trade-offs
He lost his 2024 bid, and no elected or appointed city experience distinguishes this run from that one.
Keep in mind
Running in a different district than his 2024 race is itself worth asking about — whether it reflects where he now lives or simply where he sees a better opening.
Source review: Strong (86/100) · 4 cited sources
Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked; advocacy or endorsement sources are treated as attributed perspective.
Review note: 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.
- arcadiaca.gov (opens in a new tab)Arcadia City Clerk — Nominations for Members of the City Council, November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election (Districts 2, 3, 5)
- arcadiaca.gov (opens in a new tab)Arcadia City Clerk — Elections information and Campaign Filings portal, November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election
- arcadiaca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Arcadia — City Council member pages (Sharon Kwan, Michael Cao, and John Han's June 2026 appointment)
- burtonbrink.com (opens in a new tab)Arcadia District 2, 3 and 5 candidates' own campaign sites and social pages (Burton Brink, Steve Rhee, Grace Arabella Lee)
Last updated August 30, 2026.