# Arcadia City Council, District 5 Compare records and positions simply between Michael Cao or Steve Rhee for Arcadia City Council, District 5 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-5 - 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 - **Michael Cao** — Incumbent - **Steve Rhee** A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Incumbent Michael Cao, a cardiologist first elected in 2022, faces Steve Rhee, a local business owner making their 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. They vote on 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 their council seat. Rhee, self-funding his second campaign in two years, centers public safety and homelessness — the same issues they 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 practice at Arcadia Methodist Hospital. They were first elected to the seat in 2022. No second-term platform beyond their 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 their 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 Cao balances a clinical practice against a legislative one, and whether that balance shows in Cao's 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. They are self-funding this campaign and not accepting contributions. Their platform centers on public safety and homelessness, per their campaign site. **Strengths:** A second campaign in two years shows sustained commitment, and public safety and homelessness are concrete, specific priorities. **Trade-offs:** They lost their 2024 bid, and no elected or appointed city experience distinguishes this run from that one. **Keep in mind:** Running in a different district than their 2024 race is itself worth asking about — whether it reflects where they now live or simply where they see a better opening. ## 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 5 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 5 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/arcadia-council-5 (sources last retrieved September 7, 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.