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City of Brea · Statewide General Election

Brea City Council

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 holds one of three at-large seats up this cycle on Brea's 5-member City Council, elected to staggered 4-year terms: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside an appointed city manager who runs day-to-day operations. The council selects one of its own members to serve as Mayor. Brea elects its council entirely at-large -- in 2022 the City Council considered and voted against switching to by-district elections after a 2019 California Voting Rights Act challenge.

Five candidates are running for three at-large seats on Brea's City Council: incumbents Cecilia Hupp, Blair Stewart and Steven C. Vargas against challengers Andrew Herrera and Blake Perez. Vote for up to three -- no runoff.

Council seats carry 4-year terms; winners join two sitting councilmembers not up for election this year to make five votes on city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside an appointed city manager who runs day-to-day operations. The council selects one of its own members to serve as Mayor. Brea elects its council entirely at-large: in 2019 the city received a notice alleging its at-large system violated the California Voting Rights Act, and rather than litigate it explored switching to by-district elections -- but at its April 5, 2022 meeting the City Council voted not to proceed with that change, so all five seats remain citywide races.

Three incumbents are seeking new terms against two challengers for the same three seats: Mayor Cecilia Hupp (first elected 2014), Blair Stewart (elected 2022) and Steven C. Vargas (elected 2014 after an earlier 1998-2002 term) all filed for re-election, facing Andrew Herrera, a consumer relations manager, and Blake Perez, a public affairs manager. With three incumbents and two challengers competing for three seats in an at-large, vote-for-up-to-three contest, the practical choice is less which incumbent to keep and more whether either challenger should displace one of them.

Cecilia Hupp

Cecilia Hupp is Brea's Mayor and the longest-serving of the three incumbents, first elected to the council in November 2014 and re-elected in 2018 and 2022; she previously served as Mayor in 2017 (the city's Centennial Year) and again in 2022. She and her husband Scott opened S&S Home Loans in Brea in 1983, and she has worked in the mortgage industry for more than three decades. Per her own council biography, she has championed senior affordable housing and overseen development at La Floresta, Brea Place and Central Park Village, the conversion of former railroad tracks into the 50-acre Tracks at Brea trail, and the 57 Freeway/Lambert Road interchange project, while describing herself as "a fiscal conservative who believes in prudent spending, as well as transparency in government" -- citing a $10 million PARS irrevocable trust and a 25% fiscal reserve policy.

Strengths

Twelve years on the council across three terms, including two stints as Mayor; a housing and infrastructure record spanning La Floresta, Brea Place, Central Park Village, and the Tracks at Brea trail.

Trade-offs

Her own biography documents accomplishments rather than a platform for a new term, and her long incumbency means no independent critique of her tenure turned up in this pass.

Keep in mind

No independent news coverage of her 2026 campaign was found in this pass, and no campaign-finance figures are available for any candidate in this race -- see Financial info.

Blake Perez

Blake Perez is a challenger who filed under the ballot designation "Public Affairs Manager," qualifying for the ballot on July 23, 2026 per the county's own filing record. He holds no city office, and no independent profile, platform statement, or news coverage was found for him in this pass beyond his filed occupation.

Strengths

A public affairs background, which could translate to communications and community-outreach instincts on a council seat, though no record of prior civic or elected experience was found.

Trade-offs

No campaign statement, platform, or news coverage was found in this pass, so voters have no confirmed sense of his priorities beyond his filed occupation.

Keep in mind

No independent news coverage of his 2026 campaign was found in this pass, and no campaign-finance figures are available for any candidate in this race -- see Financial info.

Andrew Herrera

Andrew Herrera is a challenger who filed under the ballot designation "Consumer Relations Manager," qualifying for the ballot on July 28, 2026 per the county's own filing record. He holds no city office, and no independent profile, platform statement, or news coverage was found for him in this pass beyond his filed occupation.

Strengths

A consumer relations background, which could translate to constituent-service instincts on a council seat, though no record of prior civic or elected experience was found.

Trade-offs

No campaign statement, platform, or news coverage was found in this pass, so voters have no confirmed sense of his priorities beyond his filed occupation.

Keep in mind

No independent news coverage of his 2026 campaign was found in this pass, and no campaign-finance figures are available for any candidate in this race -- see Financial info.

Blair Stewart

Blair Stewart was elected to the council in November 2022 and served as Mayor in 2025. He has spent 25 years as a Hazardous Materials Firefighter for the Torrance Fire Department, also serving as a Certified Film Safety Officer and Recruitment Specialist, and is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran (eight years' service, four active and four reserve, honorably discharged as Sergeant E5 in 1999). A Brea Olinda High School graduate and lifelong Brea resident, per his own council biography he sits on the city's Development Committee, the Wildlife Corridor Conservation Authority, and the Hillside Open Space Education Coalition, and serves as 2nd Vice President of the League of California Cities' Orange County Division.

Strengths

A 25-year career as a Hazardous Materials Firefighter, Marine Corps veteran, and one term already served including a year as Mayor in 2025; regional League of California Cities leadership role.

Trade-offs

His own biography documents his career and committee seats rather than stated priorities for a new term, and no independent news coverage of his 2026 campaign was found in this pass.

Keep in mind

No independent news coverage of his 2026 campaign was found in this pass, and no campaign-finance figures are available for any candidate in this race -- see Financial info.

Steven C. Vargas

Steven Vargas first served on the council from 1998 to 2002, was elected again in November 2014, re-elected in 2018 and 2022, and served as Mayor in 2021. He holds a bachelor's degree in science and technology from Excelsior College and, per his own council biography, worked for the County of Orange's Third District and as an Outreach Coordinator for the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration before a two-decade career as a Construction Safety Specialist at Chevron. He holds the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve's Civil Engineering Corps, has been activated five times since 9/11 including a 2008-09 Iraq deployment, and currently serves as Adjutant of Brea's American Legion Post 181.

Strengths

The longest public-safety and civic resume in the field: prior county and federal staff roles, two decades at Chevron, and continued Navy Reserve service including a wartime deployment.

Trade-offs

His own biography documents his career and community roles rather than stated priorities for a new term, and no independent news coverage of his 2026 campaign was found in this pass.

Keep in mind

No independent news coverage of his 2026 campaign was found in this pass, and no campaign-finance figures are available for any candidate in this race -- see Financial info.

Source review: Strong (89/100) · 7 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • ocvote.gov (opens in a new tab)OC Registrar of Voters -- Contest/Candidate Proof List, General Election 11/3/2026 -- City of Brea section (pages 77-79 of 188, downloaded directly and parsed locally with pypdf since a plain fetch returns undecodable PDF stream data): confirms Member City Council (Contest 5012, District ID *505 Brea) as the city's single November 2026 race -- not split by district, Vote for 3, 5 qualified candidates -- naming incumbents Cecilia Hupp, Steven C. Vargas and Blair Stewart, and each candidate's filed ballot designation and filing date
  • cityofbrea.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Brea -- Elections page: confirms "a five-member City Council that is elected at-large," 4-year terms, three at-large seats up in the November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election, and names all five qualified candidates (Andrew Herrera, Cecilia Hupp, Blake Perez, Blair Stewart, Steven C. Vargas)
  • cityofbrea.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Brea -- City Council page: names the sitting five-member at-large council (Mayor Cecilia Hupp, Mayor Pro Tem Marty Simonoff, Christine Marick, Blair Stewart, Steven Vargas)
  • cityofbrea.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Brea -- Districting Background page: a May 2019 notice alleged the city's at-large system violated the California Voting Rights Act; the city explored a by-district transition rather than litigate, but at its April 5, 2022 meeting the City Council voted not to proceed, leaving the city fully at-large
  • cityofbrea.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Brea -- Mayor Cecilia Hupp official council-member biography: first elected Nov. 2014, re-elected 2018 and 2022, Mayor in 2017 and 2022; co-founder of S&S Home Loans (1983); housing and infrastructure record (La Floresta, Brea Place, Central Park Village, the Tracks at Brea trail, 57/Lambert interchange); regional committee seats
  • cityofbrea.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Brea -- Blair Stewart official council-member biography: elected Nov. 2022, Mayor in 2025; 25-year Hazardous Materials Firefighter for Torrance Fire Department; U.S. Marine Corps veteran; Brea Olinda High School graduate; city and regional committee seats
  • cityofbrea.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Brea -- Steven Vargas official council-member biography: council service 1998-2002 and again from Nov. 2014 (re-elected 2018, 2022), Mayor in 2021; prior County of Orange and federal staff roles; two decades as a Construction Safety Specialist at Chevron; U.S. Navy Reserve Lieutenant Commander, activated five times since 9/11 including a 2008-09 Iraq deployment

Last updated August 31, 2026.