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City of Costa Mesa · Statewide General Election

Costa Mesa 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

This person holds your district's seat on Costa Mesa's 6-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside the citywide-elected mayor. A 4-year term, capped at two consecutive terms.

Kelly Brown and Steve Smith are running for Costa Mesa City Council District 5's open seat -- incumbent Arlis Reynolds is term-limited and can't run again (and has endorsed Brown). Whichever candidate gets the most votes on November 3 wins outright; there's no runoff.

This person holds District 5's seat on Costa Mesa's 6-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside the citywide-elected mayor. A 4-year term, capped at two consecutive terms.

Both candidates already sit on city commissions -- Brown chairs Parks and Community Services, Smith serves on Animal Services -- and both campaign on public safety and fiscal transparency. Brown's platform leans further into housing, small-business support, and the city's Climate Action Plan; Smith's leans further into preserving public access to Fairview Park (including for recreational activities like RC glider flying) and addressing what he describes as the city's structural budget deficit.

Kelly Brown

Director of Media Relations and Communications for UC Irvine's School of Humanities and Chair of the city's Parks and Community Services Commission, where Costa Mesa First (a local PAC) says she helped create the city's first framework for park investments. Her platform centers on thriving communities, public safety, and government transparency -- including expanding housing options, supporting small businesses, investing in parks and infrastructure, backing fully staffed police and fire departments, and implementing the city's Climate Action Plan. "Public service is in my DNA," she says. She's been endorsed by outgoing District 5 incumbent Arlis Reynolds, who called her "a thoughtful and persistent problem solver," and by U.S. Rep. Dave Min (CA-47).

Strengths

A sitting chairmanship of the Parks and Community Services Commission with a specific, checkable accomplishment (a park-investment framework), plus the outgoing incumbent's own endorsement.

Trade-offs

No prior elected office; a communications career at a public university is a less direct fit with budget or land-use decisions than some other candidates' backgrounds in this cycle.

Keep in mind

No CAL-ACCESS record was checked for her campaign in this pass -- see Financial info.

Steve Smith

A technology consultant who has served on the city's Animal Services Committee since April 2025, per Costa Mesa First's tracking. His campaign, per his own site, centers on public safety, fiscal responsibility, and government transparency; Costa Mesa First's more detailed accounting adds that he prioritizes preserving public access to Fairview Park -- including for activities like RC glider flying -- and addressing the city's structural budget deficit through reduced regulatory barriers for businesses and economic growth.

Strengths

A specific, narrow policy focus (Fairview Park access, the structural budget deficit) that gives voters a concrete issue to weigh him on.

Trade-offs

No prior elected or appointed government experience beyond his 2025 committee seat; his own campaign site did not render text, so most platform detail here reflects a local PAC's characterization.

Keep in mind

No CAL-ACCESS record was checked for his campaign in this pass -- see Financial info.

Source review: Mixed (79/100) · 5 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context; advocacy or endorsement sources are treated as attributed perspective.

Review note: Kelly Brown's own campaign site ("Kelly for Costa Mesa"): her own framing of her District 5 candidacy, Parks Commission role, and platform and Costa Mesa First (FPPC #1332564, a registered PAC operating savecostamesa.com) -- Candidates for District 5 page: ages, occupations, and platform detail for Steve Smith (Animal Services Committee since Apr. 2025, Fairview Park public-access position, structural budget deficit) and Kelly Brown; the group describes itself as openly opinionated about candidates, cited here only for independently-checkable factual detail beyond each campaign's own site may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

  • ocvote.gov (opens in a new tab)OC Registrar of Voters — Contest/Candidate Proof List, General Election 11/3/2026 (169 contests, 430 candidates filed)
  • costamesaca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Costa Mesa — Mayor & City Council page: term limits (Mayor, 2-year terms, 2-term cap; Council, 4-year terms, 2-term cap) and the sitting roster (Mayor John Stephens; Council Members Mike Buley D1, Loren Gameros D2, Andrea Marr D3, Manuel Chavez D4/Mayor Pro Tem, Arlis Reynolds D5, Jeff Pettis D6)
  • latimes.com (opens in a new tab)LA Times/Daily Pilot — "Costa Mesa Council race will see 8 candidates square off for 4 open seats, including mayor": confirms 4 council members terming out in December and 8 total candidates across the 4 open seats, all already serving in city civic roles; retrieved as search-engine snippets, latimes.com itself is not directly fetchable in this pass
  • kellyforcostamesa.com (opens in a new tab)Kelly Brown's own campaign site ("Kelly for Costa Mesa"): her own framing of her District 5 candidacy, Parks Commission role, and platform
  • savecostamesa.com (opens in a new tab)Costa Mesa First (FPPC #1332564, a registered PAC operating savecostamesa.com) — Candidates for District 5 page: ages, occupations, and platform detail for Steve Smith (Animal Services Committee since Apr. 2025, Fairview Park public-access position, structural budget deficit) and Kelly Brown; the group describes itself as openly opinionated about candidates, cited here only for independently-checkable factual detail beyond each campaign's own site

Last updated August 31, 2026.