# Mayor of Garden Grove Compare records and positions simply between Stephanie Klopfenstein or Thu-Ha Nguyen for Mayor of Garden Grove at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person is Garden Grove's Mayor, elected directly by all voters. It is the only council seat elected citywide rather than by district. Garden Grove is a charter city. The Mayor leads City Council meetings and represents the city. The Mayor is one of seven members who vote on budget and city laws. Six district council members hold the other seats. An appointed city manager runs day-to-day operations. The term is four years. - Jurisdiction: City of Garden Grove - 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/garden-grove-mayor - 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: October 7, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 88 out of 100 (Strong), across 7 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Stephanie Klopfenstein** — Mayor/Mom · Incumbent - **Thu-Ha Nguyen** — Cancer Scientist/Teacher A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein is running for a second term against Thu-Ha Nguyen, a former Garden Grove Mayor Pro Tem. Whichever candidate gets the most votes on November 3 wins outright; there's no runoff. Garden Grove's mayor is the only council seat elected citywide rather than by district. Garden Grove is a charter city; the mayor presides over City Council meetings and represents the city publicly, but votes as one of seven members (the mayor plus six district councilmembers) on the budget and city ordinances, alongside an appointed city manager who runs day-to-day operations. The term is four years. Klopfenstein is the incumbent, first elected to the council (District 5) in 2016 and elected Garden Grove's first female mayor in 2024. Nguyen is a past councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem, according to a rival campaign's endorsement page -- the only independently-found biographical detail about them in this pass; no campaign site, news coverage, or other primary source naming their prior district, service dates, or current platform could be found despite a real search effort. Nguyen's filed ballot designation is 'Cancer Scientist/Teacher.' ## Stephanie Klopfenstein A lifelong Garden Grove resident with family roots in the city dating to the late 1800s, Klopfenstein attended Concordia University, worked in radio broadcasting abroad, and later built a marketing career before their first council win in 2016. They represented District 5 for eight years before becoming the city's first elected female mayor in 2024. Klopfenstein also represents Garden Grove on three regional boards: the Association of California Cities Orange County, the Orange County Sanitation District, and the Orange County Transportation Authority. Their stated goal is representing residents while "ushering in a new chapter of growth and prosperity in Garden Grove, while striving to enhance the safety and family-friendly environment our great city deserves." **Strengths:** A decade on the council, including two years as mayor, plus three regional-board seats giving them a hand in county sanitation and transportation decisions that affect the city. **Trade-offs:** A long incumbency means their record is a known quantity, for better or worse, rather than a fresh start. **Keep in mind:** No state filing for their 2026 committee was located; see Financial info. ## Thu-Ha Nguyen Filed their candidacy under the ballot designation "Cancer Scientist/Teacher." A rival campaign's own page (Amanda Nguyen's, a separate District 3 candidate) calls them a "former Mayor Pro Tem" of Garden Grove, a title meaning they previously served on the council and was chosen by their colleagues for that leadership role. In their Vote411 questionnaire they describe the same service as a former councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem, though neither source gives their district or years. By their own account they have worked more than 25 years as a clinical scientist in genetics and cancer diagnostics while teaching and training future clinical laboratory scientists. They hold a UC Irvine bachelor's degree in biological sciences and a master's in clinical genetic studies from CSU Dominguez Hills. Their three stated priorities are public safety together with quality of life; keeping the city affordable while opening economic opportunity; and strong neighborhoods served by a City Hall that responds. Their priorities answer is a single sentence, so it gives no further specifics. On Flock cameras they say they support responsible use when they enhance public safety and come with privacy safeguards, including clear policies on data access, retention and sharing and regular oversight. **Strengths:** Prior council service and a stint as Mayor Pro Tem, by their own account, plus more than 25 years as a clinical scientist and lab-science teacher. **Trade-offs:** Choosing Nguyen gives up the known quantity of a sitting mayor, and their one-sentence priorities answer offers few specifics to weigh. **Keep in mind:** Their council and Mayor Pro Tem service rests on their own account and a rival campaign's page, and the years they served are not confirmed. See Financial info. ## Review notes - Amanda Nguyen's own campaign site ("Amanda Nguyen for Garden Grove City Council District 3"): her own framing of her candidacy (Senior Paralegal, OC Alternate Defender), platform, and endorsements -- including naming Thu-Ha Nguyen as a "former Mayor Pro Tem" may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources. ## Sources 1. [OC Registrar of Voters -- Contest/Candidate Proof List, General Election 11/3/2026 -- City of Garden Grove section (pages 94-99 of 188): confirms Mayor (2 qualified candidates), City Council District 1 (3), District 3 (3), and District 4 (4) as the city's four November 2026 races, each Vote for 1, with incumbent flags and every candidate's filed ballot designation](https://ocvote.gov/fileadmin/user_upload/data/candlog/GEN2026/candlog.pdf) 2. [City of Garden Grove -- Election Information page: confirms the same four offices up in the November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election ("Mayor at Large; Council District 1; Council District 3; and Council District 4") and links the city's own candidate list and incumbency-information documents](https://ggcity.org/election-information) 3. [City of Garden Grove -- 2026 Official Candidate List (the city clerk's own spreadsheet-to-PDF): every candidate's name, filing dates, ballot designation, and contact email/phone for all 12 candidates across the four contests -- independently matches the county's Proof List exactly](https://ggcity.org/sites/default/files/official-candidate-list-2026.pdf) 4. [City of Garden Grove -- City Council page: the full sitting 7-member roster (Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein; George S. Brietigam III, Mayor Pro Tem/District 1; Phillip Nguyen, District 2; Cindy Ngoc Tran, District 3; Joe DoVinh, District 4; Yesenia Munoz-Munoz, District 5; Ariana Arestegui, District 6) -- confirms which three districts (1, 3, 4) have terms expiring in 2026 and that District 1's incumbent, Brietigam, is not among the three qualified 2026 candidates for his own seat](https://ggcity.org/city-council) 5. [City of Garden Grove -- official biography for Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein: Garden Grove's first elected female mayor (2024), District 5 councilmember since 2016, lifelong resident, committee assignments (ACC-OC, OC Sanitation District, OCTA)](https://ggcity.org/city-council/stephanie-klopfenstein) 6. [Amanda Nguyen's own campaign site ("Amanda Nguyen for Garden Grove City Council District 3"): her own framing of her candidacy (Senior Paralegal, OC Alternate Defender), platform, and endorsements -- including naming Thu-Ha Nguyen as a "former Mayor Pro Tem," the only independently-found biographical detail about the Mayor's-race challenger in this pass](https://vote4amandanguyen.com) 7. [League of Women Voters -- Vote411 voter guide, 'City of Garden Grove Mayor' race (statewide All Races list): each candidate's self-submitted ballot designation and campaign contacts, plus answers to the League's questions -- If elected, what are your top 3 priorities?; What background, experience and/or education qualify you for this elected office?; What is your position on the use of Flock cameras or similar devices? Answers on file from Thu-Ha Nguyen. Capture in data/nov-2026/sources/vote411/garden-grove-mayor.json.](https://www.vote411.org/plan-your-vote) ## The rest of the ballot Mayor of Garden Grove 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, "Mayor of Garden Grove — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/garden-grove-mayor (sources last retrieved October 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.