# Hermosa Beach City Council

Compare records and positions simply between Eric Horne, Elka Worner, Ray Jackson, and 3 more for Hermosa Beach City Council at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds one of Hermosa Beach's five at-large City Council seats. They vote on the city budget, zoning and development rules, and public safety priorities. Hermosa Beach is a small, dense beach city anchored by its pier. The term is four years. The council does not elect its mayor directly. Each year, members choose one of their own as mayor and mayor pro tem. Each rotation lasts roughly 9.6 months. That person leads meetings but has only one vote, like every other member.

- Jurisdiction: City of Hermosa Beach
- Election: November 3, 2026 California general election
- Seats: 3
- Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements.
- Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/hermosa-beach-council
- 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: August 31, 2026
- Source-objectivity score: 78 out of 100 (Mixed), across 12 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology

## On the ballot

- **Eric Horne**
- **Elka Worner**
- **Ray Jackson** — Incumbent
- **Rob Saemann** — Incumbent
- **Maggie Bove-LaMonica**
- **Dean Francois** — Incumbent

A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

Three of Hermosa Beach's five City Council seats are on the November 3 ballot. Six candidates are running for them. Incumbents Dean Francois, Ray Jackson, and Rob Saemann are each seeking another term. Saemann is Hermosa's current mayor. They face three challengers. They are school-board member Maggie Bove-LaMonica, wildfire-policy executive Eric Horne, and former TV news producer Elka Worner.

Hermosa Beach's council is five members, all elected citywide rather than by district, on staggered 4-year terms; the other two seats -- held by Mayor Mike Detoy and Mayor Pro Tem Michael Keegan -- aren't up this cycle. The council chooses one of its own to serve as mayor and mayor pro tem each year, in roughly 9.6-month rotations, so voters elect a councilmember, not a mayor directly. Whoever wins holds the seat for four years, setting the city budget, zoning and development rules, and public-safety priorities for a small, dense beach city built around its pier and Pier Avenue business district.

All three incumbents up this cycle are seeking reelection, so this reads as continuity-versus-change rather than an open-seat race: Francois is running on fiscal transparency and traffic safety, Jackson on making city government more efficient, and Saemann -- the sitting mayor -- on budget discipline and infrastructure, including the pier. Each challenger is running a distinct case: Bove-LaMonica brings school-board budget and bond experience, Horne brings outside oversight experience and a critique of how the council passed a recent budget, and Worner brings a public-safety and homelessness platform built on a 2024 run. With three seats and six names on the ballot, this is a plurality race decided in one round -- weigh whether you want continuity across all three incumbents, a mix, or a clean sweep of challengers.

## Dean Francois

Dean Francois is a Hermosa Beach councilmember first elected in 2022 who served as mayor in 2025. He is running for a second term on fiscal transparency, traffic and public safety, and cutting red tape for local businesses. He is a longtime community volunteer, with service including the American Red Cross, Hermosa's Sister City Association, and the Sierra Club's South Bay board.

**Strengths:** One full term of citywide experience, plus a mayoral term in 2025. Four decades of South Bay volunteering. It includes the Red Cross, CERT, historical societies, and environmental groups.

**Trade-offs:** His campaign site lists endorsements and civic memberships. That list is the fullest public record of his tenure available. No independent local reporting on his first-term votes was found.

**Keep in mind:** Nothing adverse surfaced in coverage of his first term or his 2025 mayoral year. Weighing his record means reading council agendas and votes directly, not a secondhand summary.

## Ray Jackson

Ray Jackson is a councilmember first elected in a May 2021 special election. They are a retired Army colonel who spent three decades in uniform. They started as a combat medic and later served as a Judge Advocate General officer. They are running for a second term on making city government more efficient and responsive. They served as mayor in 2023, per the city's own list of past State of the City speakers.

**Strengths:** The most council tenure of the three incumbents, first elected in 2021. They bring a three-decade military legal and logistics career. They cite it as preparation for city bureaucracy.

**Trade-offs:** Their public campaign material has leaned on general themes of efficiency and service. It has not offered specific 2026 policy commitments. No detailed platform was found.

**Keep in mind:** Nothing adverse surfaced in coverage of their time on the council. Their campaign has historically been light on specifics. Their voting record is the fuller picture.

## Rob Saemann

Rob Saemann is Hermosa Beach's 2026 mayor and a councilmember seeking a second term. He is a longtime contractor. He has owned two businesses in the city over more than fifty years there. He is running on budget discipline and infrastructure, including the pier. He would use his construction and land-use background to guide development decisions. He has pledged to donate his council salary to local civic projects for the rest of his term.

**Strengths:** The only candidate or sitting councilmember to have served on all three city bodies. Those are the Public Works Commission, the Planning Commission, and the City Council.

**Trade-offs:** As a longtime local contractor, his business touches the construction and land-use decisions his council votes cover. It is a standing overlap to disclose, not a documented conflict.

**Keep in mind:** His salary-donation pledge and commission history come from his own campaign materials, not independent reporting. Nothing adverse surfaced in coverage of his time in office.

## Maggie Bove-LaMonica

Maggie Bove-LaMonica is a Hermosa Beach City School District board member serving their third term. Their professional background is as a classroom teacher, school administrator, and legal advocate. They are running on long-term planning for city infrastructure and development. They also want to fix the city budget before it becomes a crisis. They have helped pass two school facility bonds totaling more than $87 million. They oversee a roughly $100 million district budget.

**Strengths:** Thirteen-plus years of elected budget and governance work. That includes two passed bond measures and a roughly $100 million district budget. It is the deepest public-management record here.

**Trade-offs:** Their elected experience is on the school board, not the city council. School and city budgets, land use, and constituencies differ. Their platform does not yet detail how the two translate.

**Keep in mind:** Their bond and budget figures come from their own campaign site, not independently verified district records. Nothing adverse surfaced in coverage of their school board tenure.

## Eric Horne

Eric Horne is a Hermosa Beach native and an executive at Megafire Action, a wildfire-policy nonprofit. They earlier served as the FDA's liaison to Congress, overseeing more than $1 billion in pandemic-era spending. They are running on public safety, fiscal responsibility, and what they call making local government work better. They cite a $55 million city budget they say the council passed in 55 minutes. They have served on the city's Civic Facilities Advisory Group. They hold degrees from UCLA and Harvard Business School.

**Strengths:** Direct oversight experience over $1 billion in federal pandemic spending at the FDA. They also hold a leadership role at a national wildfire-policy nonprofit. They grew up in Hermosa.

**Trade-offs:** Their oversight and policy record is federal and nonprofit, not municipal. They have never held city office. Their platform is newer and less detailed than the incumbents' voting records.

**Keep in mind:** Their account of a $55 million city budget passed in 55 minutes is their own campaign's framing. Nothing adverse surfaced in independent coverage of their federal or nonprofit work.

## Elka Worner

Elka Worner is a Hermosa Beach Parks and Recreation commissioner. She is a former television news producer with more than 25 years in journalism. That includes a stint as an Easy Reader reporter. She is running on public safety, homelessness, and responsible development. She founded HB SAFE, the city's first homeless-outreach initiative. She ran for one of three council seats in 2024 and lost. She is running again in 2026.

**Strengths:** A second run gives her name recognition and a documented 2024 platform. She also has organizing experience founding a homeless-outreach initiative and opposing a beachfront development.

**Trade-offs:** She has never held elected office. Her Parks and Recreation Commission seat is appointed, not elected. It is distinct from the council's budget and land-use authority.

**Keep in mind:** She lost her 2024 bid for one of three seats to three other candidates. In 2026 she runs again against two incumbents and two other challengers. That is a similarly competitive field.

## Review notes

- Re-Elect Dean Francois to Hermosa Beach City Council, Eric Horne for Hermosa Beach, Eric Horne for Hermosa Beach, Maggie4Hermosa, and Re-Elect Rob Saemann for Hermosa Beach City Council 2026 may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

## Sources

1. [City of Hermosa Beach — Current Election Information (City Clerk): three City Council (Members-At-Large) seats up Nov. 3, 2026; nomination-status table for six candidates -- Ray Jackson, Dean Francois, Elka Worner, Maggie Bove-LaMonica, Eric Horne, Rob Saemann -- each with a date the county confirmed candidacy](https://www.hermosabeach.gov/our-government/city-clerk/election-information)
2. [City of Hermosa Beach — City Council (current roster: Mike Detoy, Mayor; Michael D. Keegan, Mayor Pro Tem; Ray Jackson, Dean Francois, and Rob Saemann, Councilmembers; confirms Detoy and Keegan -- neither on the six-candidate 2026 filing list -- aren't up for reelection this cycle)](https://www.hermosabeach.gov/our-government/city-council)
3. [City of Hermosa Beach — NetFile Public Portal for Campaign Finance (11/03/2026 General Election, City Council seat): independently lists the identical six-candidate field as the city clerk's page. Bove-LaMonica, Francois, Horne, and Jackson each show a mid-year FPPC Form 460 (period 1/1/2026-6/30/2026) filed by the July 31, 2026 deadline; Saemann's and Worner's individual filing histories could not be opened this pass due to a portal display issue -- both remain confirmed as registered filers on the shared seat listing, not as having a specific filing history checked](https://netfile.com/public/COHB/campaign/elections)
4. [Easy Reader & Peninsula — "Two seats, nine potential HB Council candidates" (Kevin Cody, Aug. 2, 2024): reports that Mayor Dean Francois, Rob Saemann, and Raymond Jackson "will be up for reelection in 2026," independently corroborating which three of the five council seats are on this ballot](https://easyreadernews.com/two-seats-nine-potential-hb-council-candidates/)
5. [Easy Reader & Peninsula — "Hermosa Beach Council candidate Jackson wants more nimble city government" (Dan Blackburn, Apr. 23, 2021): Ray Jackson's background as a retired Army colonel and Judge Advocate General officer, in his first council campaign](https://easyreadernews.com/hermosa-beach-council-candidate-jackson-wants-more-nimble-city-government)
6. [Re-Elect Dean Francois to Hermosa Beach City Council — campaign site (platform, community-volunteer record: American Red Cross, CERT, Hermosa Beach Sister City Association, Sierra Club South Bay board, among others)](https://www.dean4council.com/)
7. [Re-Elect Rob Saemann for Hermosa Beach City Council 2026 — campaign site (platform, 2026 mayor, Public Works/Planning Commission history, pledge to donate his council salary to local causes)](https://www.robforhermosa.com/)
8. [Eric Horne for Hermosa Beach — campaign site (platform: public safety, housing, small business, fiscal responsibility; cites a $55 million city budget he says was passed in 55 minutes)](https://www.ericforhermosa.com/)
9. [Eric Horne for Hermosa Beach — About page (Peace Corps; FDA liaison to Congress overseeing over $1 billion in pandemic spending; executive at Megafire Action; UCLA and Harvard Business School degrees; Hermosa Beach Civic Facilities Advisory Group)](https://www.ericforhermosa.com/about)
10. [Maggie4Hermosa — campaign site (platform; third term on the Hermosa Beach City School District Board; two passed facility bonds totaling $87M+; oversees a ~$100M district budget, 1,450 students, 125 employees)](https://www.maggie4hermosa.org/)
11. [Political Candidate Directory — Elka Worner (Hermosa Beach City Council, 2026 challenger): 25+ years as a television news producer including a stint at Easy Reader, current Parks and Recreation commissioner, founder of HB SAFE homeless-outreach initiative, 2024 council candidate](https://www.politicalcandidatedirectory.com/ca/elka-worner)
12. [Hermosa Beach Neighborhood Association — 2026 City Council Candidate Debate press release (Sept. 29, 2026): "All six 2026 Hermosa Beach City Council candidates have committed to take part in this candidate debate" -- independently confirming a six-candidate field without naming them, from a civic association that has sponsored these debates since 2006](http://www.hbneighborhood.org/)

## The rest of the ballot

Hermosa Beach City Council 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, "Hermosa Beach City Council — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/hermosa-beach-council (sources last retrieved August 31, 2026).

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