City of Huntington Beach · Statewide General Election
Huntington Beach 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
- Amory Hanson — Historic Resources Boardman
- Taryn Taddeo Palumbo — Nonprofit Executive/Parent
- Rosalind "Roz" Price — Operations Manager/Commissioner
- Ben Davis — Civil Rights Attorney
- Erin Spivey — Retired Librarian
- Brian Burley — Trustee, Huntington Beach City School District
- Pat Burns — Retired Policeman/Councilmember · Incumbent
- Brenda Glim — Business Woman
- Andrew Gruel — Appointed City Councilmember · Incumbent
- Casey McKeon — Mayor of Huntington Beach/Businessowner · Incumbent
- Brian Thienes — Small Business Owner
This person holds one of four at-large seats up this cycle on Huntington Beach's 7-member City Council, elected to staggered 4-year terms: city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The council selects one of its own members to serve as Mayor and another as Mayor Pro Tem -- neither title is separately elected -- and day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager. A June 2026 Orange County Superior Court order (still tentative, per independent reporting) would require the city to elect all 7 seats at once by ranked-choice voting in a future cycle; the county's own official candidate document confirms this November's election proceeds as a traditional multi-seat plurality race, not ranked-choice.
Eleven candidates are running for four of the seven at-large seats on the Huntington Beach City Council: incumbents Andrew Gruel, Casey McKeon (the sitting Mayor) and Pat Burns, plus eight challengers. A fourth incumbent whose seat is up this cycle, Gracey Van Der Mark, is not on this ballot — she is running for State Assembly instead. Vote for up to four; no primary.
Council seats carry staggered 4-year terms, so only four of the seven seats are up in any given cycle. Winners vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use; the council selects one of its own members to serve as Mayor and another as Mayor Pro Tem each year, rather than either title being separately elected. Day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager. A June 2026 Orange County Superior Court order — reported as still tentative and subject to further litigation — would require the city to elect all seven seats at once using ranked-choice voting, ending the staggered-term system; the county's own official candidate document for this ballot lists this contest as a traditional plurality race (vote for up to four), so that order, if it takes effect, would apply to a future election, not this one.
Three of the four sitting officeholders whose terms are up are running again, and none of the eight challengers holds city office; one, Brian Burley, currently sits on the Huntington Beach City School District board. Candidate backgrounds below come from each filer's own occupation/title as declared to the county on their nomination paperwork — the only source this pass could independently confirm for the challengers in the time available.
Andrew Gruel
An incumbent, appointed to the council in March 2025 to fill a vacancy. His filed ballot designation is "Appointed City Councilmember."
Strengths
Already serving, having filled a council vacancy in March 2025.
Trade-offs
Just over a year in office by Election Day, all of it by appointment rather than a prior win at the ballot box.
Keep in mind
This would be his first council term won by election rather than appointment.
Casey McKeon
An incumbent and the sitting Mayor, selected for that role by the council in December 2025 (council members choose the Mayor annually from among themselves; it is not a separately elected office). His filed ballot designation is "Mayor of Huntington Beach/Businessowner."
Strengths
Currently holds the council-selected Mayor title, the most visible role among this field's incumbents.
Trade-offs
The Mayor title carries no extra vote on the council — it is one of five council votes plus procedural duties running meetings.
Keep in mind
Being Mayor now doesn't guarantee the council reselects him for that role again next term even if he wins reelection to the council seat itself.
Pat Burns
An incumbent. His filed ballot designation is "Retired Policeman/Councilmember."
Strengths
Combines a law-enforcement career with sitting council experience.
Trade-offs
No additional independent biographical detail was found in the time available for this pass.
Keep in mind
His filed designation is the primary record available here; a fuller record would need his own campaign materials or local news coverage not reachable this pass.
Brian Burley
A challenger and current Trustee on the Huntington Beach City School District board. His filed ballot designation is "Trustee, Huntington Beach City School District."
Strengths
Sitting elected experience, on the school district board rather than the city council.
Trade-offs
No city-council-specific record to evaluate; school district governance and city governance are different bodies with different responsibilities.
Keep in mind
A school-board seat doesn't necessarily indicate a position on city-specific issues like land use or the municipal budget.
Ben Davis
A challenger. His filed ballot designation is "Civil Rights Attorney."
Strengths
A legal background centered on civil rights.
Trade-offs
No prior elected or appointed government service was found in the time available for this pass.
Keep in mind
His filed designation is the primary record available here; a fuller record would need his own campaign materials or local news coverage not reachable this pass.
Brenda Glim
A challenger. Her filed ballot designation is "Business Woman."
Strengths
A business background, per her own filed designation.
Trade-offs
No prior elected or appointed government service was found in the time available for this pass.
Keep in mind
Her filed designation is the primary record available here; a fuller record would need her own campaign materials or local news coverage not reachable this pass.
Amory Hanson
A challenger and current member of the city's Historic Resources Board. His filed ballot designation is "Historic Resources Boardman."
Strengths
Existing city-appointed-board experience, closer to municipal government than a purely private-sector background.
Trade-offs
A city advisory board carries no legislative authority the way a council seat does.
Keep in mind
His filed designation is the primary record available here; a fuller record would need his own campaign materials or local news coverage not reachable this pass.
Taryn Taddeo Palumbo
A challenger. Her filed ballot designation is "Nonprofit Executive/Parent."
Strengths
Nonprofit-sector executive experience, per her own filed designation.
Trade-offs
No prior elected or appointed government service was found in the time available for this pass.
Keep in mind
Her filed designation is the primary record available here; a fuller record would need her own campaign materials or local news coverage not reachable this pass.
Rosalind "Roz" Price
A challenger. Her filed ballot designation is "Operations Manager/Commissioner" — indicating she currently serves on a city commission in addition to her operations-management background.
Strengths
Her filed designation indicates both a management background and a current city commission role.
Trade-offs
The specific commission isn't identified in the county's filing record, and no independent confirmation was found in the time available for this pass.
Keep in mind
Her filed designation is the primary record available here; a fuller record would need her own campaign materials or local news coverage not reachable this pass.
Erin Spivey
A challenger. Her filed ballot designation is "Retired Librarian."
Strengths
A public-service career background, in the library system rather than city government specifically.
Trade-offs
No prior elected or appointed government service was found in the time available for this pass.
Keep in mind
Her filed designation is the primary record available here; a fuller record would need her own campaign materials or local news coverage not reachable this pass.
Brian Thienes
A challenger. His filed ballot designation is "Small Business Owner."
Strengths
A small-business background, per his own filed designation.
Trade-offs
No prior elected or appointed government service was found in the time available for this pass.
Keep in mind
His filed designation is the primary record available here; a fuller record would need his own campaign materials or local news coverage not reachable this pass.
Source review: Strong (88/100) · 3 cited sources
Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context.
- ocvote.gov (opens in a new tab)OC Registrar of Voters -- Contest/Candidate Proof List, General Election 11/3/2026 -- City of Huntington Beach section (pages 100-105 of 188): confirms Member, City Council (Vote for 4, 11 qualified candidates -- Andrew Gruel, Casey McKeon, Pat Burns, Brian Burley, Ben Davis, Brenda Glim, Amory Hanson, Taryn Taddeo Palumbo, Rosalind "Roz" Price, Erin Spivey, Brian Thienes) and City Attorney (Vote for 1, 1 qualified candidate -- Mike Vigliotta, appointed incumbent) as the city's only two November 2026 races, with each candidate's filed ballot designation and the council contest's incumbent flags (Gruel, McKeon, Burns, and Gracey Van Der Mark, who does not appear among the 11 qualified council candidates) -- and corrects the local-authoring queue's "11 candidates / uncontested" note, which described two different contests as one: the 11-candidate field is the contested Council race, and the uncontested race is City Attorney
- en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia's Huntington Beach, California article, government section: describes a council-manager government with a 7-member at-large City Council on staggered 4-year terms, names Casey McKeon as Mayor (appointed by the council Dec. 2025, citing the Orange County Register) and Butch Twining as Mayor Pro Tem, names Mike Vigliotta as City Attorney (appointed Feb. 2025 from Orange, citing the Orange County Register), and documents a June 2026 Orange County Superior Court order requiring proportional ranked-choice voting for all 7 council seats at once -- cited only for structure and officeholder background, never for a candidate-specific claim about this November's ballot mechanics, which follow the county's own Contest/Candidate Proof List instead
- ivn.us (opens in a new tab)Independent Voter News -- "A Judge Just Ordered Huntington Beach to Give Voters More Choice" (Jul 2, 2026): independent reporting on Judge Craig L. Griffin's June 2026 tentative order requiring proportional ranked-choice voting for all 7 Huntington Beach City Council seats at once, explicitly noting the order is tentative and could still face further litigation or change, with no confirmed effective date
Last updated August 31, 2026.