Skip to main content

City of Laguna Hills · Statewide General Election

Laguna Hills City Council, District 1

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 Laguna Hills's 5-member City Council: the budget, land use, and city ordinances, alongside an appointed city manager who runs day-to-day operations. This is Laguna Hills's first-ever district election -- the city adopted by-district voting for the 2026 cycle, replacing citywide, at-large elections; Districts 1, 2, and 4 vote first, with Districts 3 and 5 following in 2028. A 4-year term.

Laguna Hills's District 1 City Council seat is on the November 3 ballot for the first time -- the city is switching from citywide, at-large council elections to by-district elections this cycle. Two candidates filed: Harry Huggins, president of a Laguna Hills nonprofit, and Laura Thies, who filed no ballot designation. Whichever candidate gets the most votes wins outright, with no runoff.

Whoever wins joins a five-member council that sets the budget, land use, and city ordinances, with an appointed city manager handling day-to-day operations. This is Laguna Hills's first-ever district election: the City Council adopted a district map by ordinance in December 2025, replacing citywide elections in which every voter chose every councilmember. Districts 1, 2, and 4 vote first in 2026; Districts 3 and 5 follow in 2028. A 4-year term.

Because the district system is brand new, District 1 has no sitting district officeholder -- the county's own candidate filing leaves the incumbent field blank, and the city's current at-large council roster (Mayor Don Caskey, Mayor Pro Tem Jared Mathis, and members Erica Pezold, Joshua Sweeney, and Dave Wheeler) includes neither Huggins nor Thies. This is an open-seat race between two first-time district candidates, not an incumbent defending a district seat.

Harry Huggins

Harry Huggins filed for City Council with the ballot designation "Laguna Hills Non-Profit President." Beyond that filed designation, this dataset could not independently confirm which nonprofit he leads, his background, or his platform within this pass's research window -- no campaign site, city bio, or news coverage was found. A documented research gap, not a claim that no such material exists.

Strengths

A leadership role in a local nonprofit, per his own filed ballot designation.

Trade-offs

No independent source describes his platform, priorities, or prior civic involvement beyond that designation.

Keep in mind

No independent campaign-finance figures could be found for his 2026 committee -- see Financial info.

Laura Thies

Laura Thies filed for City Council with no ballot designation. This dataset could not independently confirm her occupation, background, or platform within this pass's research window -- no campaign site, city bio, or news coverage was found. A documented research gap, not a claim that no such material exists.

Strengths

A locally filed candidacy confirmed by the county's own official record.

Trade-offs

This dataset found no platform statement, campaign site, or independent coverage describing her priorities or background.

Keep in mind

No independent campaign-finance figures could be found for her 2026 committee -- see Financial info.

Source review: Very strong (90/100) · 3 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 Laguna Hills section (fetched directly and parsed locally with pypdf across all 188 pages): confirms exactly two "CITY OF LAGUNA HILLS Member, City Council" contests -- District 1 (Vote for 1, 2 qualified candidates) and District 4 (Vote for 1, 4 qualified candidates) -- with every candidate's filing date and filed ballot designation, District 1's incumbent field blank and District 4's marked "Vacant"; no District 2, 3, or 5 contest, and no at-large or Mayor contest, appears anywhere in the section
  • lagunahillsca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Laguna Hills -- City Council page: confirms the sitting 5-member at-large council (Mayor Don Caskey and Mayor Pro Tem Jared Mathis, both through December 2028; Erica Pezold, Joshua Sweeney, and Dave Wheeler, terms expiring December 8, 2026) -- cited to independently confirm none of the six District 1 or District 4 candidates is a current councilmember
  • maplh.org (opens in a new tab)City of Laguna Hills districting site (maplh.org, the redirect target of lagunahillsca.gov/603/Districting): the City Council adopted "Map 108" by ordinance effective December 9, 2025, replacing citywide at-large City Council elections with by-district elections starting in 2026; 5 districts total, with Districts 1, 2, and 4 holding their first elections in 2026 and Districts 3 and 5 following in 2028

Last updated August 31, 2026.