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City of Ojai · Statewide General Election

Ojai City Council, District 3

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 represents one of Ojai's four numbered City Council districts: city ordinances, the budget, and land-use decisions, alongside a citywide-elected Mayor and an appointed City Manager who runs day-to-day operations. Ojai moved from at-large to district-based Council elections in 2018 (Ordinance 889, under Elections Code Section 10010 and the California Voting Rights Act). A 4-year term.

Incumbent Andrew K. Whitman is unopposed for a second term representing District 3 -- the only Ojai City Council seat besides the Mayor's to draw no challenger this cycle.

This person represents District 3 on Ojai's five-member City Council -- one of four numbered districts created when the city moved from at-large to district-based Council elections in 2018 (Ordinance 889). A 4-year term. The Mayor, City Clerk, and City Treasurer remain elected citywide. Whitman has held the seat since his 2022 election.

In 2023, a group calling itself Ojai For All filed a Notice of Intention to recall Whitman; the City Clerk's Office rejected the filing on procedural grounds -- state law requires a recall proponent to be a registered voter within the officeholder's own district, and the group's lead proponent was not a District 1 resident. Organizers said at the time they intended to refile; this dataset found no confirmation the recall was ever refiled or reached a vote.

Andrew K. Whitman

The incumbent, seeking another term; his filed ballot designation is 'Incumbent.' He has held the District 3 seat since his 2022 election and was the target of an unsuccessful 2023 recall effort that the city clerk rejected on procedural grounds. This dataset found no independent 2026 campaign profile, stated platform, or occupation for him beyond his incumbency.

Strengths

A full term on the Council (since 2022) and no successful recall against him despite one attempt.

Trade-offs

This dataset found no independent reporting or biography evaluating his record in office for this cycle specifically, and no stated 2026 platform or occupation.

Keep in mind

The 2023 recall against him was rejected on a procedural technicality (the proponent's residency), not on its merits; this dataset avoided the surrounding opinion pieces as sourcing, since they are advocacy, not reporting. No 2026-specific coverage was found.

Source review: Strong (84/100) · 6 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • clerkrecorder.venturacounty.gov (opens in a new tab)Ventura County's own certified 'Contest/Candidate Proof List' (report CFMR001), the on-ballot roster dated and printed August 18, 2026, in 'alpha order applied' form -- names all four Ojai City contests (Mayor; Council Districts 1, 2, 3) as ON BALLOT with their exact qualified-candidate rosters, ballot designations, and incumbency flags
  • clerkrecorder.venturacounty.gov (opens in a new tab)Ventura County's companion 'Contest/Candidate Proof List -- Off Ballot' document, dated August 17, 2026 -- Ojai's City Council contests do not appear anywhere in this document, corroborating by absence that none were cancelled or resolved by appointment under Elections Code Section 10229
  • ojai.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)The City of Ojai City Clerk's Office's own 'Election Information' page (updated August 7, 2026, the regular filing deadline): a candidate-by-candidate filing table (papers pulled/filed/qualified) independently confirming the county's certified roster exactly, including Clay Creasey's withdrawn Mayor filing
  • ojai.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)The City of Ojai's own City Council page: names the sitting five-member Council by district and term, and states Ordinance 889 (Dec. 11, 2018) moved Ojai from at-large to district-based Council elections under Elections Code Section 10010 and the California Voting Rights Act, with the Mayor, City Clerk, and City Treasurer remaining elected citywide
  • netfile.com (opens in a new tab)A negative-result campaign-finance source: the City of Ojai's NetFile public campaign-finance portal, the sole channel for 2026-cycle filings per the city's own FPPC Filing Requirements page -- a client-side JavaScript app gated behind a Cloudflare Turnstile challenge, returning no filer or report content to any automated fetch this session
  • ojaivalleynews.com (opens in a new tab)Ojai Valley News -- 'City clerk rejects recall of Councilmember Andrew Whitman' (Sept. 21, 2023): reports the City Clerk's rejection of a recall petition against District 3's Andrew Whitman on procedural grounds (the lead proponent's District 3 residency)

Last updated September 1, 2026.