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City of Placentia · Statewide General Election

Placentia City Council, District 4

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 Placentia's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside an appointed city manager who runs day-to-day operations. Placentia has no separately, citywide-elected Mayor -- the council elects a Mayor from among its own members. Not all five council districts are elected the same year. A 4-year term.

Incumbent Chad Wanke -- Placentia's sitting Mayor, elected to that title by fellow councilmembers -- is running for a third council term against one challenger, James Burandt. Whichever candidate gets the most votes on November 3 wins outright; there's no runoff.

This person holds District 4's seat on Placentia's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside an appointed city manager who runs day-to-day operations. Placentia has no separately, citywide-elected Mayor -- the council elects a Mayor from among its own members, and District 4's incumbent, Chad Wanke, currently holds that title. Not all five council districts are elected the same year; only Districts 2 and 4 are up in 2026. A 4-year term.

Beyond Wanke's substantive city-published biography and each candidate's own filed occupation, no campaign site, news coverage, or other independent source could be found for Burandt despite a real search effort. Documented below as a gap, not filled in with speculation.

Chad Wanke

Wanke was born in Anaheim and has lived his entire life in North Orange County; he holds a B.A. in Geography with a minor in Anthropology from Cal State Fullerton. He is Chairman and President of Orbis Capital and a Partner at Third Encore Studios, a rehearsal-studio company. He was first elected Placentia City Treasurer in 2008, elected to City Council in 2010, re-elected in 2014, and was elected Mayor by fellow councilmembers in both 2014 and 2017. His regional roles include the Orange County Sanitation District board (chairs its Administration Committee), the Orange County Waste Management Commission (past Chairman), and past Chairman of the Orange County City Selection Committee.

Strengths

Extensive tenure -- City Treasurer since 2008, on Council since 2010, and repeatedly chosen Mayor by his colleagues -- plus regional infrastructure and waste-management board experience.

Trade-offs

The city's bio lists no specific 2026 priorities; his long incumbency also means any budget or growth concerns are partly a record he's already made.

Keep in mind

No CAL-ACCESS record was checked for his campaign in this pass -- see Financial info.

James Burandt

Filed his candidacy under the ballot designation "Public Service Professional." No campaign site, news coverage, or other independent source describing his specific background or platform could be found in this pass despite a real search effort.

Strengths

A public-service-professional background suggests direct familiarity with government operations, though the specific agency or role isn't confirmed in this pass.

Trade-offs

No campaign statement or platform was found, so voters have no confirmed sense of his priorities beyond his listed designation.

Keep in mind

No CAL-ACCESS record was checked for his campaign in this pass -- see Financial info.

Source review: Strong (89/100) · 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 Placentia section (pages 141-144 of 188, downloaded directly and parsed locally with pypdf since a plain fetch returns undecodable PDF stream data): confirms Member City Council District 2 (3 qualified candidates) and District 4 (2) as the city's two November 2026 council races, each Vote for 1, plus a separate, unopposed City Clerk contest not authored here, with incumbent flags and every candidate's filed ballot designation
  • placentia.org (opens in a new tab)City of Placentia -- November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election page: confirms Districts 2 and 4 as the council seats up this cycle, lists all five qualified council candidates by district, and confirms City Clerk Robert S. "Bob" McKinnell is unopposed
  • placentia.org (opens in a new tab)City of Placentia -- Mayor Chad P. Wanke, District 4 biography page: covers his education, his business roles (Chairman/President of Orbis Capital; Partner, Third Encore Studios), his path from City Treasurer (2008) to City Council (2010, re-elected 2014) to Mayor (elected by fellow council members in 2014 and 2017), and his regional committee seats

Last updated August 31, 2026.