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City of Rancho Palos Verdes · Statewide General Election

Rancho Palos Verdes 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

This person holds one of three at-large seats up this cycle on Rancho Palos Verdes' 5-member City Council: the city budget, zoning and land-use rules, and municipal ordinances. A 4-year term. The council doesn't elect its mayor directly -- members rotate the largely ceremonial title among themselves each year, and day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager.

Rancho Palos Verdes elects three of its five City Council seats on November 3, 2026 -- and for the first time in years, none of the three sitting members whose terms expire this cycle is on the ballot. Two of them, David Bradley and Barbara Ferraro, hit the city's two-term limit; the third, Mayor Paul Seo, wasn't term-limited but chose not to run again. Six candidates qualified for the three open seats: repeat candidates David Chura and Michele Patrick Carbone, returning former councilmember John Cruikshank, school-board veteran Matthew Brach, and first-time candidates Jessica Patton Vlaco and Tina Funiciello, Esq.

Each winner serves a 4-year term on RPV's 5-member City Council, setting the city's budget, zoning and land-use rules, and municipal ordinances for a city of roughly 40,000 residents. The council doesn't elect its mayor directly -- members rotate the largely ceremonial title among themselves each year, and day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager. The job carries outsized weight right now: the Portuguese Bend landslide has cost the city close to $65 million since 2022 against an annual operating budget of around $40 million, and whoever wins will keep voting on how the city pays for it.

The choice splits a few ways: whether you want a familiar face from City Hall's recent past -- Cruikshank served two prior council terms, including time as mayor -- or a clean start; how much weight to give a candidate who's already run and lost, twice in Carbone's case; and whether school-board or civic-committee experience (Brach's, Vlaco's) reads as preparation for a council seat none of the six currently holds.

David Chura

David Chura is a Planning Commissioner and a retired technology executive, running for City Council for the second time after finishing third in 2024. He's campaigning on a landslide-recovery plan -- modernizing the city's Hazard Abatement Districts and taxing hotel visitors rather than residents -- plus resisting state housing mandates and finishing the city's new Public Safety Department. In 2024, a slate committee funded by a private developer, Long Point Development LLC, backed his campaign alongside two winning candidates.

Strengths

A detailed, published landslide-funding plan and six years on the Planning Commission give him more prepared policy specifics than most of the field.

Trade-offs

He's run once before and lost -- third place in 2024, behind both winners -- so voters have one prior result to weigh against his platform.

Keep in mind

His 2024 run was boosted by a slate committee funded by a real-estate developer, Long Point Development LLC, alongside two winning candidates -- a fact from state filings, not an allegation.

Michele Patrick Carbone

Michele Patrick Carbone is a health care industry consultant running for City Council for a third time, after finishing last in both 2022 and 2024. She's a regular presence at council meetings, addressing members under public comment on local issues. No 2026 platform or campaign material beyond her name on the city's qualified-candidate list was found in this pass.

Strengths

A health care consulting background and years of attending council meetings under public comment give her direct familiarity with how the body runs.

Trade-offs

Two prior council runs each ended in last place -- 6% in 2022, 11.21% in 2024 -- the weakest finishes of either field she's joined.

Keep in mind

No campaign website, social media, or 2026 platform statement was found in this pass, and no CalAccess campaign committee is on file for her -- a documented absence, not a claim about her fundraising.

John Cruikshank

John Cruikshank is a civil engineer and business owner who served two terms on the City Council, including a stint as mayor, before terming out in 2024. He's campaigning on that experience, framing his return after the mandatory sit-out period as continuity rather than a fresh start. In between, he ran for the LA County Board of Supervisors in 2024 and lost, finishing third with 14% behind incumbent Janice Hahn.

Strengths

Two prior council terms, including time as mayor, give him more direct city-hall experience than anyone else in the field.

Trade-offs

He already served the maximum consecutive terms once -- the same mandatory sit-out that opened this seat is why an incumbent isn't running for it either.

Keep in mind

His 2024 run for LA County Supervisor drew 14% against incumbent Janice Hahn -- a countywide loss that doesn't necessarily predict a city-level result, but is his only outcome on record since leaving the council.

Matthew Brach

Matthew Brach is a real estate development company's managing director and a Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Board of Education member since winning election in 2018, who has chaired that board as its president. He's running for City Council for the first time, bringing school-district budget experience rather than city-hall experience. No 2026 campaign platform beyond his name on the city's qualified-candidate list was found in this pass.

Strengths

Eight years on a school-district board, including time as its president, give him real public-budget experience -- just not City Hall's budget.

Trade-offs

He's never held city office or run for one before; his elected record is entirely in the school district, a different budget and a different set of powers.

Keep in mind

No campaign website, social media, or 2026 platform statement was found in this pass, and no CalAccess campaign committee is on file for him -- a documented absence, not a claim about his fundraising.

Jessica Patton Vlaco

Jessica Patton Vlaco is a first-time City Council candidate who currently sits on the city's own Finance Advisory Committee and represents the Ladera Linda neighborhood on the city's Council of Homeowners Associations. She's not documented taking public positions on landslide spending or other city issues beyond that committee service. No 2026 campaign platform beyond her name on the city's qualified-candidate list was found in this pass.

Strengths

A seat on the city's own Finance Advisory Committee gives her direct exposure to the budget fight over landslide costs before she'd even take office.

Trade-offs

She's never held elected office, and no independent reporting or campaign material documents where she'd differ from the committee she already sits on.

Keep in mind

No campaign website, social media, or 2026 platform statement was found in this pass, and no CalAccess campaign committee is on file for her -- a documented absence, not a claim about her fundraising.

Tina Funiciello, Esq.

Tina Funiciello, Esq. is a first-time City Council candidate whose ballot listing carries the "Esq." suffix, suggesting a legal background, though no bar record or law practice was independently confirmed in this pass. She and a family member have addressed the City Council during public comment periods dating back to at least 2020, per the city's own meeting minutes. No 2026 campaign platform beyond a campaign Instagram account and her name on the city's qualified-candidate list was found in this pass.

Strengths

Her "Esq." ballot listing points to a legal background, and she's shown up to public comment for years -- civic engagement that predates the campaign.

Trade-offs

No bar record, law practice, or professional detail beyond that ballot suffix was independently confirmed in this pass -- it's documented, not verified.

Keep in mind

No campaign website beyond an Instagram account, and no CalAccess campaign committee is on file for her -- a documented absence, not a claim about her fundraising.

Source review: Strong (86/100) · 9 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context; advocacy or endorsement sources are treated as attributed perspective.

Review note: David Chura for RPV City Council -- campaign site: biography (retired executive/entrepreneur, six years on the RPV Planning Commission) and Issues page (a landslide-funding strategy -- modernizing the Hazard Abatement Districts, competitive contracts, a visitor-only hotel tax -- plus local control against state housing mandates, infrastructure, and finishing the city's Public Safety Department's integration with the Sheriff's station) may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

  • rpvca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Rancho Palos Verdes — November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election page: three (3) City Council seats, full 4-year terms; nomination period extended through Aug. 12, 2026 because no incumbent filed; Qualified Candidates List (David Chura, Michele Carbone, John Cruikshank, Matthew Brach, Tina L. Funiciello Esq., Jessica Vlaco, each marked Yes/qualified); Secretary of State randomized-alphabet ballot order (Chura, Michele Patrick Carbone, Cruikshank, Brach, Jessica Patton Vlaco, Tina Funiciello, Esq.), drawn Aug. 13, 2026
  • rpvca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Rancho Palos Verdes — City Council page: current roster (Mayor Paul Seo, Mayor Pro Tem Stephen Perestam, Councilmembers David L. Bradley, Barbara Ferraro, George Lewis) and Council Member Term Limits table, showing Bradley and Ferraro each first elected 11/05/19 with a term limit of 'November 2026,' and Seo first elected 11/08/22 with a term limit of 'November 2030' (not term-limited this cycle)
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State — CAL-ACCESS filer search, run 2026-08-31, for each of the six qualified candidates: active 2026 committees found for David Chura ('Chura for RPV City Council 2026,' Filer 1492159) and John Cruikshank ('Cruikshank for RPV City Council 2026,' Filer 1484367), neither with an electronically filed Form 460/461/450 on record for this cycle as of this retrieval; no CAL-ACCESS entity found for Michele Carbone, Matthew Brach, Jessica Vlaco, or Tina Funiciello under any spelling searched. Also confirms Chura's terminated 2024 committee and a 2024 joint slate committee, 'Perestam, Lewis and Chura for City Council 2024, sponsored by Long Point Development, LLC,' and Cruikshank's terminated 2017, 2020, and 2024 (LA County Supervisor) committees
  • ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)Ballotpedia — John Cruikshank: civil engineer (own engineering firm since 1996; USC B.S. 1988, graduate degree 1994), former Rancho Palos Verdes city councilmember and mayor pro tem, ran for the LA County Board of Supervisors, District 4, in the March 5, 2024 primary and lost outright to incumbent Janice Hahn (57.8%), finishing third with 14.1% behind Alex Villanueva (28.1%)
  • dailybreeze.com (opens in a new tab)Daily Breeze / Palos Verdes Peninsula News (Michael Hixon) — "Here's where city council, school board races stand on the Peninsula": Rancho Palos Verdes' Nov. 5, 2024 council election (two seats), naming George Lewis and Stephen Perestam as the top finishers, David Chura (described as a technology engineer and sitting Planning Commissioner) third at 22.74% — 225 votes behind Lewis — and Michele Carbone (a health care industry professional) last at 11.21%
  • laist.com (opens in a new tab)LAist (Yusra Farzan) — "A landslide brought it down: How Rancho Palos Verdes' beloved trails have been forever altered": by the end of the current fiscal year the city will have spent close to $65 million on the Portuguese Bend landslide since October 2022, against an annual operating budget of around $40 million; lost parking revenue, red-tagged homes, and a voluntary buyout program, per City Manager Ara Mihranian
  • electdavidchura.com (opens in a new tab)David Chura for RPV City Council — campaign site: biography (retired executive/entrepreneur, six years on the RPV Planning Commission) and Issues page (a landslide-funding strategy — modernizing the Hazard Abatement Districts, competitive contracts, a visitor-only hotel tax — plus local control against state housing mandates, infrastructure, and finishing the city's Public Safety Department's integration with the Sheriff's station)
  • dailybreeze.com (opens in a new tab)Daily Breeze (Mark Edward Nero) — "Incumbent, Redondo teacher appear to get on Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified school...": names Matthew Brach, who runs a real estate development company, among the winners of three seats on the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Board of Education in the Nov. 6, 2018 election
  • soleado.pvpusd.net (opens in a new tab)Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District, Soleado Elementary — a Feb. 22, 2021 parent letter listing the district's Board of Education: Matthew Brach, President; Megan Crawford, Vice President; Linda Reid, Clerk; Jeff Frankel and Richard Phillips, Members. Cited only for Brach's board tenure and a documented instance of the board presidency — not a claim about who holds that title in 2026

Last updated August 31, 2026.