# Rancho Santa Margarita City Council, District 1 Compare records and positions simply between Josh Bastian or Nicholas Reese for Rancho Santa Margarita City Council, District 1 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat on Rancho Santa Margarita's five-member City Council. They vote on city laws, the budget, and land use. An appointed city manager runs daily operations. Rancho Santa Margarita directly elects its Mayor citywide, currently L. Anthony Beall. His term is not up in 2026. There is no mayoral race this cycle. Not all four council districts are elected the same year. District 3, held by Keri Lynn Baert, is not up in 2026. Only Districts 1, 2, and 4 have terms expiring. The term is four years. - Jurisdiction: City of Rancho Santa Margarita - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/rancho-santa-margarita-council-1 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: August 31, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 74 out of 100 (Mixed), across 4 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Josh Bastian** — Planning Commissioner, City of Rancho Santa Margarita - **Nicholas Reese** — Financial Operations Manager A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Two candidates, Josh Bastian and Nicholas Reese, are running for Rancho Santa Margarita City Council District 1's open seat. No incumbent is on the ballot. Whichever candidate gets the most votes on November 3 wins outright; there's no runoff. This person holds District 1's seat on Rancho Santa Margarita's 5-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside an appointed city manager who runs day-to-day operations. Unlike some of its general-law neighbors, Rancho Santa Margarita directly, citywide elects its Mayor (currently L. Anthony Beall) on a separate ballot line -- his term isn't up in 2026, so there's no mayoral contest this cycle. Not all four council districts are elected the same year -- District 3 (Keri Lynn Baert) isn't up in 2026; only Districts 1, 2, and 4 have terms expiring. The term is four years. This is the only one of the city's three 2026 council races with no incumbent-linked candidate on either side: neither filer's ballot designation identifies them as a sitting councilmember, and no source found in this pass names a prior officeholder for this specific seat. The city's own Planning Commission page independently confirms Bastian currently serves as the commission's Vice Chair, corroborating their filed occupation. No comparable independent detail was found for Reese despite a real search effort. ## Josh Bastian Filed their candidacy under the ballot designation "Planning Commissioner, City of Rancho Santa Margarita." The city's own Planning Commission roster page independently confirms Bastian currently serves as the commission's Vice Chair -- a resident since 2005 -- meaning they already sit on the body that reviews the city's land-use and development decisions before they reach the City Council. No campaign site, news coverage, or other independent source describing their platform could be found in this pass despite a real search effort. **Strengths:** Sitting Vice Chair of the city's Planning Commission, giving Bastian direct, current exposure to local land-use decisions before they'd even take a council seat. **Trade-offs:** No prior elected office; a Planning Commission seat is appointed, not elected, so this is their first time on the ballot. **Keep in mind:** No CAL-ACCESS record was checked for their campaign in this pass -- see Financial info. ## Nicholas Reese Filed their candidacy under the ballot designation "Financial Operations Manager." No campaign site, news coverage, or other independent source describing their background or platform could be found in this pass despite a real search effort. **Strengths:** A financial-operations background suggests budget- and process-oriented experience relevant to municipal finance. **Trade-offs:** No campaign statement or platform was found in this pass, so voters have no confirmed sense of Reese's priorities beyond their listed occupation. **Keep in mind:** No CAL-ACCESS record was checked for their campaign in this pass -- see Financial info. ## Review notes - No cited source describes the candidates; add descriptive coverage to lift the cap. ## Sources 1. [OC Registrar of Voters -- Contest/Candidate Proof List, General Election 11/3/2026 -- City of Rancho Santa Margarita section (pages 168-171 of 188): confirms City Council District 1 (2 qualified candidates), District 2 (3), and District 4 (1, unopposed) as the city's three November 2026 races, each Vote for 1, with every candidate's filed ballot designation and filing dates](https://ocvote.gov/fileadmin/user_upload/data/candlog/GEN2026/candlog.pdf) 2. [City of Rancho Santa Margarita -- Mayor/City Council page: the sitting council roster (Mayor L. Anthony Beall, Mayor Pro Tem Anne D. Figueroa, Council Members Keri Lynn Baert, Jerry Holloway, Bradley J. McGirr) -- confirms the city directly, citywide elects a separate Mayor seat (not up in 2026) and independently corroborates Figueroa's and McGirr's current council service](https://www.cityofrsm.org/160/Mayor-City-Council) 3. [City of Rancho Santa Margarita -- Election Information page: confirms the November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election fills City Council Districts 1, 2, and 4 (each a 4-year term), lists the candidates by district, and notes District 4's single nominee (Brad McGirr) is elected without opposition](https://www.cityofrsm.org/165/Election-Information) 4. [City of Rancho Santa Margarita -- Planning Commission page: confirms Josh Bastian as the sitting Vice Chair (resident since 2005), corroborating his District 1 ballot designation ("Planning Commissioner, City of Rancho Santa Margarita")](https://www.cityofrsm.org/161/Planning-Commission) ## The rest of the ballot Rancho Santa Margarita City Council, District 1 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "Rancho Santa Margarita City Council, District 1 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/rancho-santa-margarita-council-1 (sources last retrieved August 31, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.