# Rancho Santa Margarita City Council, District 4 Brad McGirr is running uncontested for Rancho Santa Margarita City Council, District 4. Full ballot 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-4 - 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 3 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Brad McGirr** — Councilmember, City of Rancho Santa Margarita · Incumbent A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Incumbent Brad McGirr is the only candidate who filed for Rancho Santa Margarita City Council District 4, so they're elected without opposition -- the local-authoring queue's "uncontested" flag is accurate for this race (though not for Districts 1 or 2, both of which drew real challengers). This person holds District 4's seat on Rancho Santa Margarita's 5-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. An appointed city manager runs day-to-day operations. Unlike some of its general-law neighbors, Rancho Santa Margarita elects its Mayor directly and citywide. The Mayor gets a separate ballot line. That is currently L. Anthony Beall. His term is not up in 2026, so there is no mayoral contest 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. The city's own City Council page confirms Brad McGirr as a sitting Council Member. That backs up their ballot title, "Councilmember, City of Rancho Santa Margarita." The county's own Proof List still lists this contest's incumbent of record as "No Incumbent Elected." It does not name them directly. The same held true in District 2. ## Brad McGirr Filed their candidacy under the ballot designation "Councilmember, City of Rancho Santa Margarita." The city's own Mayor/City Council page independently confirms McGirr currently serves as a Council Member. No campaign site, news coverage, or other independent source describing their platform or the length of their prior council service could be found in this pass despite a real search effort. **Strengths:** Sitting Councilmember, and the only candidate to file for this seat. **Trade-offs:** No campaign statement or platform was found in this pass, so voters have no confirmed sense of what they would prioritize in a new term; no source established when they were first elected. **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) ## The rest of the ballot Rancho Santa Margarita City Council, District 4 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 4 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/rancho-santa-margarita-council-4 (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.