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Mayor of Santa Ana

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City of Santa Ana

Mayor of Santa Ana

Santa Ana's Mayor is elected directly, citywide. It is the only council seat elected at large rather than by ward. Santa Ana is a charter city. The Mayor presides over Council meetings and represents the city publicly. The Mayor votes as one of seven members on the budget and city ordinances. The other six members are ward councilmembers. An appointed city manager runs day-to-day operations. The Mayor's term is two years, shorter than councilmembers' four-year terms. The Mayor is limited to four terms.

Mayor Valerie Amezcua is running for re-election. She faces Dwayne Shipp and Dan Shimell. Whoever gets the most votes on November 3 wins outright, and there is no runoff.

Santa Ana's mayor is the only council seat elected citywide rather than by ward. Santa Ana is a charter city; the mayor presides over City Council meetings and represents the city publicly, but votes as one of seven members (the mayor plus six ward councilmembers) on the budget and city ordinances, alongside an appointed city manager who runs day-to-day operations. Unusually, the mayor's term is just 2 years (councilmembers serve 4-year terms), and the mayor is limited to four terms total.

Amezcua is the incumbent, first elected Santa Ana's first female mayor in 2022. Shipp's filed ballot designation is "Caregiver/City Commissioner"; Shimell's is "Attorney." Beyond those one-line occupations, no campaign site, news coverage, or other independent source describing either challenger's background or platform could be found in this pass despite a real search effort (direct guesses at each candidate's own campaign-site domain, plus Ballotpedia, which has no page for either).

Valerie Amezcua

Valerie Amezcua became Mayor in 2022. She is Santa Ana's first female Mayor in the city's 155-year history. She spent more than 30 years in the Orange County Probation Department. Her stated priorities are homelessness, public safety, and good-paying jobs.

Dwayne Shipp

Dwayne Shipp is a caregiver and a city commissioner. He says he sits on the Community Development Commission. His priorities are responsible spending, safe neighborhoods, and affordability.

Dan Shimell

Dan Shimell is an attorney. He says he was a San Diego prosecutor and later a civil litigator for Orange County cities. His priorities are affordable housing, immigrant protection, and city services.

Your pick

A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

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