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City of Solvang · Statewide General Election

Solvang City Council, District 3

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 would represent one of Solvang's four council districts on the city's five-member City Council -- the citywide budget, land use, and oversight of city staff for this Santa Barbara County city of 6,126 residents (2020 Census), alongside a directly elected Mayor who is not part of this race. Solvang began moving from at-large to district council elections in 2022; this seat serves a four-year term.

Only one candidate, incumbent V. Louise Smith, qualified for this seat -- so this contest is settled and your vote here does not change the outcome.

Solvang's City Council districts began replacing at-large elections in 2022, with Districts 3 and 4 the first to convert that year. District 3 elects one member to a four-year term on the city's five-member Council -- four district seats plus a directly elected, citywide Mayor who is not part of this race.

With no opponent, the useful question is not who to choose but who the officeholder is and what she has disclosed. Smith is the sitting District 3 councilmember, first elected in the district's 2022 debut, now seeking a full four-year term unopposed.

V. Louise Smith

V. Louise Smith (full name Victoria Louise Smith) is the incumbent District 3 councilmember. Her own biographical filing with the city lists 17 years of Solvang residency, formerly of Santa Barbara; occupation "Business Owner"; a BA in Sociology and an MBA in Leadership & Management; and civic involvement as Rosenberg HOA President and a Visit Santa Ynez Valley board member.

Strengths

A record as sitting District 3 councilmember since the district's first 2022 election, plus filed civic credentials -- an HOA presidency and a tourism-board seat -- beyond her candidacy paperwork.

Trade-offs

No independent local-news account of her council term's votes or initiatives was found, and no campaign website lays out a platform for this term.

Keep in mind

Running unopposed, her main accountability is public scrutiny, not a contested vote. Her financial disclosure is the most detailed here -- real property, a small IRA, an owned catering business, and two income sources -- useful context on conflicts even absent a rival.

Source review: Strong (89/100) · 7 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • cityofsolvang.com (opens in a new tab)City of Solvang -- "Elections" page: names the three offices up for the November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election (Mayor, at-large, 2-year term; City Council Districts 3 and 4, 4-year terms, one seat each), the nomination period (July 13 -- August 7, 2026), and a "Candidates Listed" module naming and individually hyperlinking all four qualified candidates -- David Brown and Denise El Amin for Mayor, V. Louise Smith for District 3, Elizabeth Orona for District 4 -- to each one's own filed FPPC Form 501, county signature-verification letter, optional Biographical Form, and Code of Fair Campaign Practices
  • cityofsolvang.com (opens in a new tab)City of Solvang -- "City Council" page: names the sitting five-member Council -- David Brown (Mayor), Mark Infanti (District 1), Claudia Orona (District 2), Louise Smith (District 3), Elizabeth Orona (District 4) -- confirming Brown, Smith, and Elizabeth Orona as incumbents in their 2026 races and El Amin as a non-incumbent challenger; states the city "commenced its shift from at-large to district-based elections in 2022," first electing Districts 3 and 4 that year with Districts 1 and 2 following in 2024, and that the Mayor is directly, citywide elected to a 2-year term rather than selected by the Council
  • en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia -- "Solvang, California": used narrowly for the city's May 1, 1985 incorporation date and its 2020 Census population (6,126) -- does not cover the 2026 election or council-district structure
  • cityofsolvang.com (opens in a new tab)City of Solvang -- incumbent Council Member V. Louise Smith's filed FPPC Form 501 Candidate Intention Statement, executed and stamped received by the city July 13, 2026: candidate Victoria Louise Smith, office Council Member, District 3, City of Solvang, non-partisan, election year 2026
  • cityofsolvang.com (opens in a new tab)City of Solvang -- V. Louise Smith's optional candidate Biographical Form, stamped received by the city July 29, 2026: 17 years' Solvang residency (formerly of Santa Barbara), occupation "Business Owner," a BA in Sociology and an MBA in Leadership & Management, and civic service as Rosenberg HOA President and a Visit SYV board member
  • cityofsolvang.com (opens in a new tab)City of Solvang -- Louise Smith's FPPC Form 700 Statement of Economic Interests, filed as a candidate July 31, 2026: a JP Morgan self-directed IRA ($2,000-$10,000), sole ownership of "Louise's Kitchen Table, LLC" (catering and private-chef services, $10,001-$100,000 gross income), real property ownership at her own Solvang address ($100,001-$1,000,000, no rental income), and salary income from Solvang Transportation ($500-$1,000, independent contractor) and Vega Vineyard and Farm ($10,001-$100,000, food-and-wine server)
  • powersearch.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS -- direct filer searches for David Brown, Denise El Amin, Louise Smith, and Elizabeth Orona each returned no state-level committee or candidate filer. Cal-Access's own Power Search home page states its data covers only state-level campaign finance and explicitly excludes city and county filings, directing users instead to a separate "City and County Campaign and Lobbying Filings" system -- no such system specific to Solvang or Santa Barbara County cities was found reachable this pass, and no FPPC Form 460/410/497 campaign-committee finance filing (as opposed to the personal Form 700 economic-interest disclosures above) was found posted for any of the four candidates on the city's own site either

Last updated September 1, 2026.