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City of South Pasadena · Statewide General Election

South Pasadena City Council, District 4

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 your district's seat on South Pasadena's 5-member City Council: the city budget, zoning and land-use rules, and city ordinances. The council doesn't elect its Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem directly -- members choose two of their own to hold those largely ceremonial titles each year -- and day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager.

South Pasadena elects one of its five City Council seats -- District 4 -- on November 3, 2026, and it is a genuine two-candidate race. The city is separately cancelling the ballot for District 5 and City Treasurer because each drew only one qualified candidate, but District 4 was not part of that cancellation. Incumbent Michael Cacciotti, on the council since 2013, faces first-time candidate Nevin Stanton-Trehan, who chairs the city's own Finance Commission.

Each winner serves a 4-year term on South Pasadena's 5-member City Council, which sets the city's budget, zoning and land-use rules, and municipal ordinances. The council doesn't elect its Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem directly -- members rotate those largely ceremonial titles among themselves each year -- and day-to-day operations run through an appointed city manager.

The choice comes down to continuity versus a first-time run. Cacciotti has represented the district since 2013 and brings a state legal and regulatory background; Stanton-Trehan has no prior elected office but chairs the city's own Finance Commission and centers his campaign on public finance, infrastructure, and street safety.

Michael Cacciotti

Michael Cacciotti is South Pasadena's sitting District 4 councilmember, first elected in 2013, seeking another term. He is a Deputy Attorney General with the California Department of Justice and has served on the South Coast Air Quality Management District's governing board since 2008. He is running with a newly registered 2026 campaign committee and an endorsement from the South Pasadena Police Officers' Association.

Strengths

Thirteen years on the council, plus a state legal and regulatory career (Deputy Attorney General; AQMD board since 2008) and an endorsement from the South Pasadena Police Officers' Association.

Trade-offs

No campaign platform statement beyond his own site's general fiscal-management pledge was found; long tenure also cuts the other way for a voter seeking a change in representation.

Keep in mind

His campaign filed a Form 460 with the city's NetFile portal covering January-June 2026, but no matching filing had posted to the state's CAL-ACCESS system as of this retrieval -- a documented system gap, not a claim about his fundraising.

Nevin Stanton-Trehan

Nevin Stanton-Trehan is a first-time candidate for the District 4 seat, a father of two Marengo Elementary School students who chairs the city's own Finance Commission and works as Executive Vice President of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles. His platform centers on public finance, infrastructure, walkability and bikeability, public safety, and parks and recreation. He has a newly registered 2026 campaign committee and endorsements that include sitting Councilmember Jon Primuth and former Mayor Robert "Bob" Joe.

Strengths

Chairs the city's Finance Commission; his YMCA and Educational Foundation board roles are confirmed outside his own campaign site, plus endorsements from a sitting councilmember and a former mayor.

Trade-offs

No prior elected experience; his five platform pillars are broad priorities, not specific proposals, and most of what's independently verifiable is his Finance Commission role, not a governing record.

Keep in mind

His committee is active with the state but has no Form 460/461/450 filed with CAL-ACCESS this cycle, like his opponent's; unlike his opponent, no committee for him appears in the city's own NetFile directory -- a documented absence, not a claim about fundraising.

Source review: Strong (88/100) · 12 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: Michael Cacciotti -- own 2026 campaign site: Deputy Attorney General (CA DOJ, 2001-2020) and Deputy State Attorney (Caltrans, 1991-2001); South Coast AQMD Governing Board member since 2008 and Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy advisory board member since 2001; endorsed by the South Pasadena Police Officers' Association and Nevin Stanton-Trehan -- own 2026 campaign site: father of two Marengo Elementary students, Executive Vice President of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, Chair of the city's Finance Commission; platform pillars are public finance, infrastructure, walkability/bikeability, public safety, and parks/recreation (FPPC #1492901) may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

  • southpasadenaca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of South Pasadena — City Clerk's Office, Elections page: confirms the November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election is for two Council seats (Districts 4 and 5) plus City Treasurer, on a 5-member by-district council with staggered 4-year terms; nomination period July 13 - Aug. 7, 2026 (extended to Aug. 12 for non-incumbents)
  • southpasadenaca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of South Pasadena City Clerk's Office — "2026 List of Certified Candidates" (updated 8/14/2026): the official candidate-filing-status table naming, for City Council District 4, Michael Cacciotti (ballot designation "South Pasadena Councilmember", qualified 8/4/2026) and Nevin Stanton-Trehan (ballot designation "Nonprofit Executive/Father", qualified 7/30/2026); District 5 (Janet Braun) and City Treasurer (Zhen Tao) each show a single qualified candidate
  • southpasadenaca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of South Pasadena — "Notice That There Are Not More Candidates Than Officers to Be Elected," linked from the city's own Elections page, covering District 5 and City Treasurer (not District 4)
  • netfile.com (opens in a new tab)City of South Pasadena's own NetFile campaign-finance public portal, Elections section for the Nov. 3, 2026 General Election: lists "Cacciotti, Michael" as the sole registered committee for the City Council - South Pasadena - 4 seat, and shows Cacciotti for City Council 2026's filing history (Form 501 and 410 filed 7/13/2026, Form 460 filed 8/4/2026 covering 1/1/2026-6/30/2026); Nevin Stanton-Trehan has no committee registered in this local system
  • southpasadenan.com (opens in a new tab)The South Pasadenan — "August 19 Agenda | South Pasadena City Council Navigating License Plate Readers, Street Safety & Uncontested Election" (Aug. 14, 2026): reports the City Council is set to cancel the Nov. 3, 2026 election for District 5 and City Treasurer after Chief City Clerk Nikima S. Newsome certified those races uncontested; District 4 is not part of that cancellation
  • southpasadenaca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of South Pasadena — Your City Council page: confirms Michael Cacciotti holds the District 4 seat, first elected to the council in 2013
  • southpasadenaca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of South Pasadena — Finance Commission page and 2026 meeting agendas/minutes: name Nevin Stanton-Trehan as the commission's Chair (term ends 12/31/2027), independent of his own campaign material
  • michaelcacciotti.com (opens in a new tab)Michael Cacciotti — own 2026 campaign site: Deputy Attorney General (CA DOJ, 2001-2020) and Deputy State Attorney (Caltrans, 1991-2001); South Coast AQMD Governing Board member since 2008 and Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy advisory board member since 2001; endorsed by the South Pasadena Police Officers' Association
  • nevinstantontrehan.com (opens in a new tab)Nevin Stanton-Trehan — own 2026 campaign site: father of two Marengo Elementary students, Executive Vice President of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, Chair of the city's Finance Commission; platform pillars are public finance, infrastructure, walkability/bikeability, public safety, and parks/recreation (FPPC #1492901)
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS — "CACCIOTTI FOR CITY COUNCIL 2026" (Filer #1359318, a renamed continuation of his 2013/2018/2022 committees), status ACTIVE; no Form 460/461/450 electronically filed with CAL-ACCESS for the 2025-2026 cycle as of this retrieval (a Form 460 covering 1/1/2026-6/30/2026 was filed with the city's own NetFile portal on 8/4/2026 — see sopas-netfile-elections-2026)
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS — "STANTON-TREHAN FOR CITY COUNCIL 2026; NEVIN" (Filer #1492901), status ACTIVE; no Form 460/461/450 electronically filed with CAL-ACCESS for the 2025-2026 cycle as of this retrieval, and the committee does not appear in the city's own local NetFile candidate/committee directory
  • southpasadenan.com (opens in a new tab)The South Pasadenan — "Decisive Victory | Council Member Michael Cacciotti" (Nov. 8, 2018): reports his re-election to the District 4 seat and lists endorsements from sitting council members at the time

Last updated August 31, 2026.