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City of Yorba Linda · Statewide General Election

Yorba Linda City Council

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 one of two at-large seats up this cycle on Yorba Linda's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside an appointed city manager who runs day-to-day operations. Yorba Linda is a general-law city; the Mayor isn't separately elected -- each year, councilmembers choose one of their own to serve as Mayor. A 4-year term, and members are limited to three consecutive terms.

Five candidates are running for two of the five at-large seats on Yorba Linda's City Council: incumbents Carlos Rodriguez and Janice Lim against three challengers — Robert R. Pease II, Sean Phayakapong, and Raymond Potter. Vote for up to two — no primary.

Council seats carry 4-year terms, with members limited to three consecutive terms. Winners join three other councilmembers as five votes on city ordinances, the budget, and land use, with day-to-day operations run by an appointed city manager. Yorba Linda is a general-law city and does not directly elect a Mayor — each year, the council chooses one of its own members to serve in that role. That seat is not on this ballot.

Both incumbents already hold the two seats up this cycle: Rodriguez is the sitting Mayor (chosen by his colleagues for 2026, after also serving in 2022) and Lim served as Mayor in 2024-25. Neither incumbent's official biography publishes a stated 2026 campaign platform — both describe career background and current committee work rather than new proposals. None of the three challengers has published an independent platform or biography found in this pass; each is known only by the occupation and, where applicable, prior city role listed on the county's own candidate filing.

Carlos Rodriguez

Carlos Rodriguez is the incumbent Mayor, on the council since 2018 (Mayor Pro Tem in 2021 and 2024-25, Mayor in 2022 and 2026). He is Senior Vice President of the Building Industry Association of Southern California's Baldy View Chapter; his career also includes work as a senior executive at a statewide public affairs firm, a senior communications director in the California State Senate, and teaching communication courses at Cal State Fullerton. He holds a bachelor's degree from Cal State San Bernardino and a master's from Cal State Fullerton, and has served on the South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board, the Southern California Association of Governments Transportation Committee, the city's Parks and Recreation Commission, and the California Commission on Aging.

Strengths

The longest council tenure in this field, since 2018, including two terms as Mayor, plus regional board seats spanning air quality and transportation policy.

Trade-offs

No stated 2026 platform beyond continuing his current committee work, so his case rests on record rather than a specific new agenda.

Keep in mind

His current occupation is in industry advocacy for homebuilders (Building Industry Association), a sector directly affected by the land-use decisions this council makes — a relevant fact, not a claim of wrongdoing.

Janice Lim

Janice Lim is the incumbent Councilmember, on the council since 2023 and Mayor in 2024-25. Her career spans finance and real estate — as a senior financial analyst on projects including the Century Plaza Towers and Vista Del Verde, and in investment-analysis and land-use-planning roles at Charles Dunn Company, Trammell Crow Company, and JF Shea Companies, among others. She holds dual bachelor's degrees from USC's Marshall School of Business and School of Architecture, earned simultaneously, and has served on the boards of the Children's Hospital of Orange County Foundation and UCI's Claire Trevor School of the Arts, and on city committees covering transportation, waste management, and hazard mitigation.

Strengths

A finance and real-estate career that includes land-use-planning work directly relevant to council decisions, plus service on city committees covering transportation, waste, and hazard mitigation.

Trade-offs

No stated 2026 platform beyond continuing her current committee work, so her case rests on record rather than a specific new agenda.

Keep in mind

A shorter council tenure than Rodriguez (since 2023 versus 2018), though she has already served a term as Mayor.

Robert R. Pease II

Robert R. Pease II is a challenger for one of the two council seats. His filed ballot designation is "Professional Chemical Engineer." Beyond confirming his candidacy on the county's certified filing, no platform, biography, or prior city office was found for him in this pass.

Strengths

No public source documents any relevant background, experience, or endorsement for him beyond his confirmed candidacy and filed occupation.

Trade-offs

No published platform, prior city office, or public record to weigh against the other four candidates.

Keep in mind

Nearly nothing beyond his name and occupation is publicly confirmed; if his campaign publishes a platform, the weekly refresh will catch it.

Sean Phayakapong

Sean Phayakapong is a challenger for one of the two council seats. His filed ballot designation is "Engineer/Yorba Linda Commissioner," indicating current service on a city board or commission — but the city's own Boards & Commissions listing could not be reached in this pass, so which commission and in what role remain unconfirmed. Beyond the county's certified filing, no platform or independent biography was found for him.

Strengths

His own filed ballot designation states current service as a Yorba Linda commissioner, suggesting some existing city-government involvement — though which commission is unconfirmed in this pass.

Trade-offs

No published platform, and no independent source could confirm or detail the commission service his ballot designation claims.

Keep in mind

This is a documented sourcing gap (the city's commissions page returned an error when checked), not a claim that no such record exists.

Raymond Potter

Raymond Potter is a challenger for one of the two council seats. His filed ballot designation is "Entrepreneur." Beyond confirming his candidacy on the county's certified filing, no platform, biography, or prior city office was found for him in this pass.

Strengths

No public source documents any relevant background, experience, or endorsement for him beyond his confirmed candidacy and filed occupation.

Trade-offs

No published platform, prior city office, or public record to weigh against the other four candidates.

Keep in mind

Nearly nothing beyond his name and occupation is publicly confirmed; if his campaign publishes a platform, the weekly refresh will catch it.

Source review: Strong (89/100) · 4 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • ocvote.gov (opens in a new tab)OC Registrar of Voters -- Contest/Candidate Proof List, General Election 11/3/2026 -- City of Yorba Linda section (pages 166-168 of 188, fetched directly and parsed locally with pypdf across all 188 pages, since a plain fetch returns undecodable PDF stream data): confirms exactly one "CITY OF YORBA LINDA Member, City Council" contest (Contest 529), ON BALLOT, Vote for 2, 5 qualified candidates -- incumbents Carlos Rodriguez and Janice Lim flagged "Elected," plus challengers Robert R. Pease II, Sean Phayakapong, and Raymond Potter -- with every candidate's filing date and filed ballot designation; no other Yorba Linda contest, including no separate Mayor contest, appears anywhere in the document
  • yorbalindaca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Yorba Linda -- City Council page: confirms the sitting 5-member at-large Council (Carlos Rodriguez, Mayor; Peggy Huang, Mayor Pro Tem; Tara Campbell, Janice Lim, and Shivinder Singh, Councilmembers), 4-year terms with a three-consecutive-term limit, and the Mayor chosen annually by councilmembers from among themselves rather than directly elected
  • yorbalindaca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Yorba Linda -- official biography, Mayor Carlos Rodriguez: council service since 2018 (Mayor Pro Tem 2021 and 2024-25, Mayor 2022 and 2026), career at the Building Industry Association of Southern California and in California State Senate communications, CSUSB/CSUF education, and regional board seats (SCAQMD, SCAG)
  • yorbalindaca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Yorba Linda -- official biography, Councilmember Janice Lim: council service since 2023 (Mayor 2024-25), finance and real-estate career, dual USC Marshall School of Business/School of Architecture degree, and community-board seats (CHOC Foundation, UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts)

Last updated August 31, 2026.