Political Landscape: 2 candidates join races for Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach councils

Add Arlis Reynolds to the list of Costa Mesa City Council candidates.

Reynolds serves on the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission and works for the Cadmus Group, a consulting firm that specializes in energy efficiency and clean-energy programs.

Her campaign website describes her as a “clean-energy engineer and advocate for open space” who has “worked to protect Banning Ranch and Fairview Park.”

Reynolds is the first candidate to submit paperwork to run in District 5, which covers Costa Mesa’s downtown and about half the Westside.

This is the first election in which Costa Mesa council members will be chosen by district. Residents in each district will elect one council member from that area to represent them.

Council seats also are up for grabs in District 4, which covers the rest of the Westside, and District 3, which covers College Park, Mesa del Mar and a slice of the Eastside.

Under the districting plan approved by voters in 2016, the council will expand from five members to seven and include a mayor elected by citywide vote.

Teacher joins Huntington Beach council race

Shayna Lathus, a teacher in the Santa Ana Unified School District, is running for Huntington Beach City Council.

The Surf City resident of more than 20 years is a graduate of Cal State Long Beach.

After losing her mother to leukemia in 2002, she became involved in fundraising to fight various blood-related cancers, according to her website.

In a statement, she said her inspiration to run for public office is based on preserving open space, moving to a toxin-free city, advancing Huntington Beach’s tourism industry, improving local infrastructure, opposing toll lane projects that don’t include exits to Huntington Beach and improving commuter mobility.