Huntington Beach City Council race taking shape for 2026

Four spots will be available on the Huntington Beach City Council dais in the 2026 general election, giving voters the opportunity to decide if the council remains an all-conservative body, or if people with differing perspectives will represent them.

Current Mayor Casey McKeon and last year’s mayor, Pat Burns, are expected to run for reelection. Andrew Gruel, who was appointed after Tony Strickland was elected as California State Senator, is also expected to be in the race.

Huntington Beach Councilmember Gracey Van Der Mark is running for the state Assembly District 72 seat.

Though the official candidate filing period for the November general election runs from July 13 through Aug. 7, seven other Huntington Beach residents — Taryn Palumbo, Erin Spivey, Ben Davis, Rosalind “Roz” Price, Brenda Glim, Amory Hanson and former Councilmember Natalie Moser — have filed candidate intention statements, according to the city’s online campaign finance portal.

Moser said Thursday that she is not running for council again.

Palumbo was formerly on the city Community and Library Services Commission. She is currently executive director of Orange County Grantmakers, a nonprofit philanthropic organization.

Spivey is a former librarian in the Fountain Valley School District, as well as the Huntington Beach Public Library system. Last year she was a plaintiff in an ACLU-backed lawsuit demanding the city remove the youth-restricted section of the library. An Orange County Superior Court judge ruled for Spivey’s side and against the city, though the city voted in October to appeal.

Davis is a lawyer with the Elder Law and Disability Rights Center in Santa Ana, where he seeks to remove housing barriers while advocating for disability and civil rights.

Price is the Chief Operations Officer of a local audio-visual company and founder of the Bug Angels nonprofit, which provides for seniors, veterans, homeless and others in need.

Glim, an actor, has been a regular speaker at council meetings in recent years. She calls herself simply a “pissed off grandma” who seeks to reverse the current council’s path.

Ken Inoue, a past council candidate, announced this week he was dropping out of the race.