Huntington Beach council race features 11 candidates, 4 spots and 2 distinct ideologies
- Share via
Incumbents, familiar faces and newcomers alike are all vying for a spot on the Huntington Beach City Council.
Eleven candidates qualified for the ballot by the Aug. 7 filing deadline: Brian Burley, Pat Burns, Ben Davis, Brenda Glim, Andrew Gruel, Amory Hanson, Casey McKeon, Taryn Palumbo, Rosalind Price, Erin Spivey and Brian Thienes. There are four seats up for grabs Nov. 3.
The incumbents include McKeon and Burns, this and last year’s mayors, respectively, along with Gruel. McKeon and Burns are each seeking their second council terms. Gruel, a celebrity chef, was appointed in March 2025 when Tony Strickland was elected to the state Senate.
Though council races are nonpartisan, ideological differences are clear in two slates of challengers, with the incumbents part of an all-conservative council sometimes called the “MAGA-nificent Seven.”
McKeon and Burns joined with Thienes, a planning commissioner, to dub themselves Team HB, with a platform emphasizing local control and public safety.
The three candidates, along with Gruel, are endorsed by the Republican Party of Orange County. The fourth spot is open because another former mayor and current council member, Gracey Van Der Mark, is running for Assembly in District 72.
Meanwhile, Davis, Glim, Palumbo and Spivey are running as the Surf City 4. Their stated goals include restoring trust in the city, limiting the use of taxpayer dollars on costly lawsuits against the state and protecting libraries and community spaces.
They’re each endorsed by the Democratic Party of Orange County.
Burley, a Republican, is a Huntington Beach City School District trustee. A council candidate in 2020 and 2022, he’s also running for the U.S. House of Representatives against incumbent Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) in District 42.
Price, a community and library services commissioner, is co-owner of a small business and founded a nonprofit seeking to battle loneliness and isolation. This is her first time running for council.
Hanson, a longtime member of the Huntington Beach Historic Resources Board, is running for the sixth time.
Protect Huntington Beach is hosting a candidates debate from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 16 at the Senior Center in Central Park. Former mayors Jill Hardy and Erik Peterson are slated to moderate. Though the event is sold out, there’s a wait list, and it will be live-streamed.
The Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce will also host a forum from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 30 in the theater in the Central Library. That event is free but registration is required.
