Five candidates, including the incumbents, are on the November ballot in Yorba Linda for two seats on the City Council.
Janice Lim and Carlos Rodriguez are running for re-election, facing challenges from Robert R. Pease II, Sean Phayakapong and Raymond Potter.
We asked the candidates questions about housing, city finances, transparency, and more, which you can read in our voter guide.
Lim, a business owner and a councilmember since 2023, said one of the biggest needs facing Yorba Linda is affordability. She said she has “focused on programs that improve quality of life while being mindful of taxpayer dollars.” One such example, she said, is the expansion of the city’s senior mobility program with the help of the Orange County Transportation Authority.
“Affordability also means keeping our city financially strong, supporting local businesses, maintaining essential services and opposing unnecessary costs and unfunded mandates,” she said. “We need to continue looking for ways to keep Yorba Linda affordable, attract businesses that expand our tax base, and protect the quality of life that makes our community special.”
Pease, who is a professional chemical engineer and has served on the city’s Planning Commission, said strengthening infrastructure and emergency preparedness is a big need facing the city, and that includes “resilient emergency communications and an emergency operations capability that stays functional and keeps residents accurately informed.”
“One priority I would pursue is improving evacuation egress where traffic could become a serious choke point, especially in Bryant Ranch,” he said. “The city has already commissioned studies of the La Palma Avenue corridor. What we need now are decisions and funding.”
Phayakapong, a senior GIS analyst who has served as a city traffic commissioner, said the rising cost of living is a big need that has to be addressed.
“I would focus on responsible budgeting, protecting taxpayers, and making sure we are getting the most out of every dollar the city spends,” he said. “I would also look for ways to strengthen our local economy and attract businesses that generate revenue without simply asking residents to pay more.”
Though rate-setting is a state function, he said the city could help with home insurance costs with “practical wildfire mitigation, including defensible space, home-hardening education, and community-wide fire prevention efforts.”
City Hall listening to the community, Potter, an entrepreneur, said it is a big need in Yorba Linda. “It’s simple, just listen to what the people want,” he said.
He would also support “a ban on EV charging in residential garages and stop the recklessness of kids on their EV bikes,” he said. “Yorba Linda should pass an ordinance against it.”
On the council since 2018, Rodriguez is the senior vice president of the BIA San Bernardino County Chapter. He said the biggest need facing the city is the effect of state policies affecting living costs.
“As the Orange County cities’ representative on the South Coast Air Quality Management District Board, I have worked successfully to stop excessive government regulations — such as the proposed ban on gas-powered appliances — that would further drive up the cost of living for our Yorba Linda families and small businesses,” he said.
He said he wants to continue the city’s focus on budgeting to be able to provide essential services and “also look to expand our economic and financial base with targeted business recruitment aimed at attracting quality new employers.”
Read more of the voter guide, including what the candidates said would make them good leaders and how they would represent the city’s diverse community at ocregister.com/voter-guide.
Ballots may be returned by mail (must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received within a week of Election Day) or to the OC Registrar of Voters’ drop boxes around town now, and the first vote centers will open for casting ballots in person on Oct. 24.