About the City Council
The Santa Ana City Council has seven members: a Mayor and six councilmembers. Councilmembers are elected from different parts of the city called wards. They serve four-year terms and have a limit of three terms.
The Mayor is elected citywide and can serve up to four 2-year terms. A Mayor Pro Tem is chosen from the councilmembers through nomination and election. If the Mayor is absent, the Mayor Pro Tem serves in their place.
Meetings
City Council meetings are on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. There are two parts to each meeting:
- Closed session at a time between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. (private)
- Public meeting around 5:30 p.m. (open to the public)
Meetings are in the Council Chamber at 22 Civic Center Plaza and streamed online. If the location changes, it will say so on the agenda.
Wards
The City of Santa Ana has six areas called wards. The Mayor represents the whole city, while the six councilmembers each represent one ward.
Each ward has a similar number of residents. The ward map can change every decade to reflect population changes.
Elections
Local elections are held every two years: to elect a mayor and to elect three councilmembers. While the mayoral seat is up for election every two years, either the council seats for wards 1, 3, and 5 or 2, 4, and 6 are up for election every two years (this is called a “sequence”). For the 2024 election, the council seats for wards 1, 3, and 5 will be up for election. In 2026, there will be another election for wards 2, 4, and 6.
