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Government of Orange County, California

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Orange County, California
Location
Map of California highlighting Orange County.svg
Information
Seat: Santa Ana
Population (2020): 3,186,989
County Commissioners: 5
County Website: Official website

The county government of Orange County is located in Santa Ana, California. The county was first established in 1889. It covers a total of 790.5 square miles in southern California.[1]

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Orange County, California (2024)

Orange County, California, held general elections for board of supervisors, county board of education, Irvine Ranch Water District, Municipal Water District of Orange County, North Orange Community College District, Orange County Water District, Rancho Santiago Community College District, Santiago Geologic Hazard Abatement District, South Orange Community College District, and superior court judges on November 5, 2024. A primary was scheduled for March 5, 2024, for the board of supervisors, county board of education, and superior court judges. The filing deadline for the offices on the primary ballot was December 8, 2023, and the filing deadline for the offices only on the general election ballot was August 9, 2024.

Offices on the primary ballot could be won outright if a candidate received a majority of the vote. Elections for the Superior Court of Orange County were canceled if the incumbent was the only candidate to file. Those incumbents were automatically re-elected to their seats.[2]

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Orange County, California (2022)

Orange County, California, held primary elections for assessor, auditor-controller, clerk-recorder, district attorney-public administrator, sheriff-coroner, treasurer-tax collector, superintendent of schools, county supervisors, county board of education, and superior court judges on June 7, 2022. Candidates could win outright with a majority of the vote in the primary. If no candidate received a majority, the top two vote-getters advanced to the general election scheduled for November 8, 2022. The filing deadline for these elections was March 11, 2022.

The county also held general elections for community college boards, water district boards, and hazard abatement board on November 8, 2022. Elections could be canceled if only one candidate filed. The filing deadline for these elections was August 12, 2022.

2021

See also: Municipal elections in Orange County, California (2021)

Orange County, California, held a special election for county supervisor District 2 on March 9, 2021. The filing deadline for this election was January 25, 2021.[3]

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Orange County, California (2020)

Orange County, California, held general elections for community college districts, water districts, and hazard abatement district board on November 3, 2020. The filing deadline for those offices was August 7, 2020.

The county also held primary elections for county board of supervisors, county board of education, and superior court judges on March 3, 2020. If no candidate received a majority of votes in the primary for those offices, the top two candidates advanced to the general election on November 3, 2020. The filing deadline for those offices was December 6, 2019.

2019

See also: Municipal elections in Orange County, California (2019)
Orange County, California, held general elections for Board of Supervisors District 3 on March 12, 2019. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was January 28, 2019.

2018

See also: Municipal elections in Orange County, California (2018)

Orange County, California, held primary elections for county board of supervisors, county assessor, county auditor-controller, district attorney-public administrator, county sheriff-coroner, county treasurer-tax collector, county superintendent of schools, county clerk-recorder, and superior court judges on June 5, 2018. Whoever received the most votes for the county board of education won the seat outright in the primary. Candidates who received a majority of votes in the primary elections for the other seats on the ballot also won outright. Because no candidates received a majority of votes in the races for district attorney-public administrator, sheriff-coronor, and the District 4 seat of the board of supervisors, the top two vote-getters advanced to a general election that was held on November 6, 2018.[4]

Water district seats, community college district seats, and hazard abatement board seats were also on the ballot on November 6, 2018.[5]

2016

See also: Municipal elections in Orange County, California (2016)

Orange County held elections for county commission and special district seats in 2016. The general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline for this election was on August 12, 2016.

Elected officials

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 		If any officeholder information below is no longer accurate,
please contact us with any updates.
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County commissioners

See also: County commission

The board of supervisors functions as the county's primary legislative and policy-making body. Most boards also control county land usage, oversee environmental issues and possess executive powers, meaning they have the authority to appoint or remove departmental heads. Orange County has five supervisors who are elected by district to four-year terms with a limit of two terms.[6]

The table below provides information on each of the county commissioners:


The widget below automatically displays information about their meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:


County board of education

The Orange County Board of Education is a five-member board responsible for overseeing academic performance and policies in the county's school districts. Each board member is elected by district to a four-year term.[7]


Other elected officials

Orange County residents also elect the following public officials:


Special districts

See also: Special districts

Special districts are a form of local government that exist to fulfill a specific purpose within a certain geographic area. This region can be as large as a county or smaller than a city block. Special districts have the power to tax their local residents in order to fund operational expenditures. Although a special district may be formed for any stated purpose, the most common examples include library, hospital, transportation, airport, utility, conservation, sanitation, fire control, and flood control districts.

Irvine Ranch Water District

The Irvine Ranch Water District Board of Directors is a five-member board responsible for setting water policy for the central portion of Orange County.[8]


Municipal Water District of Orange County

The Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) manages the water supply for all municipalities across Orange County except Anaheim, Fullerton, and Santa Ana. The MWDOC purchases water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and distributes water to retailers, who handle delivery to households and businesses. A seven-member board of directors oversees the MWDOC with each member elected to a four-year term to represent a geographical region in Orange County.[9]


North Orange Community College District

The North Orange Community College District Board of Trustees is a seven-member board tasked with developing policies for the college's operation. Each board member is elected by district to a four-year term.[10]


Orange County Water District

The Orange County Water District (OCWD) manages the water supply for Anaheim, Fullerton, and Santa Ana. The district oversees water quality testing, reuse, and research for the Santa Ana River, the Orange County Groundwater Basin, and the region's Groundwater Replenishment System. The OCWD is managed by a 10-member board that includes seven elected members and three members (Districts 8, 9, and 10) appointed by the city councils for the three participating cities. Elected members of the OCWD Board of Directors serve four-year terms and represent specific districts within the county.[11]


Rancho Santiago Community College District

The Rancho Santiago Community College District Board of Trustees is an eight-member board tasked with developing policies for the district's two community colleges. Each board member is elected at large to a four-year term. The eighth member of the board is a student member elected for a one-year term.[12]


South Orange Community College District

The South Orange Community College District Board of Trustees is a seven-member board tasked with developing policies for the college's operation. Each board member is elected at large to a four-year term.[13]


Santiago Geologic Hazard Abatement District

Santiago Geologic Hazard Abatement District board of directors is a five-member board "formed to stabilize past, present, and future land movement of the Santiago landslide."[14]


Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Orange County California. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Government of Orange County, California - Google News

See also

Orange County, California California Municipal government Other local coverage
Map of California highlighting Orange County.svg
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External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Orange County Clerk-Recorder, "Orange County History," accessed August 31, 2016
  2. ↑ Orange County Registrar of Voters, "Candidate's Handbook: March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election," accessed January 9, 2024
  3. ↑ OC Register, "OC supervisor seat left vacant by michelle Steel to be filled with March 9 election," January 11, 2021
  4. ↑ Orange County Registrar of Voters, "Candidate's Handbook for the June 5, 2018 Statewide Direct Primary Election," accessed June 6, 2018
  5. ↑ Orange County Registrar of Voters, "Candidate Filing Log: November 2018 General Election," accessed October 16, 2018
  6. ↑ Orange County, California, "Board of Supervisors," accessed August 29, 2016
  7. ↑ Orange County Board of Education, "Board of Education," accessed November 16, 2016
  8. ↑ Irvine Ranch Water District, "About Us," accessed November 16, 2016
  9. ↑ Municipal Water District of Orange County, "About MWDOC," accessed August 31, 2016
  10. ↑ North Orange Community College District, "Board of Trustees," accessed November 16, 2016
  11. ↑ Orange County Water District, "Service area & board of directors," accessed August 31, 2016
  12. ↑ Rancho Santiago Community College District, "Board of Trustees," accessed November 16, 2016
  13. ↑ South Orange County Community College District, "Board of Trustees," accessed November 16, 2016
  14. ↑ Santiago Geologic Hazard Abatement District, "About," accessed October 28, 2022
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