Mayor Lauren Kleiman and challenger Andrew P. Gerken will square off for the District 6 seat on the Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Polls close at 8 p.m. Pacific. Results will be posted on the Orange County Registrar of Voters website as ballots are counted.

The District 6 race is one of four council seats on the ballot. Districts 1, 3, 4 and 6 are all up for four-year terms, according to the city's election page. Under Newport Beach's charter, council members must live in the district they represent, but every registered voter citywide casts a ballot in all four races.

The candidates

Kleiman's ballot designation is Mayor/Businesswoman, according to the City Clerk's certified candidate list cited by the Newport Beach Civic Ledger. The council elected her mayor for the 2026 calendar year during its Dec. 9, 2025, leadership rotation.

Gerken's ballot designation is Retired Surgeon. He filed his candidate statement of qualifications with the City Clerk on July 15, according to the Civic Ledger. In that statement, Gerken opposes "the costly plan to put the police station/jail in the park" and separately opposes redeveloping the current police station site into what he called a "300 ft. apartment tower."

Where they stand

Gerken responded to the Civic Ledger's 10-question candidate questionnaire. Kleiman had not responded as of the Civic Ledger's last update; the site noted the questionnaire was sent Sept. 8 with a reminder sent Sept. 29.

On the housing element, Gerken said he supports Measure H because it "lowers the number of housing units to an acceptable number which will satisfy the state mandate." On term limits, he answered yes: "Two terms is enough, no matter when they are served." On a new police headquarters, Gerken said the city needs a modernized facility but ruled out Civic Center Park as a site.

Kleiman's filed candidate statement covers public safety broadly but does not address the headquarters site question, according to the Civic Ledger.

Money in the race

Voice of OC reported Oct. 13 that Kleiman had disclosed nearly $100,000 in fundraising and held over $150,000 cash on hand. Gerken had raised over $109,000 and invested $21,000 of his own money but held nearly $45,000 on hand.

Outside groups have also weighed in. The Newport Beach Firefighters Association spent about $138,000 supporting Kleiman and two other incumbents as of Oct. 9, Voice of OC reported. The Newport Beach Police Association spent about $60,000 combined on the same three candidates as of Oct. 7. The Lincoln Club spent $14,000 opposing Gerken, and a committee called Alliance for Prosperity spent about $26,000 opposing him.

What else is on the ballot

Measure H, a General Plan amendment, asks voters whether to allow 2,900 new affordable housing units across five areas of the city, according to the city's election page. A separate special election on three charter-reform measures was canceled, as we reported Oct. 28.

Newport Beach has six vote centers open through Election Day, including the Civic Center Community Room at 100 Civic Center Drive. Voters can use any vote center in Orange County. Election Day hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.