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Orange County Board of Supervisors

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Orange County Board of Supervisors
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
2 terms (8 years)
Leadership
Chair
Don Wagner (R)
since January 10, 2023
Vice Chair
Doug Chaffee (D)
since January 9, 2024
Structure
Seats5
Political groups
Officially nonpartisan
  •   Democratic (3)
  •   Republican (2)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
Two-round system
Last election
November 5, 2024
Next election
November 3, 2026
Map of Orange County's Supervisorial Districts

The Orange County Board of Supervisors is the five-member governing body of Orange County, California, along with being the executive of the county.

Membership

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The board consists of five supervisors elected by districts to four-year terms by the citizens of Orange County. The supervisors represent districts of approximately 600,000 people.

Supervisorial elections take place during the primary election, with run-off elections (if necessary) in November. Supervisorial terms begin the first Monday after January 1 after the election. Vacancies on the board are filled via special election since Orange County voters adopted a county charter in March 2002. Prior to the adoption of the charter, vacancies on the board were filled by appointment by the governor of California. The December 1996 appointment of Laguna Niguel City Councilman Thomas W. Wilson by Governor Pete Wilson (no relation) was the last time that a gubernatorial appointment was used to fill a supervisorial vacancy (Supervisor Marian Bergeson had resigned to become the California Secretary for Education). The January 2003 special election of former State Assemblyman Bill Campbell was the first time that a special election was used to fill a supervisorial vacancy (Supervisor Todd Spitzer had resigned after he was elected to the State Assembly to replace the term-limited Campbell).

The current members of the board of supervisors are:

Functions

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The board makes decisions relating to land use, public utilities, and transportation, both directly and indirectly through its power over budgets and appointments to boards, committees, and commissions. Services that are ultimately managed by the board include regional parks, water, sewers, animal control, buses, freeways, and commuter rail.

Supervisorial Districts

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2012–2022

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The First Supervisorial District consists of the cities of Garden Grove, Santa Ana, and Westminster, the unincorporated community of Midway City, and the northernmost three square miles of the city of Fountain Valley north of Warner Avenue, including Mile Square Regional Park.

The Second Supervisorial District consists of the cities of Costa Mesa, Cypress, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, and Stanton, along with two-thirds of the city of Fountain Valley that are south of Warner Avenue and southwestern portions of the City of Buena Park. It also includes the unincorporated area of Rossmoor.

The Third Supervisorial District consists of the cities of Orange, Tustin, Villa Park, and Yorba Linda, most of the City of Irvine, as well as the Anaheim Hills area in the city of Anaheim. It also includes the unincorporated areas of El Modena, MCAS El Toro, Modjeska Canyon, Olive, Orange Park Acres, Santiago Canyon, Silverado, Trabuco Canyon, and Tustin Foothills.

The Fourth Supervisorial District consists of the cities of Brea, Fullerton, La Habra, Placentia, the portions of the city of Anaheim outside of Anaheim Hills, and most of Buena Park.

The Fifth Supervisorial District consists of the cities of Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, and San Juan Capistrano, along with small southwestern portions of the City of Irvine, as well as the unincorporated areas of Coto de Caza, Ladera Ranch, and Las Flores.

2002–2012

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The First Supervisorial District consisted of the cities of Santa Ana and Westminster, as well as the eastern half of the city of Garden Grove.

The Second Supervisorial District consisted of the cities of Costa Mesa, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, and Stanton, as well as the western half of the city of Garden Grove. It also includes the unincorporated areas of Rossmoor, Sunset Beach, and Surfside.

The Third Supervisorial District consisted of the cities of Brea, Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Villa Park, and Yorba Linda, as well as the Anaheim Hills area in the city of Anaheim. It also includes the unincorporated areas of El Modena, MCAS El Toro, Modjeska Canyon, Olive, Orange Park Acres, Santiago Canyon, Silverado, Trabuco Canyon, and Tustin Foothills.

The Fourth Supervisorial District consisted of the cities of Buena Park, Fullerton, La Habra, Placentia, as well as the portions of the city of Anaheim outside of Anaheim Hills.

The Fifth Supervisorial District consisted of the cities of Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, as well as the unincorporated areas of Coto de Caza, Ladera Ranch, and Las Flores.

Special elections

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Since voters adopted Measure V, the creation of the county charter, in March 2002, vacancies on the Board of Supervisors have been filled by special election.

January 28, 2003, Third District special election

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Orange County Board of Supervisors special election, 2003

← 2000 January 28, 2003 2004 →

1 of 5 seats to the Orange County Board of Supervisors
  Majority party
 
Party Republican
Last election 5
Seats before 5
Seats won 1
Seats after 5
Seat change Steady

The first special election used to fill a vacancy on the Orange County Board of Supervisors was held on January 28, 2003. Third District Supervisor Todd Spitzer had resigned on November 19, 2002, in preparation for taking office as a member of the California State Assembly on December 2 to replace the term-limited Bill Campbell. Campbell, in turn, easily won the special election to fill the remaining two years of Spitzer's term.

Candidate Votes Percent
Bill Campbell 26,206 74.6%
Jim Potts 4,692 13.4%
Douglas Boeckler 2,085 5.9%
William A. Wetzel 1,548 4.4%
Robert Louis Douglas 585 1.7%

February 6, 2007, First District special election

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Orange County Board of Supervisors special election, 2007

← 2004 February 6, 2007 2008 →

1 of 5 seats to the Orange County Board of Supervisors
  Majority party
 
Party Republican
Last election 5
Seats before 5
Seats won 1
Seats after 5
Seat change Steady

The second special election used to fill a vacancy on the Orange County Board of Supervisors was held on February 6, 2007. First District Supervisor Lou Correa had resigned on December 4, 2006, when he took office as a member of the California State Senate to replace the term-limited Joe Dunn.

Garden Grove City Councilwoman Janet Nguyen won the special election to fill the remaining two years of the term by seven votes over Garden Grove Unified School District Boardmember Trung Nguyen (no relation) after a protracted recount battle (ironically, Correa had defeated Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher for the Senate seat after a protracted recount battle, as well). Both Nguyens had unexpectedly finished ahead of the front-runners, recently retired State Assemblyman Tom Umberg and Santa Ana City Councilman Carlos Bustamante.

Candidate Votes Percent
Janet Nguyen 10,919 24.1%
Trung Nguyen 10,912 24.1%
Tom Umberg 9,725 21.4%
Carlos Bustamante 7,460 16.5%
Mark Rosen 2,181 4.8%
Brett Elliott Franklin 1,739 3.8%
Kermit Marsh 1,335 2.9%
Larry Phan 417 0.9%
Lupe Moreno 383 0.8%
Benny Diaz 273 0.6%


June 8, 2010, Fourth District special election

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Orange County Board of Supervisors special election, 2010

← 2008 June 8, 2010 2012 →

1 of 5 seats to the Orange County Board of Supervisors
  Majority party
 
Party Republican
Last election 5
Seats before 5
Seats won 1
Seats after 5
Seat change Steady

The third special election used to fill a vacancy on the Orange County Board of Supervisors was held on June 8, 2010, and was consolidated with the regular primary election for the next term for the seat. Fourth District Supervisor Chris Norby had resigned on January 29, 2010, when he took office as a member of the California State Assembly to replace Mike Duvall, who had resigned from the Assembly in the wake of a lobbyist sex scandal.

Fullerton City Councilman Shawn Nelson won the seat by 12% over Anaheim City Councilman Harry Sidhu. While Nelson won the special election to fill the remaining seven months of Norby's term, the special election was consolidated with the regular primary election, so Nelson and Sidhu advanced to a November run-off election to win the four-year term due to begin in January 2011. Nelson won the election for the 2011–2015 term by a 63%–37% margin, and would go on to hold the position until January 2019.

Candidate Votes Percent
Shawn Nelson 18,739 30.4%
Harry Sidhu 11,421 18.5%
Lorri Galloway 10,035 16.3%
Art Brown 9,986 16.2%
Rose Marie Espinoza 7,616 12.3%
Richard Faher 3,873 6.3%


January 27, 2015, First District special election

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Orange County Board of Supervisors special election, 2015

← 2012 January 27, 2015 2016 →

1 of 5 seats to the Orange County Board of Supervisors
  Majority party
 
Party Republican
Last election 5
Seats before 5
Seats won 1
Seats after 5
Seat change Steady

The fourth special election used to fill a vacancy on the Orange County Board of Supervisors was held on January 27, 2015. First District Supervisor Janet Nguyen had resigned on December 1, 2014, when she took office as a member of the California State Senate to replace the term-limited Lou Correa. Ironically, Nguyen had been elected as First District Supervisor in a February 6, 2007, special election to replace Correa, who had resigned when he took office as a member of the California State Senate to replace the term-limited Joe Dunn.

Former Garden Grove City Councilman Andrew Do, Nguyen's supervisorial Chief of Staff, won the special election to fill the remaining two years of the term by 43 votes over Correa.

Candidate Votes Percent
Andrew Do 18,905 39.1%
Lou Correa 18,862 39.0%
Chris Phan 7,857 16.3%
Chuyen Van Nguyen 1,879 3.9%
Lupe Morfin-Moreno 834 1.7%

March 12, 2019, Third District special election

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Orange County Board of Supervisors special election, 2019

← 2018 March 12, 2019 2020 →

1 of 5 seats to the Orange County Board of Supervisors
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Republican Democratic
Last election 4 1
Seats before 3 1
Seats won 1 0
Seats after 4 1
Seat change Steady Steady

The fifth special election used to fill a vacancy on the Orange County Board of Supervisors was held on March 12, 2019. Third District Supervisor Todd Spitzer had resigned on January 7, 2019, when he took office as District Attorney of Orange County after defeating incumbent Tony Rackauckas.

Irvine Mayor Donald P. Wagner won the seat by 5% over former Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez.

Candidates

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  • Donald P. Wagner (Republican)
  • Loretta Sanchez (Democratic)
  • Kristine "Kris" Murray (Republican)
  • Larry Bales (Republican)
  • Deborah Pauly (Republican)
  • Kim-Thy "Katie" Hoang Bayliss (Republican)
  • Katherine Daigle (Republican)

Results

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Orange County Board of Supervisors 3rd district special election, 2019[1]
Candidate Votes %
Donald P. Wagner 30,240 42.0
Loretta Sanchez 26,708 37.1
Kristine "Kris" Murray 5,338 7.4
Larry Bales 3,912 5.4
Deborah Pauly 3,847 5.3
Kim-Thy "Katie" Hoang Bayliss 1,366 1.9
Katherine Daigle 597 0.8
Total votes 72,008 100.0

March 9, 2021, Second District special election

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Orange County Board of Supervisors special election, 2021

← 2020 March 9, 2021 2022 →

1 of 5 seats to the Orange County Board of Supervisors
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Republican Democratic
Last election 4 1
Seats before 3 1
Seats won 0 1
Seats after 3 2
Seat change Decrease 1 Increase 1

The sixth special election used to fill a vacancy on the Orange County Board of Supervisors was held on March 9, 2021. Second District Supervisor Michelle Steel had resigned on January 3, 2021, when she took office as a member of the United States House of Representatives after defeating incumbent Harley Rouda.

Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley won the seat by 12% over former State Senator John Moorlach.

Candidates

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  • Katrina Foley (Democratic)
  • John Moorlach (Republican)
  • Kevin Muldoon (Republican)
  • Michael Vo (Republican)
  • Janet Rappaport (Democratic)

Results

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Orange County Board of Supervisors 2nd district special election, 2021[2]
Candidate Votes %
Katrina Foley 48,346 43.8
John Moorlach 34,747 31.5
Kevin Muldoon 12,773 11.6
Michael Vo 9,886 9.0
Janet Rappaport 4,695 4.3
Total votes 110,447 100.0

Special districts

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Following are the special districts managed by the Orange County Board of Supervisors

  • Flood control
  • Development agency
  • Lighting
  • County Service Area
  • Sewer Maintenance

Chairs and Vice Chairs

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Harriett Wieder became the first woman to serve as Vice Chair in 1980 and as Chair in 1984. Patricia C. Bates and Janet Nguyen became the first pair of women to serve as Chair and Vice Chair concurrently in 2009.

Gaddi Vasquez became the first Latino to serve as Vice Chair in 1990 and as Chair in 1991.

Janet Nguyen became the first Asian American to serve as Vice Chair in 2009 and Chair in 2010. Lisa Bartlett and Michelle Steel became the first pair of Asian Americans to serve as Chair and Vice Chair concurrently in 2016.

Year Chair[3] Vice Chair[3]
1889 William H. Spurgeon
1890
1891 Joseph Yoch
1892
1893
1894
1895 Franklin P. Nickey
1896
1897
1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903 David MacMullan
1904
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910 George W. Angle
1911 Thomas B. Talbert
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927 William Schumacher
1928
1929 Willard Smith
1930
1931 John C. Mitchell
1932
1933 Willard Smith
1934
1935 John C. Mitchell
1936
1937 Willard Smith
1938
1939
1940
1941 Willis H. Warner
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947 Willard Smith
1948
1949 Willis H. Warner
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960 Cecil M. Featherly
1961 William H. Hirstein
1962 William J. Phillips
1963 Cecil M. Featherly
1964 William J. Phillips
1965 William H. Hirstein
1966 Alton Allen
1967 David L. Baker
1968 Cecil M. Featherly
1969 William H. Hirstein
1970 Alton Allen
1971 Robert Battin
1972 Ronald Caspers
1973
1974 Ralph B. Clark
1975 Ralph Diedrich
1976
1977 Thomas F. Riley
1978
1979 Philip Anthony
1980 Ralph B. Clark Harriett Wieder
1981 Bruce Nestande
1982 Bruce Nestande Roger R. Stanton
1983 Roger R. Stanton Harriett Wieder
1984 Harriett Wieder Thomas F. Riley
1985 Thomas F. Riley Ralph B. Clark
1986 Ralph B. Clark Bruce Nestande
1987 Roger R. Stanton Harriett Wieder
1988 Harriett Wieder Thomas F. Riley
1989 Thomas F. Riley Don Roth
1990 Don Roth Gaddi Vasquez
1991 Gaddi Vasquez Roger R. Stanton
1992 Roger R. Stanton Harriett Wieder
1993 Harriett Wieder Thomas F. Riley
1994 Thomas F. Riley Gaddi Vasquez
1995 Gaddi Vasquez Roger R. Stanton
1996 Roger R. Stanton William G. Steiner
1997 William G. Steiner Jim Silva
1998 Jim Silva Thomas W. Wilson
1999 Charles V. Smith
2000 Jim Silva
2001 Cynthia Coad
2002 Thomas W. Wilson
2003 Thomas W. Wilson Jim Silva
2004
2005 Bill Campbell Thomas W. Wilson
2006 Chris Norby
2007 Chris Norby John Moorlach
2008 John Moorlach Patricia C. Bates
2009 Patricia C. Bates Janet Nguyen
2010 Janet Nguyen Bill Campbell
2011 Bill Campbell John Moorlach
2012 John Moorlach Shawn Nelson
2013 Shawn Nelson Patricia C. Bates
2014
2015 Todd Spitzer Lisa Bartlett
2016 Lisa Bartlett Michelle Steel
2017 Michelle Steel Andrew Do
2018 Andrew Do Shawn Nelson
2019 Lisa Bartlett Michelle Steel
2020 Michelle Steel Andrew Do
2021 Andrew Do Doug Chaffee
2022 Doug Chaffee Donald P. Wagner
2023 Donald P. Wagner Andrew Do
2024 Doug Chaffee

Supervisors[3]

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Year 1st District 2nd District 3rd District 4th District 5th District
1889 William H. Spurgeon Jacob Ross, Jr. Sheldon Littlefield Samuel Armor A. Guy Smith
1890
1891 Joseph Yoch Joseph W. Hawkins[4] Louis Schorn William N. Tedford
1892
1893
1894
1895 Franklin P. Nickey Joseph W. Hawkins[4] William G. Potter A. Guy Smith
1896
1897
1898 George McCampbell[5]
1899 R. Edwin Larter DeWitt C. Pixley[6] John F. Snover
1900
1901
1902
1903 Hudson E. Smith Jerome Fulsom Dallison Linebarger David MacMullan Upton C. Holderman
1904
1905
1906
1907 George W. Moore George W. Angle
1908
1909
1910 Thomas B. Talbert[7] Fredrick W. Struck[8]
1911 Jasper Leck
1912
1913 William Schumacher
1914
1915
1916
1917 S. Henderson Finley
1918
1919 Nelson T. Edwards Howard A. Wassum
1920
1921
1922
1923 Leon O. Whitsell George Jeffrey
1924
1925
1926 Willard Smith[9]
1927 John C. Mitchell
1928
1929 Charles H. Chapman
1930
1931
1932
1933 William C. Jerome Leroy E. Lyon
1934
1935 N. Elliot West
1936
1937 Steele Finley Harry D. Riley
1938
1939 Willis H. Warner
1940
1941 Fred C. Rowland James A. Baker
1942
1943 Irvin George Gordon
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949 Cecil M. Featherly Ralph J. McFadden
1950
1951 Heinz Kaiser
1952
1953
1954
1955 William H. Hirstein
1956
1957 William J. Phillips
1958 Benjamin O. Reddick[10]
1959 Claire M. Nelson
1960
1961
1962
1963 David L. Baker Alton Allen
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969 Robert Battin
1970
1971 Ralph B. Clark Ronald Caspers
1972
1973 Ralph Diedrich
1974
1975 Laurence Schmit Thomas F. Riley[11]
1976
1977 Philip Anthony[12]
1978
1979 Harriett Wieder
1980 Edison Miller[13]
1981 Roger R. Stanton[14] Bruce Nestande
1982
1983
1984
1985 Roger R. Stanton[14]
1986
1987 Gaddi Vasquez[15] Don Roth
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993 William G. Steiner[16]
1994
1995 Jim Silva Marian Bergeson
1996 Donald Saltarelli[17]
1997 Charles V. Smith Todd Spitzer Thomas W. Wilson[18]
1998
1999 Cynthia Coad
2000
2001
2002
2003 Bill Campbell[19] Chris Norby
2004
2005 Lou Correa
2006
2007 Janet Nguyen[20] John Moorlach[21] Patricia C. Bates
2008
2009
2010 Shawn Nelson[22]
2011
2012
2013 Todd Spitzer
2014
2015 Andrew Do[23] Michelle Steel Lisa Bartlett[24]
2016
2017
2018
2019 Donald P. Wagner[25] Doug Chaffee
2020
2021 Katrina Foley[26]
2022
2023 Vicente Sarmiento Katrina Foley[27]
2024
2025 Janet Nguyen[28]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Election Results Archives - Third Supervisorial District Vacancy Election - March 12, 2019". Orange County Registrar of Voters.
  2. ^ "March 9, 2021 Second Supervisorial District Vacancy Election". Orange County Registrar of Voters. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Chronological History of Orange County Board of Supervisors" (PDF). Orange County Archives, Office of the Orange County Clerk-Recorder. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Joseph Hawkins was a registered Democrat during his first term as a Supervisor but was a registered member of the Populist Party for his second term
  5. ^ George McCampbell was appointed by Governor James Budd in April 1898 to replace A. Guy Smith, who had died in office in March
  6. ^ DeWitt Pixley was elected as a Silver Republican but became a Democrat during his term
  7. ^ Thomas Talbert was appointed by Governor James Gillett in August 1909 to replace George Moore, who had resigned from office
  8. ^ Fredrick Struck was appointed by Governor James Gillett in June 1910 to replace David MacMullan
  9. ^ Willard Smith was appointed by Governor Friend Richardson in August 1925 to replace Leon Whitsell, who had resigned to become a California Railroad Commissioner
  10. ^ Benjamin Reddick was appointed by Governor Goodwin Knight in August 1958 to replace Heinz Kaiser, who had died in office in July just a month after being reelected
  11. ^ Thomas Riley was appointed by Governor Ronald Reagan in September 1974 to replace Ronald Caspers, who had died in office when his ship disappeared in June just nine days after being reelected
  12. ^ Philip Anthony was inaugurated in November 1976 (two months early), as Robert Battin had been disqualified from office eight months before the expiration of his supervisorial term
  13. ^ Edison Miller was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in July 1979 to replace Ralph Diedrich, who had resigned from office
  14. ^ a b Roger Stanton was a registered Democrat during his first term as a Supervisor but was a registered Republican for his final three terms
  15. ^ Gaddi Vasquez was appointed by Governor George Deukmejian in March 1987 to replace Bruce Nestande, who had resigned from office
  16. ^ William Steiner was appointed by Governor Pete Wilson in March 1993 to replace Don Roth, who had resigned from office
  17. ^ Donald Saltarelli was appointed by Governor Pete Wilson in October 1995 to replace Gaddi Vasquez, who had resigned from office
  18. ^ Thomas Wilson was appointed by Governor Pete Wilson in December 1996 to replace Marian Bergeson, who had resigned to become State Secretary for Education
  19. ^ Bill Campbell won a January 2003 special election to replace Todd Spitzer, who had resigned in November 2002 to take a seat in the State Assembly
  20. ^ Janet Nguyen won a February 2007 special election to replace Lou Correa, who had resigned in December 2006 to take a seat in the State Senate
  21. ^ John Moorlach was inaugurated in December 2006 (one month early), as Jim Silva had resigned one month before the expiration of his supervisorial term to take a seat in the State Assembly
  22. ^ Shawn Nelson won a June 2010 special election to replace Chris Norby, who had resigned in January 2010 to take a seat in the State Assembly
  23. ^ Andrew Do won a January 2015 special election to replace Janet Nguyen, who had resigned in December 2014 to take a seat in the State Senate
  24. ^ Lisa Bartlett was inaugurated in December 2014 (one month early), as Patricia Bates had resigned one month before the expiration of her supervisorial term to take a seat in the State Senate
  25. ^ Donald Wagner won a March 2019 special election to replace Todd Spitzer, who had resigned in January 2019 to become District Attorney of Orange County
  26. ^ Katrina Foley won a March 2021 special election to replace Michelle Steel, who had resigned in January 2021 to take a seat in the United States House of Representatives
  27. ^ The home of Katrina Foley was moved from the second district to the fifth district in redistricting
  28. ^ Janet Nguyen was inaugurated in December 2024 (one month early), as Andrew Do had resigned two months before the expiration of his supervisorial term
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