All Orange County residents deserve to build beautiful lives here, raise healthy families in affordable homes, live in safe neighborhoods, and age well. Our first Board meeting of the year will cover various items, including ethics reforms, emergency services, renewal of health care contracts, John Wayne Airport improvements, grants for community supports, and finally, the election of our 2026 Board Chair and Vice Chair.  

Thank you for the honor of serving as your Vice Chair in 2025 – we accomplished so much for our community. Check out our incredible and impactful progress from last year in our Fifth District Year in Review. 

This year, my team prepares to roll up our sleeves and continue important work relating to your safety, your health, your tax dollars, and your recreation. Read on for more on the exciting initiatives we plan to focus on in the year ahead.  

Keeping Our Community Safe 

In 2026, our office will continue prioritizing keeping neighborhoods safe and ensuring community well-being across Orange County. We plan to make long-term investments in wildfire preparedness, including my office investing in a 1,000-gallon HeloPod in San Clemente to deliver faster response times and stronger protection for families. Alongside local law enforcement, we continue combating substance abuse by aggressively targeting drug dealers and retailers selling Nitrous Oxide and Kratom, expanding countywide education efforts, and increasing access to life-saving naloxone in our jail system. This year, I look forward to getting more cities on board with our County NOX ordinance, including in Irvine and across South County.

I also anticipate more coordinated encampment clearings with OC Public Works, as well as state and federal agencies to ensure our open spaces stay safe and clear.  

Supporting a Healthier Orange County 

In 2026, our office will continue working to expand access to every day supports for our seniors and their caregivers, access to career opportunities for our health care workers, and access to world-class physical and mental health care resources for our most vulnerable neighbors. 

Investing in Our Community 

This year brings exciting opportunities to advance meaningful investments that expand access to public services and strengthen the places that bring our community together. Just this morning, we celebrated the launch of the County’s innovative new Clerk-Recorder on Wheels, a mobile service van delivering essential services like passports and birth, marriage, and death certificates directly into our neighborhoods. As of today, 300 couples already scheduled appointments for marriages with the OC Clerk-Recorder on Wheels. We remain committed to meeting residents where they live and work. 

That same commitment guides my office as we begin planning a full slate of community-centered events throughout 2026, including community health resource fairs, town halls, roundtables, wellness walks, and our annual Senior Summit. Our focus this year remains on connecting residents with critical resources, encouraging dialogue, and providing opportunities to hear directly from the residents we serve. 

Long-awaited Costa Mesa community benefit projects also move forward this year. The Costa Mesa Skate Park expansion and the creation of a new library revenue-generating café at Lions Park will offer welcoming spaces for residents to gather, connect, and enjoy the heart of our city. Together, these efforts advance a shared vision for a more accessible, vibrant, and connected community. 

Building Opportunities to Call Orange County Home  

I refuse to stand idly by while Orange County families struggle to choose between paying rent and buying food for the table. As we continue our work building safe, affordable housing, we also build security and stability, so all our neighbors feel at home here. This year, I hope to see more than 250 affordable housing units developed throughout the Fabulous Fifth. 

Infrastructure Updates  

Infrastructure and community spaces remain a top priority. County unincorporated communities like Northern Ladera Ranch, Las Flores, and Wagon Wheel will receive new asphalt overlays this summer and fall through a combined $25 million investment, improving road quality and safety for residents and visitors alike. Separately, residents in Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel can look forward to refreshed libraries, designed to serve as vibrant, modern community hubs for learning, connection, and recreation. 

John Wayne Airport 

In 2026, we look forward to maintaining John Wayne Airport’s earned ranking as North America’s top large airport by updating airport efficiency and adding new family-friendly amenities while reducing noise, protecting flight curfews, and preserving passenger limits.  

Airport upgrades in progress through our Capital Improvement Plan will ensure safer taxiways, cutting-edge power generation, and updated restrooms, baggage handling, and elevators. 

Orange County travelers can also experience a true taste of OC, as we expect all of the restaurant concessions at JWA to open later this year, allowing guests to access good eats without a flight reservation – all through the new airport pass.  

Dana Point Harbor 

The Dana Point Harbor revitalization will continue enhancing the Harbor experience for Dana Point residents and visitors to this OC landmark. All existing shops, restaurants and excursions will remain open in the Village and the Wharf as we begin the thrilling third phase this year, which includes updating our waterfront building by replacing dilapidated buildings with new and improved restaurant and retail spaces – while preserving the waterfront boardwalk for residents to enjoy.  

We look forward to breaking ground on the construction of two new Dana Point Harbor hotels this year. The approved $6 million community benefits package will include investments in ocean based educational trips for Title 1 students, internships promoting indigenous land stewardship, sailing lessons and trips for disabled residents and their families, exercise classes for fixed income seniors, and robust coastal programming. 

Finally, I look forward to continuing renovations on the OC Sailing and Events Center upgrades including new docks, ensuring improved accessibility this year. 

Coastal Protection 

CEQA analysis of the County’s Climate Action Plan approaches completion, with approval and adoption planned for early 2026. This means yet another major step forward in the County’s efforts to reach net-zero emissions by 2045, lowering costs for taxpayers and cleaning the air for neighboring communities.   

My office continues our work stabilizing our failing cliffs while protecting beach access. Thanks to our collaboration with OC Transportation Authority, we expect the Mariposa Point Catchment wall completion in March. I look forward to joining Fifth District neighbors for walks along the Mariposa Point trail, set to re-open this summer. This year, we need all levels of government to work collaboratively on cutting red tape to deliver more sand, protect our rail long-term, and ensure our coastal community thrives. 

A Look Ahead 

In the year ahead, I look forward to joining you in celebrating the vibrant traditions – from cultural festivities to iconic parades – which make our community home. This March in honor of Women’s History Month, join my office in recognizing the women reimagining and rebuilding Orange County systems to ensure long-term sustainability - environmental, economic, educational, and societal – at our Fifth Annual Women Making a Difference Awards. Send in your early nomination here. 

Tune in live on Tuesday for our first OC Board of Supervisors meeting of 2026 – I look forward to getting back to policymaking on behalf of our residents in the Fabulous Fifth District. Have a great weekend!  

Local Leaders Speak Out Against Proposed Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling  

Foley Report: Representing the Fabulous Fifth in 2025 

Good Morning CdM Meeting on January 8 Features Newly Appointed Newport Beach City Manager Seimone Jurjis 

KXFM: Powered by Community  

Compass Energy Battery Storage Project Officially Halted  

Apply to Join a Commission! 

Support Ocean Friendly Businesses 

This month, Surfrider celebrates the incredible Ocean Friendly Restaurants and Hotels that are leading the way in reducing single-use plastics and protecting our ocean. Join us in showing our ocean friendly businesses some much deserved love and appreciation! 

Metrolink Weekends - Ride for $10! 

Avoid traffic and enjoy Metrolink! Metrolink Weekends offers $10 round-trip fares, and youth 17 and under ride free. Enter our weekly drawings for a chance to win a pair of Metrolink tickets or for the monthly grand prize: a $100 gift card plus two Metrolink tickets. For more information and to enter, visit metrolinkdaycations.com. 

Aliso Viejo 

Costa Mesa 

Dana Point 

Irvine 

Laguna Niguel 

Laguna Woods

Newport Beach 

San Clemente 

San Juan Capistrano