Laguna Beach election 2026 · Official ballot position 8 of 9 · Nonpartisan candidate profile
Alex Rounaghi: Laguna Beach City Council Candidate 2026
Incumbent CouncilmemberCurrently serves on the Laguna Beach City Council and is seeking another term.
Ballot position 8. Candidate for one of three at-large seats (every Laguna Beach voter may vote for these seats; they are not assigned to geographic districts) in the November 3, 2026 election.
Incumbent Councilmember, housing-development professional and water-district director whose campaign emphasizes the emergency room, wildfire defense, infrastructure and government efficiency.
Last reviewed August 27, 2026. Official ballot position follows the City Clerk’s August 13, 2026 candidate list, published after the Secretary of State randomized alphabet drawing.
Candidate dashboard
Alex Rounaghi at a glance
Career background
A detailed professional résumé has not yet been published in a source So Laguna can verify.
Review experienceTop issues
Public safety and hospital access, Housing and land use, Traffic, parking and transit, Budget and capital projects, Environment,…
See sourced positionsPublic appearances
2026 candidate forums and debates
The City currently lists five forums hosted by independent community organizations. The hosts have affirmed that candidates were offered equal time and opportunity to appear. A listing does not establish that every candidate has confirmed attendance.
Village Laguna
6:00 p.m. · Council Chambers
505 Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
KXFM
5:30 p.m. · Neighborhood Congregational Church, Bridge Hall
340 St Ann’s Drive, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Greater Laguna Beach GOP
6:00 p.m. · Council Chambers
505 Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Laguna Beach Arts Alliance
9:00 a.m. · Forum Theater at Festival of Arts
650 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce
6:00 p.m. · Council Chambers
505 Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Open the So Laguna events calendarVerify the City’s current schedule
Experience
Career background and qualifications
So Laguna has not yet located a sufficiently detailed professional résumé in an official or candidate-controlled source. The candidate may provide education, employment, management, public-service and relevant project experience for verification.
Read the fuller biographical summary
Rounaghi was elected in 2022. The City describes him as a lifelong, third-generation Laguna Beach resident and the city’s youngest-ever councilmember, with experience in county policy, housing, human services and the Laguna Beach County Water District. His official biography emphasizes fiscal stewardship and data-driven government.
In Laguna Beach and beyond
Local business and community roles
Rounaghi works in housing development and serves as a director of the Laguna Beach County Water District, alongside his City Council role.
City Ventures
Senior development manager
Rounaghi’s Form 700 identifies City Ventures as his employer; his public professional profile lists him as a senior development manager. The company develops infill housing in California.
Laguna Beach County Water District
Director
The City’s current biography identifies Rounaghi as a district director focused on local water reliability and regional cooperation.
City-listed committee assignments
Committee member
The City lists Rounaghi as serving on the South Laguna Water/Sewer, Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Environmental Sustainability, and Parking, Traffic and Circulation committees.
Housing and public policy
Former committee chair and county policy adviser
Before joining Council, Rounaghi chaired Laguna Beach’s Housing and Human Services Committee and worked as a senior policy adviser to Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley.
Only current or clearly labeled former roles supported by public sources are included. A Form 700 income source is not treated as a candidate-owned business without additional evidence. Submit a correction or verification.
Candidate-provided material
From Alex Rounaghi’s official candidate statement
The following is So Laguna’s concise summary of the candidate’s own ballot statement. It describes the candidate’s claims and priorities; it is not an endorsement or independent verification.
Rounaghi emphasizes public safety, wildfire preparedness, infrastructure, fiscal efficiency, local water supply, emergency-room retention and arts programming. He presents these as a continuation of his first council term.
View the statement background and priority list
Background described in the statement
Rounaghi describes himself as a lifelong, third-generation Laguna Beach resident. He cites his experience as mayor during the Rancho Fire and credits city actions involving police funding, water supply, permitting efficiency and budget reductions.
Priorities emphasized
- Retention of an emergency room
- Expanded wildfire defenses
- Local and resilient water resources
- Ocean protection and sewer-spill prevention
- Efficient government and infrastructure stewardship
- Year-round live music at the Irvine Bowl
Issues and positions
Where Alex Rounaghi stands
The summaries below distinguish candidate statements from So Laguna reporting. “Not yet located” means we did not find a citable position; it does not imply support or opposition. Tap an issue to read the sourced summary.
Public safety and hospital access
Rounaghi prioritizes retaining an emergency room, expanding wildfire defenses and maintaining police funding. He cites the city’s response during the Rancho Fire.
Housing and land use
The official statement does not state a housing policy. Rounaghi says permit times were reduced by nearly 30 percent during his term.
Traffic, parking and transit
No specific traffic, parking or transit position appears in the official statement.
Budget and capital projects
He emphasizes infrastructure and financial stewardship and says efficiency initiatives produced more than $1.5 million in cuts.
Environment, beaches and wildfire
Rounaghi calls for expanded wildfire defenses, a resilient water strategy and protection of the ocean from sewer spills.
Arts, business and village character
He proposes year-round live music at the Irvine Bowl as part of strengthening Laguna Beach’s artistic culture.
Transparency and participation
The official statement emphasizes long-range stewardship but does not describe a specific public-participation initiative.
Official election records
Alex Rounaghi candidate filings
These records are published by the Laguna Beach City Clerk. Campaign-finance totals below are summarized separately so amendments and reporting periods are not double counted.
Public financial disclosure
Form 700 summary
The filing reports outside employment, publicly traded investments and a reportable public-agency travel gift.
So Laguna summarizes these public filings to identify relevant business, employment and property interests. Reported ranges are not estimates of net worth or proof of a conflict, and residential addresses and private third-party names are omitted.
View reported business, property and investment details
Businesses and income
- City Ventures — senior development manager; developer/homebuilder of for-sale townhomes; salary income reported over $100,000.
Real-property interests
- No real-property schedule is attached to this candidate filing.
Investments and other disclosures
- Apple stock — $10,001 to $100,000.
- Costco stock — $2,000 to $10,000.
- Tesla stock — $10,001 to $100,000.
- Metropolitan Water District of Southern California — $428.35 travel gift for airfare, food and beverages for a September 2025 Colorado River inspection trip.
Filing reviewed: August 4, 2026 candidate Form 700 · View the official City eFile record
Public questions
Ask Alex Rounaghi a question
Submit a policy or public-service question. So Laguna moderates submissions for relevance and civility, and clearly labels candidate replies after verification.
How this works: Questions are reviewed before publication for relevance, civility, privacy and duplication. So Laguna may edit for length or clarity and will mark substantive edits. Published answers identify whether they came from the candidate, campaign or So Laguna editor.
No approved public questions yet. Submit the first question below.
Campaign finance
Alex Rounaghi campaign finance
This live module displays only figures reviewed against official Laguna Beach campaign filings.
Latest reviewed reporting period: through June 30, 2026. View the official FPPC Form 460 filed 2026-07-21 filing.
Line 5 includes $500 monetary contributions and $15,000 in loans/self-funding. Outstanding debt includes $15,000 loans and $1,750 accrued expenses.
Campaign-finance figures are compiled from public filings submitted to the City of Laguna Beach. Filings can be amended and recent transactions may not yet appear in periodic reports. So Laguna omits residential street addresses and links summaries to the original record.
View 1 itemized contribution$500.00 shown
These names, occupations, employers and general locations are taken from public FPPC campaign filings. So Laguna omits residential street addresses and other unnecessary personal information.
| Date | Contributor | Occupation / employer | City | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 23, 2026 | Samuel Goldstein | Investor / Radford Stockton LLC | Laguna Beach, CA | $500.00 | Filing p. 4 |
The amount shown here is the sum of the itemized rows displayed, not necessarily the committee’s total contributions. Smaller contributions may be reported only as an aggregate under FPPC rules.
Public voting record
Alex Rounaghi voting record
Verification notice: These source-linked records have not all been individually checked by So Laguna. Confirm details through the linked official government meeting record. For closed sessions, only publicly reported actions and attributable votes are included; confidential discussion is not reconstructed.
August 4, 2026
View meeting record →Browse full voting record 327 more positions
August 4, 2026
View meeting record →July 28, 2026
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View meeting record →January 27, 2026
View meeting record →January 13, 2026
View meeting record →December 18, 2025
View meeting record →December 9, 2025
View meeting record →November 18, 2025
View meeting record →October 28, 2025
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View meeting record →July 8, 2025
View meeting record →June 24, 2025
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View meeting record →March 25, 2025
View meeting record →March 11, 2025
View meeting record →February 25, 2025
View meeting record →February 11, 2025
View meeting record →January 28, 2025
View meeting record →January 14, 2025
View meeting record →December 10, 2024
View meeting record →
Record and accountability
Public record and verification
As an incumbent, this profile will add representative roll-call votes with links to official minutes or video. A few selected votes should not be treated as a complete term record.
Search official campaign filings · City Clerk election information
Primary sources
Sources used for this profile
- 2026 campaign website
- Official City biography
- Campaign Instagram
- Campaign Facebook
- Public LinkedIn profile
- Official candidate statement filed with the City Clerk
- Candidate Form 700 in the City’s official eFile system
- City Ventures — City biography and Form 700
- City of Laguna Beach 2026 General Municipal Election
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
Is Alex Rounaghi running for Laguna Beach City Council in 2026?
Yes. Alex Rounaghi qualified for the November 3, 2026 ballot and appears in position 8 of nine candidates for three at-large City Council seats.
Is Alex Rounaghi an incumbent?
Alex Rounaghi is an incumbent Laguna Beach City Councilmember.
What businesses and community organizations is Alex Rounaghi connected to?
Rounaghi works in housing development and serves as a director of the Laguna Beach County Water District, alongside his City Council role. Each listed role includes its supporting public source.
What economic interests did Alex Rounaghi disclose?
The filing reports outside employment, publicly traded investments and a reportable public-agency travel gift. The complete filing is available through the City’s public eFile system.
How does So Laguna verify this profile?
So Laguna prioritizes official City records, campaign-controlled pages, public filings and dated primary-source statements. Unknown positions are labeled rather than inferred.
Where can I compare every candidate?
Use the Laguna Beach Election 2026 hub for the live candidate comparison and campaign-finance table in official ballot order.
Ask Alex Rounaghi a public question