Laguna Beach election 2026 · Official ballot position 7 of 9 · Nonpartisan candidate profile

Joy Berry: Laguna Beach City Council Candidate 2026

Non-incumbentDoes not currently hold a Laguna Beach City Council seat.

Small-business ownerHospitality executiveVillage Laguna participant

Ballot position 7. 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.

Hospitality-development executive and small-business owner whose official statement emphasizes land-use enforcement, hillside protection, infrastructure and fiscal discipline.

Email candidate

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.

Reported and maintained by Michael Kovach for So Laguna. Editorial and sourcing standard · Submit a correction

Candidate dashboard

Joy Berry at a glance

Council statusNot on CouncilNon-incumbent — does not currently hold a Council seat
Ballot position7 of 9Three citywide, at-large seats
Positions tracked7Sourced issue categories
Latest financePendingNo reviewed summary yet
Voting recordNo Council recordNot currently on City CouncilView record
Public disclosureForm 700 on fileEconomic-interest filingView summary

Career background

A detailed professional résumé has not yet been published in a source So Laguna can verify.

Review experience

Public 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.

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

Berry is a small-business owner and hospitality-development executive who has lived in Laguna Beach for almost 30 years. Village Laguna’s historical directors page lists her as vice president and interim treasurer in 2025, and she appeared in a March 2026 Village Laguna/KX FM program about Laguna’s hillsides. The current 2026 roster does not list her as an officer or director. This affiliation is included as public background, not as proof that she personally adopts every Village Laguna position.

In Laguna Beach and beyond

Local business and community roles

Berry’s public professional materials describe more than 30 years in hotel, resort and real-estate operations and development. A historical Village Laguna roster lists her as a 2025 officer, and a March 2026 Village Laguna/KX FM program featured her in a discussion about Laguna’s hillsides. The current 2026 directors roster does not list her. This affiliation is background, not proof that she personally adopts every position of the organization.

Documented affiliation; no current board title located

Village Laguna

Former officer and 2026 program participant

Village Laguna’s historical 2025 roster lists Berry as vice president and interim treasurer. A March 20, 2026 Village Laguna/KX FM episode featured Berry in a discussion about Laguna’s hillsides. The current directors page lists the vice presidency as open and does not include her among its officers or directors.

Visit organizationSource: March 2026 Village Laguna/KX FM program

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 Joy Berry’s official candidate statement

Read the official 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.

Berry focuses on enforcing planning and environmental rules, limiting development encroachment, redirecting tourism-related revenue toward infrastructure, and protecting residents, natural resources and financial stability.

View the statement background and priority list

Background described in the statement

Berry says she has lived in Laguna Beach for almost 30 years, worked to protect the environment and pursued legal action concerning development in hillsides and watercourses. She describes herself as a small-business owner and developer.

Priorities emphasized

  • Enforcement of planning and environmental rules
  • Protection of hillsides and watercourses
  • Resident-focused tourism spending
  • Sewer, water and public-safety infrastructure
  • Balanced budgets and fiscal discipline
  • Limits on out-of-scale development and unchecked growth

Issues and positions

Where Joy Berry 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

Berry calls for directing more tourism-related revenue toward public-safety infrastructure. Her statement does not address hospital access.

Housing and land use

She opposes development she describes as inconsistent with planning and environmental rules and calls for community buy-in and long-term planning.

Traffic, parking and transit

The statement discusses tourism impacts but does not state a specific traffic, parking or transit proposal.

Budget and capital projects

Berry calls for fiscal discipline and a balanced budget without relying on out-of-scale development or unchecked growth.

Environment, beaches and wildfire

She emphasizes protecting hillsides, watercourses and natural beauty and enforcing environmental rules.

Arts, business and village character

Berry identifies herself as a small-business owner and calls for protecting Laguna Beach’s unique character; no separate arts platform is stated.

Transparency and participation

She emphasizes community buy-in, following existing rules and putting residents first.

Related civic records

Meetings, budgets and topic guides

Use these independent So Laguna guides to compare candidate positions with source-linked government records.

Meeting archiveCity budgetEmployee compensationIssue topic guidesDemographics

Official election records

Joy Berry 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 Laguna Beach rental-property interests. Residential addresses are not republished here.

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

  • No candidate-owned operating business or outside-employment schedule is attached to this filing.

Real-property interests

  • Two Laguna Beach single-family rental-property interests, each reported over $1 million and each reporting $10,001 to $100,000 in gross rental income. One address is redacted here; the other is not repeated to avoid publishing residential addresses.

Investments and other disclosures

  • The filing identifies no single tenant as a reportable source of $10,000 or more and marks the properties as single-family residences.

Filing reviewed: August 7, 2026 candidate Form 700 · View the official City eFile record

Public questions

Ask Joy Berry 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.

Ask Joy Berry a public question

Your email will not be published. Questions appear only after editorial review. Do not include private addresses, phone numbers or allegations without primary documentation.

Campaign finance

Joy Berry campaign finance

This live module displays only figures reviewed against official Laguna Beach campaign filings.

No reviewed finance summary has been published yet. So Laguna links figures only after checking the candidate’s official filing.

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.

Public voting record

Joy Berry voting record

No record in this office.

Joy Berry is not currently a member of the body they are seeking to join, so they have no incumbent voting record for this race. This is not a judgment about other public or appointed roles.

Laguna Beach City Hall, where the City Council conducts public meetings
Laguna Beach City Hall. So Laguna links candidate records to official City filings, minutes and election information.

Record and accountability

Public record and verification

This candidate does not have a Laguna Beach City Council voting record. So Laguna will add verified public-service records and questionnaire answers when relevant.

Search official campaign filings · City Clerk election information

Primary sources

Sources used for this profile

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

Is Joy Berry running for Laguna Beach City Council in 2026?

Yes. Joy Berry qualified for the November 3, 2026 ballot and appears in position 7 of nine candidates for three at-large City Council seats.

Is Joy Berry an incumbent?

No. Joy Berry is running as a non-incumbent candidate.

What businesses and community organizations is Joy Berry connected to?

Berry’s public professional materials describe more than 30 years in hotel, resort and real-estate operations and development. A historical Village Laguna roster lists her as a 2025 officer, and a March 2026 Village Laguna/KX FM program featured her in a discussion about Laguna’s hillsides. The current 2026 directors roster does not list her. This affiliation is background, not proof that she personally adopts every position of the organization. Each listed role includes its supporting public source.

What economic interests did Joy Berry disclose?

The filing reports Laguna Beach rental-property interests. Residential addresses are not republished here. 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.

Editorial method: This is a neutral voter-information profile, not an endorsement. Candidate claims are attributed, material corrections are dated, and private personal information is excluded. Read the editorial and sourcing standards.