A new Costa Mesa City Council was sworn in Tuesday, Dec. 6 with voters electing John Stephens as Mayor and re-electing Mayor Pro-Tem and District 3 Council Member Andrea Marr, District 4 Council Member Manuel Chavez and District 5 Council Member Arlis Reynolds.
“It’s not often that the voters show their confidence in the city and re-elect our full City Council,” Mayor Stephens said. “I’m honored to be working with this team to move Costa Mesa forward and grateful to everyone who supported my campaign for Mayor. Our future is bright in Costa Mesa.”
Stephens has served as Mayor since March of 2021, when he was directly appointed by the City Council to replace former Mayor Katrina Foley, whose seat was vacated when she was elected to the County Board of Supervisors to serve the Second District.
Stephens was originally elected as a City Council Member at Large on Nov. 8, 2016 collecting the second highest number of votes in a field of seven candidates. He was sworn in on Dec. 13, 2016 and served until his term ended in December 2020.
As a resident of Costa Mesa since 1989, Mayor Stephens has deep community ties and has served on the City’s Finance and Pension Advisory Committee, the Costa Mesa High School Foundation, Costa Mesans for Responsible Government and is a founding member of the St. John the Baptist Finance and Pastoral Councils.
Mayor Stephens was born in Pasadena, and raised in San Gabriel and attended San Gabriel High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Cal Poly Pomona, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1986. He received his law degree from the UC Davis Law School in 1989 and has been a practicing trial attorney for 33 years.
For more information please visit Mayor Stephens’ webpage here.
Andrea Marr was first elected to City Council District 3 in 2018, becoming one of the first three Council Members along with Chavez and Reynolds to be elected by district.
“I’m thankful to the voters of District 3, who entrusted me to continue to represent them for four more years,” Marr said. “We have accomplished so much to date, with the goal of making Costa Mesa a place where all residents can thrive. I look forward to continuing to collaborate with my council colleagues in the years ahead.”
Prior to serving on the council the last four years, her involvement included a stint on the City’s Cultural Art Committee, where she helped spearhead a number of different community art projects and events and the completion of the first-ever Arts and Cultural Master Plan. She also previously served on the Bikeway and Walkability Committee where she focused on cyclist and pedestrian safety.
Marr is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy of which she was nominated to attend by Vice President Al Gore. During her time at the Academy, she held multiple leadership positions and competed with the Academy Karate team. She was recognized for her leadership by the Naval Academy Superintendent and graduated with a degree in Aerospace Engineering.
Marr also holds an M.S. in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University where her coursework focused on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building program. She was a 2013 recipient of the White House Champion of Change award for her work in energy as a veteran. She is a licensed professional engineer.
For more information click Council Member Marr’s webpage here.
Council Member Chavez ran unopposed for his District 4 seat. When he was first elected in 2018, he was 23 and the youngest person to ever serve on the Costa Mesa City Council.
I am honored to once again, be elected as the Costa Mesa District 4 Council Member,” Chavez said. “The fourth district is the heart of Westside Costa Mesa and I look forward to continue advocating for infrastructure improvements, more open space, and housing opportunities and assistance.”
Chavez, who is currently the Constituent Services Manager for Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, grew up on the Westside of Costa Mesa and attended local public schools through high school. While a student at Estancia High School, he became heavily involved with the Save Our Youth program (SOY).
After graduating from Estancia High School, Chavez attended UC Irvine where he double majored in political science and religious studies and became very involved with both the UCI College Democrat Club, where he was elected President his senior year, and the Orange County Young Democrats.
For more information click Council Member Chavez’s webpage here.
District 5 Council Member Reynolds was also re-elected to her second four-year term.
“I’m proud to have been re-elected to continue to serve the Fifth District,” Council Member Reynolds said. “This is going to be a great year. We have a lot of work in progress and a great team assembled to get the job done. I’m excited to continue our work on safe streets, providing more parks and parks access, and I look forward to the visioning process to help us address the housing challenges in this city.”
Prior to being on the Council, Reynolds served as Vice Chair of Costa Mesa’s Parks and Recreation Commission and as Commission liaison to the Fairview Park Steering Committee.
Reynolds grew up in the Freedom Homes neighborhood of Westside Costa Mesa where she attended local schools. After graduating from Estancia High School, she went on to attend the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. She also earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine.
She currently is an engineer in the clean-energy industry, specializing in evaluation of energy efficiency and clean energy projects and technologies. She is a strong advocate of the City’s bikeway and walkability efforts and has been instrumental in increasing the City’s activities to encourage community outreach and engagement.
For more information click Council Member Reynolds’ webpage here.