Four candidates are competing for two seats on the Manhattan Beach City Council on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The nonpartisan race features an incumbent, two former council members and a planning commissioner.

Polls close at 8 p.m. Pacific. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk will post results at results.lavote.gov as ballots are tallied. Voters may select up to two candidates, according to Patch's voter guide.

Who's on the ballot

The Daily Breeze and Patch both identify the four qualified candidates as Amy Howorth, Richard P. Montgomery, Mark Burton and Joseph Ungoco. The city clerk's elections page confirms two council seats are up for election.

Amy Howorth is the lone incumbent. She was first elected to the council in 2011, served until 2019 and won reelection in 2022, the Daily Breeze reported.

Before joining the council she served two terms on the Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board of Trustees starting in 2003. Her campaign has focused on pressuring state lawmakers to give cities more control over residential development, e-bike enforcement and supporting small businesses, according to the Daily Breeze.

Richard P. Montgomery is a former council member first elected in 2005. He served through 2013 and was reelected in 2017.

The Daily Breeze reported he served until 2024; Patch reported his second stint ended in 2023. Montgomery, a California government affairs manager for a New York-based advertising company, said he wants to cut spending on consultants and unnecessary positions, according to the Daily Breeze.

Mark Burton served on the council from 2013 to 2017 and previously held the rotating mayor's position, Patch reported. Burton, who worked as a senior assistant city attorney for Los Angeles, said he wants to create a savings culture through financial prudence, a hiring freeze and a pause on new taxes and fees, the Daily Breeze reported.

He has also called for strict two-term council limits.

Joseph Ungoco has served two terms on the Manhattan Beach Planning Commission, Patch reported. His priorities include council term limits, community policing, spending discipline and local control over housing development, according to the Daily Breeze.

What's at stake

The two winners will join a five-member council that oversees municipal spending, development, public safety and infrastructure, Patch reported. Housing and state density mandates have been a recurring campaign theme.

Manhattan Beach has no city-specific ballot measure this cycle. City officials spent much of 2026 examining a business license tax overhaul projected to generate about $550,000 in additional annual revenue, but the council declined to advance it at its Aug. 4 meeting, according to Patch.

How to vote

Two four-day vote centers in Manhattan Beach are open through Election Day. Marine Avenue Park, 1625 Marine Ave., and Neptunian Woman's Club, 920 Highland Ave., operate from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Monday, Nov. 2, and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 3, according to the city clerk's office.

Two 24-hour ballot drop boxes are available at the Manhattan Beach Art Center, 1560 Manhattan Beach Blvd., and the Manhattan Beach Library, 1320 Highland Ave.

Mail ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by county election officials no later than Nov. 10, Patch reported. Drop-box ballots are due by 8 p.m. on Election Day. The two winners are scheduled to take the oath of office at the Dec. 15 council meeting.