Tracy Burns is running for the Southern California Water Replenishment Board Division 3 seat in the Nov. 3 general election. The nonpartisan race includes three other certified candidates: Al Austin, Mike Murchison and Tonia Reyes Uranga.

Burns, whose campaign website lists her ballot designation as "Small Businesswoman," said she is running on a platform of fiscal discipline, groundwater protection and reduced dependence on imported water.

Candidate information

  • Name: Tracy Burns
  • Party: Nonpartisan
  • Ballot designation: Small Businesswoman
  • Office sought: Southern California Water Replenishment Board, Division 3
  • Election date: Nov. 3, 2026

Experience and public service

Burns said on her campaign website that she served as a sergeant at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. She also said she co-founded one multimillion-dollar business and helped build another from what she described as "a struggling apartment-based operation into an Inc. 5000-recognized company." That experience, Burns said, taught her the value of sound planning, fiscal discipline and hands-on leadership.

Her volunteer work, according to her campaign page, includes serving as a board member and veterans chair for the Daughters of the American Revolution and volunteering at the Long Beach VA food pantry. She also volunteers with Youth Champions.

On the issues

The following positions are drawn from Burns' campaign page and her BallotPages candidate profile. All statements reflect the candidate's own responses.

Groundwater protection: Burns said she wants to safeguard the quality and reliability of groundwater that local communities depend on.

Imported water dependence: Burns said she would work to reduce dependence on expensive imported water and plan proactively for long-term local supply.

Infrastructure and fiscal responsibility: Burns said she supports investing wisely in infrastructure and ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent carefully and transparently. She said the district should require efficiency and cost-saving measures before asking families and businesses to pay more.

Desalination and local water production: Burns said she supports "a serious, transparent review of every practical option for producing more water locally." She said desalination can provide a drought-resilient supply but called it "not a blank check," adding that any proposal must be environmentally responsible, financially sound and clearly better for ratepayers than available alternatives.

Endorsements

No endorsements were provided in the materials reviewed for this profile.

This profile is based on Tracy Burns' campaign website and BallotPages candidate questionnaire responses. South Bay Tide has also published profiles of the other candidates in this race: Al Austin, Mike Murchison and Tonia Reyes Uranga.