Orange County is a county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, and more populous than 19 American states and Washington, D.C. Although largely suburban, it is the second-most-densely-populated county in the state behind San Francisco County. The county's three most-populous cities are Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Irvine, each of which has a population exceeding 300,000. Santa Ana is also the county seat. Six cities in Orange County are on the Pacific coast: Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, and San Clemente.
Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wayne Airport edge city, one of the region's largest commercial clusters, with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light manufacturing. The city is home to the two tallest skyscrapers in Orange County. The population was 111,918 at the 2020 census.
Fullerton is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617.
Golden West College (GWC) is a public community college in Huntington Beach, California.
Orange Coast College (OCC) is a public community college in Costa Mesa in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948. It provides Associate of Art and Associate of Science degrees, certificates of achievement, and lower-division classes transferable to other colleges and universities. The college enrolls approximately 24,000 undergraduate students. In terms of population size, Orange Coast College is the third-largest college in Orange County.
South Orange County Community College District (SOCCCD) is a public community college district in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1967 and has three separate campuses: Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California, Irvine Valley College in Irvine, California and the Advanced Technology & Education Park in Tustin, California. The district is governed by a seven-member elected board of trustees and a chancellor. Located north of San Diego County and stretching from the Santa Ana Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, the district's 382-square-mile (990 km2) service area encompasses the southern half of Orange County.
The South Coast Metro is a district in Orange County, California within the cities of Santa Ana and Costa Mesa. The area is a dense mix of residential, office, and retail developments that spreads out from the South Coast Plaza mall. It forms part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wayne Airport edge city, a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional central business district. The edge city's area is defined to include John Wayne Airport, the Irvine Business Complex (IBC), The District and The Market Place shopping centers, and the University of California, Irvine campus. This larger definition extends into Newport Beach, Irvine, and Tustin.
Coastline College is a California public community college with mini-campuses in Westminster, Garden Grove, and Newport Beach, and an administration building in Fountain Valley, California. The college offers Associate in Arts degrees, Associate in Science degrees, courses to prepare students to transfer to a four-year college or university, and career and technical courses that can lead to career advancement and/or an occupational certificate. The college was founded in 1976 and is part of the Coast Community College District and the California Community Colleges.
The San Mateo County Community College District is a community college system in California with three institutions: College of San Mateo in San Mateo, Cañada College in Redwood City, and Skyline College in San Bruno. The district serves more than 25,000 students each day with both day and evening classes.
San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) is a community college district based in San Diego, California. It operates three credit colleges, San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, and San Diego Miramar College. The San Diego College of Continuing Education is a noncredit institution with seven campuses. The district is part of the California Community Colleges system. Colleges in the district offer associate degrees and technical certificates.
The Oxnard Union High School District (OUHSD) is a union high school district in Ventura County, California. The district serves students in grades 9–12 on the Oxnard Plain, including the cities of Oxnard, Port Hueneme, and Camarillo, California as well as adjacent unincorporated communities including El Rio, Somis, and Channel Islands Beach. As of 2020 the superintendent is Dr. Tom McCoy.
Jerry Mumford Patterson was an American lawyer in California and the District of Columbia, educator and politician, who was a five-term United States Representative from California, serving from 1975 to 1985.
LeBard Stadium is a 7,600-seat stadium located on the Orange Coast College campus in Costa Mesa, California. It is the home football stadium for both the Orange Coast College Pirates and the Golden West College Rustlers football teams. The stadium opened on September 16, 1955, and is lined for both football and soccer.
James V. Selna is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
The California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA) is a State Voting Rights Act (SVRA) in the state of California. It makes it easier for minority groups in California to prove that their votes are being diluted in "at-large" elections by expanding on the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. In Thornburg v. Gingles (1986), the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that there are certain conditions that must be met in order to prove that minorities are being disenfranchised: that the affected minority group is sufficiently large to elect a representative of its choice, that the minority group is politically cohesive, and that white majority voters vote sufficiently as a bloc to usually defeat the minority group's preferred candidates; the CVRA eliminated one of these requirements. Unlike the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which is a federal law, the CVRA does not require plaintiffs to demonstrate a specific geographic district where a minority is concentrated enough to establish a majority. Certain cities that have never had minority representation or have a history of minority candidate suppression can be liable for triple damages and be forced to make changes within 90 days. That makes it easier for minority voters to sue local governments and eliminate at-large elections. The Act was eventually signed into law on 9 July 2002.
Municipal elections were held in San Diego in 2020 for mayor, city attorney, and city council. The primary election occurred Tuesday, March 3, 2020, and the general election occurred Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Five of the nine council seats were contested. No council incumbents stood for reelection.
The AAPI Victory Fund is a Political Action Committee that focuses on mobilizing Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) eligible voters and supports Democrat AAPI candidates.
Municipal elections in Costa Mesa are held every two years. Beginning in 1982, the elections were consolidated with the statewide general elections. From 1954 to 2016, voters could select as many candidates as open positions, meaning the total vote count could exceed voter registration numbers. Following the passage of Measure EE in 2016, Costa Mesa moved from a system of electing either two or three councilmembers at-large every two years, to a seven member city council with a directly elected mayor, with a two-year term, and six city councilmembers with four year terms.
The Costa Mesa Sanitary District is a special district that manages trash and wastewater management in Costa Mesa. The district also oversees small portions of Newport Beach and unincorporated Orange County.
The Mesa Water District is a special district that manages water distribution to most of Costa Mesa, a portion of Newport Beach, and John Wayne Airport.
