Huntington Beach City Council · Nov 3, 2026

Andrew Gruel

Candidate for City Council (incumbent)

11 candidates · 4 seats10 sourced positions

Andrew Gruel, the incumbent, is running for Huntington Beach City Council in the Nov 3, 2026 election; 11 candidates are running for 4 seats.

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Vote-by-mail ballots available · Mon, Oct 5, 2026

Today

Chef and restaurant owner who founded Slapfish Restaurant Group and leads American Gravy Restaurant Group. Appointed to the council in March 2025 to fill Tony Strickland's seat.

Occupation (from candidate statement): Appointed City Councilmember
Endorsed by: His ballot statement says he is endorsed by the Huntington Beach Police Officers' Association. Andrew Gruel
How the press groups them: Endorsed by the Republican Party of Orange County but running separately from the Team HB slate; says he still supports its three candidates. Voice of OC · Sep 9, 2026
Campaign website: gruel4council.com

Where Andrew Gruel stands: positions on the record

Police contract2 sourced positions

Seconded and voted for the three-year police union contract funded partly from reserves (passed 4-3, Sept. 2026).
Council voteHuntington Beach City Council minutes, Sept. 1, 2026 · Sep 1, 2026
Argued for the police contract in August, saying police pay is not an outsized share of the budget.
“Do I think that it’s a phenomenal deal? No.”
Council voteDaily Pilot · Aug 20, 2026

Housing2 sourced positions

Seconded a failed motion to adopt the Housing Element while preserving Measure U project by project; then voted no on adoption (passed 5-2, June 2026).
Council voteHuntington Beach City Council minutes, June 16, 2026 · Jun 16, 2026
Says housing policy should be shaped by residents rather than state mandates.
“Housing policy should be shaped by residents, not dictated by Sacramento.”
Own statementAndrew Gruel campaign site

Courts1 sourced position

Joined the unanimous closed-session vote to file an appeal in Southwest Voter Registration Education Project v. City of Huntington Beach (July 2026).
Council voteHuntington Beach City Council minutes, July 21, 2026 · Jul 21, 2026

Trash rates1 sourced position

Voted no on raising residential trash rates effective July 2, 2026 (passed 4-3, May 2026).
Council voteHuntington Beach City Council minutes, May 19, 2026 · May 19, 2026

Affordable housing1 sourced position

Voted yes on refinancing bonds for Pelican Harbor senior affordable housing with 60-year affordability covenants (passed 4-3, Oct. 2025).
Council voteHuntington Beach City Council minutes, Oct. 28, 2025 (special meeting) · Oct 28, 2025

Budget1 sourced position

Voted yes on the 2026-27 city budget (passed 6-0, one abstention, June 2026).
Council voteHuntington Beach City Council minutes, June 16, 2026 · Jun 16, 2026

Public safety1 sourced position

Supports fully staffing and funding the police department.
“Fully staffing and funding HBPD”
Own statementAndrew Gruel campaign site

Downtown1 sourced position

Chamber of Commerce forum, as reported by the Daily Pilot
Was among the eight forum candidates who said the first three blocks of Main Street should not be closed permanently.
Forum answerDaily Pilot · Oct 1, 2026

Also running for City Council

All 11 Huntington Beach candidates →

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