Santa Ana, Calif. (January 13, 2026) – Supervisor Doug Chaffee, Fourth District, has been chosen by his Board colleagues to serve as Chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors for 2026. Supervisor Katrina Foley, Fifth District, to serve as the Board’s Vice Chair.
Chair Doug Chaffee represents the residents of the Fourth District which includes the cities of Anaheim (portion of), Brea, Buena Park, Fullerton, La Habra, Placentia and Stanton and unincorporated areas. This will be the third time Supervisor Chaffee will serve as Chair for the Orange County Board of Supervisors, last serving in 2022 and 2025, and as Vice Chair in 2021 and 2024.
“Being re‑elected to serve as Chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors is both an honor and a responsibility I approach with resolve. In partnership with my colleagues and County staff, our work will remain focused on the wellbeing of Orange County residents. I look forward to advancing our collaborative efforts over the year ahead,” said Chair Doug Chaffee, Fourth District Supervisor.
Chair Doug Chaffee was elected as the Fourth District Supervisor in November 2018 and re-elected in November 2022. Prior to his election, Chair Chaffee twice served as Mayor of the City of Fullerton and served as a Councilmember for a total of six years.
Chair Chaffee is a longtime Fullerton resident, graduating from Fullerton Union High School. He earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Redlands and a J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law. He is married to his wife, Paulette, who serves as Ambassador of the Orange County Fourth District. They have two sons and two grandsons.
Supervisor Katrina Foley Elected Vice Chair
Supervisor Katrina Foley, Fifth District was chosen unanimously by her fellow Board colleagues to be Vice Chair this year.
Vice Chair Katrina Foley represents the residents of the Fifth District which includes the cities of Aliso Viejo, Costa Mesa, Dana Point, (portion of) Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Newport Beach, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano and unincorporated areas.
“I look forward to continuing progress as Board Vice Chair for the second year in a row,” said Vice Chair Foley. “In 2025, we accomplished so much for Orange County residents, businessowners, safety and health professionals, our airport, and more. This year, we continue facing federal challenges and restraints that require us to step up at a local level and work collaboratively to protect our communities.”
Supervisor Foley continued, “As Vice Chair, I remain focused on protecting taxpayer dollars, keeping our neighborhoods safe, solving the root causes of homelessness, collaborating with federal, state and local agencies prioritizing the wellbeing of Orange County, and holding leaders accountable through transparency and strategic oversight investments.”
Vice Chair Katrina Foley was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2022 to represent the newly established District 5. This is her second term on the Board of Supervisors, where she previously served District 2. Prior to her election, Vice Chair Foley became the City of Costa Mesa’s first directly elected Mayor in November 2018 and was re-elected in 2020. She served on the Costa Mesa City Council for 14 years, including serving as Mayor between 2016-2017. She also served on the Newport Mesa Unified School District Board of Trustees from November 2010 to November 2014.
Vice Chair Foley is a graduate of Head Start and a Pell Grant recipient. She resides in Costa Mesa with her husband, two sons and her mother.
In 2026, Norberto Santana Jr., the publisher of the investigative news site Voice of OC, predicted that the Orange County Board of Supervisors would choose Republican Janet Nguyen as their new chair. As usual he was quite wrong.
The Democratic Party of Orange Count Opposed Chaffee in his last Election in 2022
The Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) opposed incumbent Supervisor Doug Chaffee in the 2022 election even though he is a registered Democrat.
Opponent and Backing
In a rare move, the party endorsed his challenger, Sunny Park (the then-mayor of Buena Park), instead of backing the Democratic incumbent. Party leaders cited frustration with Chaffee for frequently siding with Republican colleagues on the Board of Supervisors regarding issues like mask mandates, beach closures, and COVID-19 news conferences.
Election Results and Margin
Despite the lack of party support, Chaffee easily won the general election in November 2022.
- Doug Chaffee: 72,896 votes (55.4%)
- Sunny Park: 58,776 votes (44.6%)
Chaffee won by a margin of 10.8 percentage points, or 14,120 votes.
Update for 2026:
As of January 2026, Doug Chaffee is serving his final term and is currently term-limited. The Democratic Party of Orange County has already moved to endorse a successor for his District 4 seat, unanimously backing Connor Traut for the upcoming 2026 election cycle.
Traut is the Mayor of Buena Park. Traut is a registered Democrat and is generally described as a moderate liberal or “establishment” Democrat by contemporary political standards in Orange County. His political identity is defined by strong ties to organized labor and the mainstream Democratic party infrastructure rather than the “progressive-left” activist wing.
Connor Traut’s Biography
- Political Career: Traut first entered public office as an undergraduate at Chapman University, serving as a School Board Trustee for the Centralia Elementary School District (2014–2018). He was elected to the Buena Park City Council in 2018 and has served as the city’s Mayor.
- Professional Background: He is a consumer protection trial attorney and holds both a bachelor’s and a law degree from Chapman University.
- Current Roles: In addition to his city council duties, he serves as a board director for the Orange County Fire Authority and on the board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central OC.
Personal Life
Connor Traut is married to Cheyenne Traut, an elementary school teacher and doctoral candidate. They reside in Buena Park with their son, Calum, and two goldendoodles.