District 5 Council · June 2, 2026

The race for council district 5

Lieu has 5,095 votes (60%), Brooks 2,451 (29%), Ward 1,016 (12%). Los Angeles County certified these results on June 26, 2026.

Polls have closed
Last filing June 2, 20261 · Sources & footnotes ↓
Betty Lieu
Betty Lieu
TUSD board since 2018
vs
Michelle K. Brooks
Michelle K. Brooks
Former Peace Corps chief of staff

Also on the ballot: Harry Ward MD (campaign site ). Not yet at the fundraising threshold for the side-by-side finance comparison below3.

Vote count

Each candidate's vote count by day, as Los Angeles County counted the mail-in and provisional ballots through certification. Election-night updates are shown as a single day. These are the certified final counts, official as of June 26, 2026.

Party signals

Betty Lieu
Open Seat Candidate
M. Brooks
Open Seat Candidate
Voter registration

Registered Democratic with the Los Angeles County Registrar (queried January 2026). LA County Registrar →

Registered Republican with the Los Angeles County Registrar (queried January 2026). LA County Registrar →

Coalition
Endorsers

16 of 20 party-tagged

Donors

153 of 203 matched

Endorsers

1 of 2 party-tagged

Donors

72 of 155 matched

Finance

How much they've raised, week by week.

This chart tracks contributions over time. Campaign loans (see the gift-size cards below) are a separate outstanding balance, not part of this series.

Where do their donors live?

Lieu
49% Torrance
CityDollars% of total
Torrance $50k 49%
Los Angeles $10k 9%
Rancho Palos Verdes $6k 6%
Redondo Beach $5k 4%
Manhattan Beach $3k 3%
$50k from Torrance donors
$52k from outside Torrance
51% of maxed-out donors are non-Torrance
Brooks
29% Torrance
CityDollars% of total
Torrance $13k 29%
Newport Beach $4k 9%
Palos Verdes Estates $3k 7%
Rancho Palos Verdes $3k 6%
Los Angeles $2k 4%
$13k from Torrance donors
$32k from outside Torrance
83% of maxed-out donors are non-Torrance

When a donor is matched to a voter record, Torrance share goes by voter registration, not mailing address. So Hollywood Riviera donors (Redondo Beach 90277) registered in Torrance now count as Torrance. Unmatched donors fall back to mailing-address city, so a few may still slip through.

Big checks, or many hands?

Lieu
$503
average gift
+ $10k self-loan (last pre-election filing, May 16)
Brooks
$288
average gift
+ $6k self-loan (last pre-election filing, May 16)

Where each candidate's money came from. Bigger segments mean more of the money came from donors at that gift size, smallest on the left.

Loans are money the campaign borrowed (here, every loan is the candidate lending their own committee), reported net of repayments as the outstanding balance on the latest filing. They are separate from donations and are not counted in the donations figure. Loan figures are the balance each campaign last reported while the race was still on, taken from the final filing before election day. Campaigns report on a filing schedule and none of those periods ends on election day itself, which is why the loan date differs from the donation window. Balances reported after the election, including loans a candidate has since repaid, are not counted here, because this section describes how the campaign was financed rather than what a committee owes today.

Who's spending in support of them? 1

Lieu
$2k
+$2k in campaign donations
  • Torrance Firefighters PAC $3k
    labor-public-safety · FPPC 890376
    Funded by (money to the PAC, not the candidate):
    • Torrance Firefighters Association ($125k)
  • Torrance Police Officers' Association PAC $1k
    labor-public-safety · FPPC 761167
Brooks
$10k
+$3k in campaign donations
  • Team Torrance PAC $10k
    business-network-slate · FPPC 1490915
    Funded by (money to the PAC, not the candidate):
    • California Leadership Today ($38k)
    • Atlas PAC ($32k)
    • Lincoln Club of Orange County ($23k)
    • California Homeowners Assoc ($21k)
    • New Majority PAC ($18k)
  • Scott Baugh & Associates $1k
    gop-lobbying-firm
  • Torrance Police Officers' Association PAC $1k
    labor-public-safety · FPPC 761167
Read more (1)
  • Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association PAC $1k
    mobile-home-lobby

The figure shown for each candidate is independent-expenditure spending: money spent by outside committees, which California does not cap. It is separate from the candidate's own donations, so you can add it to their Donations total for a fuller funding picture. Any direct campaign donations from these PACs are listed too and shown in grey; those are capped at $1,000 in Torrance and are already counted in the candidate's donations. Sourced from California Form 460 / 496 / 497 filings via NetFile.

Money findings

01

Maxed-out donor geography

Torrance caps individual donations at $1,000 per election. Lieu has 56 maxed-out donors; 33 of them (59%) listed addresses outside Torrance. Brooks has 11 maxed-out donors; 9 of them (82%) listed addresses outside Torrance. Ward has 4 maxed-out donors; 3 of them (75%) listed addresses outside Torrance.

02

Out-of-state donors

Lieu received contributions from donors in Nevada, Massachusetts, Florida, New York, and Oregon (3% of donor dollars). Brooks received contributions from donors in Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Arizona, Washington, Wisconsin, Texas, Minnesota, and Washington DC (14% of donor dollars). Ward received contributions from donors in Florida and Washington (7% of donor dollars).

03

Real estate industry donors

Lieu received contributions from 5 real estate and property professionals (2% of donor dollars). Brooks received contributions from 12 real estate and property professionals (12% of donor dollars). Ward received contributions from 1 real estate and property professional (4% of donor dollars).

Where they stand

Betty Lieu
Open Seat Candidate
M. Brooks
Open Seat Candidate

Housing

Issues about how much housing the city builds: density, ADU rules, by-right approvals, 6th-cycle Housing Element implementation.

Wants stronger limits on hillside ADUs
At the April 6, 2026 Riviera HOA / Seaside Neighborhood Association forum, said she supports rewriting the local hillside-protection rules to remove the ADU exception. 7
At the April 6, 2026 Riviera HOA / Seaside Neighborhood Association forum, acknowledged challenges from state ADU laws overriding the local hillside-protection rules and indicated support for working to strengthen the rules, without committing to specific language. 10

Other Local Issues

Hyperlocal items that don't share an axis with the topics above.

Wants vendors at the Sleepy Hollow holiday lights
At the April 6, 2026 Riviera HOA / Seaside Neighborhood Association forum, said she would allow cottage-food vendors at the Sleepy Hollow holiday lights display. 7
At the April 6, 2026 Riviera HOA / Seaside Neighborhood Association forum, said the city should keep consistent rules for the Sleepy Hollow holiday lights display. 10

Endorsed by

Torrance officials Lieu 11 Brooks 0
Lieu
  • Sharon Kalani, Mayor Pro-Tem; Councilmember
  • Bridgett Lewis, Councilmember; Former Civil Service Commissioner
  • Jeremy Gerson, Councilmember; Former TUSD School Board Member
+ 8 more
  • Asam Sheikh, Councilmember; Former Planning Commissioner
  • Patrick J. Furey, Former Torrance Mayor
  • Dan Walker, Former Torrance Mayor
  • Heidi Ann Ashcraft, Former Torrance Councilwoman; Former TUSD School Board Member
  • Bill Sutherland, Former Torrance City Councilmember
  • Geoff Rizzo, Former Torrance Councilman; Former Torrance Police Lieutenant
  • Cliff Numark, Former Torrance Councilman; Former El Camino College Trustee
  • Kurt Weideman, Former Torrance Councilman; Historic Preservation Commissioner
Brooks
— none on file
State & county officials Lieu 1 Brooks 0
Lieu
  • George Nakano, Former California State Assemblyman; Former Torrance City Councilman; Former teacher; Former President of the El Camino College Foundation; El Camino College Distinguished Alumnus
Brooks
— none on file
Public safety Lieu 3 Brooks 0
Lieu
  • Torrance Firefighters Association
  • Torrance Police Officers' Association
  • Torrance Police Commanders Association
Brooks
— none on file
Business Lieu 0 Brooks 1
Lieu
— none on file
Brooks
  • Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles
Political clubs Lieu 4 Brooks 1
Lieu
  • Torrance Democratic Club
  • Indivisible South Bay LA
  • Los Angeles County Democratic Party
+ 1 more
  • Beach Cities Democrats
Brooks
  • California Republican Assembly
Advocacy Lieu 1 Brooks 0
Lieu
  • Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters
Brooks
— none on file

About

Betty Lieu
Open Seat Candidate
M. Brooks
Open Seat Candidate
Elected service

She has served on the Torrance Unified School District Board of Education since November 2018 and is currently its president, having previously served as a Torrance Environmental Quality and Energy Conservation Commissioner. 2

She served at the US Peace Corps as deputy chief of staff and director of Congressional Relations from 2002 to 2009, and returned in 2018 as chief of staff overseeing the agency's $410 million budget, 1,100 staff, and 6,000 volunteers worldwide. 8

Torrance roots

Lieu and her husband Ted have raised two sons in Torrance, both educated through Torrance Unified schools. 1

Brooks grew up in Torrance's Hollywood Riviera, where her family has been part of the neighborhood for more than 60 years; she returned in 2021 to care for her elderly mother and is raising a daughter adopted from India. 8

Career

Lieu is a former Deputy Attorney General and felony prosecutor at the California Department of Justice and previously worked as a civil-defense litigator at a downtown Los Angeles law firm. 2

Brooks worked in aerospace early in her career before shifting to public policy, serving eight years as the local-government representative for a statewide trade association and later as director of communities for the Manufactured Housing Institute and vice president of government relations for the Council of Federal Home Loan Banks; she currently owns a small business in Torrance. 8

Education
— none on file
— none on file
Civic affiliation

Lieu sits on the California Advisory Commission on Special Education and the board of the Volunteer Center of South Bay, and has held leadership roles in the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association, and the Torrance Education Foundation. 2

— none on file

Sources & footnotes

↓ Download Lieu donor data (CSV)↓ Download Brooks donor data (CSV) View raw filings on NetFile →

Sources cited on this page

  1. Betty Lieu for Torrance City Council 2026 — campaign website, accessed May 2026
Read more (6)
  1. Torrance Unified School District — Betty Lieu, Esq. (Board of Education), accessed May 2026
  2. Betty Lieu for Torrance City Council 2026 — Endorsements, accessed May 2026
  3. Torrance Democratic Club — Upcoming Elections & Endorsements, accessed May 2026
  4. Indivisible South Bay LA — 2026 Endorsements, accessed May 2026
  5. Los Angeles County Democratic Party — 2026 Primary Election Digital Guide, accessed May 2026
  6. Daily Breeze, "Torrance mayoral and District 5 candidates discuss Sleepy Hollow lights, ADUs," April 9, 2026
  1. Michelle Brooks for Torrance City Council 2026 — About, accessed May 2026
Read more (3)
  1. California Republican Assembly — 2026 Primary Election Endorsements, accessed May 2026, Internet Archive copy
  2. Daily Breeze, "Torrance mayoral and District 5 candidates discuss Sleepy Hollow lights, ADUs," April 9, 2026
  3. Michelle Brooks for Torrance City Council — Issues, accessed May 2026

Footnotes

1 All data from $100+ contributions filed with the City of Torrance through June 2, 2026 via Torrance NetFile. Contributions under $100 are not required to be itemized and are not included.

Read more (3)

2 City of Torrance Charter and Torrance Municipal Code, summarized at City Council and Elected Officials. To confirm your district, see the district elections page.

3 Torrance Watch lists every candidate who has filed for this race and covers each one the same way. The side-by-side comparison below is where we line up the money in detail, and we apply one fundraising threshold to it, set in advance and the same for every candidate in every race: a candidate is included once they have reported at least $10,000 raised, or contributions from at least 25 different donors, as of the latest filing. The reason is simple. Anyone can file to run, and without a fixed bar the comparison could fill with candidates who have raised little or no money, crowding out a clear view of the people running funded campaigns. The threshold is not a judgment of any candidate; candidates under "Also on the ballot" have filed but have not yet reached it. Source: NetFile committee filings, https://netfile.com/public/TOR/campaign.

4 Outside-money figures aggregated from public campaign-finance filings, Form 496 independent-expenditure line items, Form 497 late contributions, and Form 460 Schedule A direct contributions. Each named organization is filed under its FPPC filer ID (shown next to its name) and can be looked up directly in the source systems below. Data through July 25, 2026. Verify: Torrance NetFile (Team Torrance PAC and Torrance candidate committees) at netfile.com/public/TOR/campaign; Irvine NetFile (California Leadership Today FPPC 1477310 and Lincoln Club state-PAC Irvine-cycle filings) at netfile.com/public/COI/campaign; California Secretary of State PowerSearch (Atlas PAC FPPC 1279586 and other state-registered committees) at powersearch.sos.ca.gov/advanced.php; and Cal-Access committee detail pages (committee history, including any prior or renamed committee names under the same filer ID) at cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/.