As of early October 2026, Brian Burley, 33, appears on the Nov. 3 general-election ballot in Huntington Beach in two capacities: as a candidate for at-large City Council and as a candidate for California's 42nd Congressional District. No court, election authority, or government agency has issued a binding ruling on whether he could legally hold both offices if elected to each.

Burley advanced from the June 2, 2026 CA-42 congressional primary with approximately 25.5% of the vote, earning a place on the general-election ballot opposite Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach. Separately, Huntington Beach issued him nomination papers for the at-large City Council race on July 15; he qualified for that ballot on Aug. 7.

City Clerk Lisa Lane Barnes asked Registrar Bob Page in July whether the dual candidacy was legally permissible. Page responded that his office does not adjudicate whether a candidate could hold both offices and pointed to Government Code § 1099 (incompatible offices) and Elections Code § 8003. The latter bars filing for more than one office in the same primary but does not address a general-election scenario where one candidacy originated in a separate primary and the other through a municipal filing.

According to the Orange County Register's Sept. 29 report, the OC Registrar, California Secretary of State, Fair Political Practices Commission, Attorney General, and Huntington Beach City Attorney Mike Vigliotta each declined to issue a ruling on the compatibility question. Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt said Burley almost certainly could not serve in both offices simultaneously.

Huntington Beach's city charter provides that an elected city officer who accepts another elected office vacates the city office. Government Code § 1099 separately codifies the common-law incompatible-offices doctrine: holding two incompatible public offices is deemed to constitute forfeiture of the first. Neither provision prevents Burley from appearing on both ballots or from winning both races — the legal consequence would arise only upon acceptance of a second office.

The Nov. 3 general election is the next decisive moment. If Burley wins one or both races, the incompatibility question would likely require resolution through a formal legal opinion, court action, or voluntary withdrawal from one office.