Editor's note: This story is one in a series on the Nov. 3 general election. For more coverage, visit vcstar.com/news/elections.
Four candidates are vying for two Ojai City Council seats in contested races on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Incumbent Leslie Rule and challenger Jordan Garst are running for the District 1 seat. Incumbent Rachel Lang faces Larry Steingold in District 2. Mayor Andy Gilman and District 3 Council member Andrew Whitman are running unopposed.
The Star asked each candidate in the competitive races to answer a brief questionnaire. Their responses are below, with editing for space and clarity. City council races are nonpartisan, but The Star asked candidates and checked voter rolls to include party registration information for readers.
Early voting begins Oct. 5, the same day election officials plan to start mailing ballots to registered voters. Ventura County's vote center locations will open Oct. 24.
Ojai District 1
Jordan Garst
Age: 37
Occupation: Research finance administrator
Party registration: No party preference
Education: Bachelor's degree in business from Pepperdine University
Military service: None
Elected office: None
Website:jordangarst4ojaicouncil2026.com
What's your top priority and how do you intend to accomplish it?
We need to take a much closer look at how the city spends money, especially on contracts. Before a contract gets renewed, we should ask some basic questions. Do we still need it? Is the contractor actually doing what they were hired to do? Are we paying a reasonable price? Too often contracts just keep rolling because they're already in place. That's not good enough.
I'd like to see more competitive bidding and regular reviews of what we already have on the books. Vendors should know what's expected of them, and we should check whether they're delivering. Residents should be able to look up who the city is paying, how much and what we're getting back. I want Ojai spending money where it's actually needed and getting something real when it does.
How do you intend to attract more jobs?
The first thing we should do is make it easier for the businesses already here to stay here. If somebody wants to open a shop, expand or hire another employee, City Hall shouldn't make that harder than it needs to be. Permits should move. Local businesses should get a fair chance at city work. And we should be asking owners directly what's getting in their way, because most of them will tell you.
I'm not looking to bring in some huge employer that doesn't fit Ojai. I'd rather see more small businesses, healthcare jobs, restaurants and shops — the kind of work this town already does well. The real question is whether somebody who lives here can find a decent job here and stay.
Leslie C. Rule
Age: 67
Occupation: Education project manager
Party registration: Democrat
Education: Master’s degree in education from Harvard University
Military service: None
Elected office: Four years on Ojai City Council District 1; two years, Plainfield, Massachusetts Select Board; two years, Board of Education for Mohawk Trail Regional School District in Massachusetts.
Website: leslieforojai.com
What's your top priority and how do you intend to accomplish it?
Wildfire and climate resilience. Ojai is a four-square-mile valley with only two roads out. Readiness can't be optional here. This year's budget added $1 million in new fire-safety funding, the largest single amendment made, and I want to build on that: expanding Community Emergency Response Team training block by block, organizing firewise communities, funding the ember screen incentive program, and training local landscapers and contractors — not outside specialists — to do Zone 0 compliance work, so fire-hardening dollars become local jobs.
I also helped develop Ojai's C.A.R.E. or Community Autonomy, Rights and Equality policy, protecting residents from unlawful search and seizure. Real readiness means both a hardened home and a community that knows its evacuation plan and looks out for its most vulnerable neighbors. I am CERT-ified and, when needed, I and others will be on the ground helping the community defend against natural disasters.
How do you intend to attract more jobs?
I'd rather grow jobs from what Ojai already has than import them. My regenerative economy plan is a loop: the land supports local regenerative business, these businesses expand jobs and revenue, and revenue gets reinvested back into the city and community — training local landscapers, arborists and contractors as certified fire-hardening specialists. That's skilled, well paying local work, and it does double duty. Every fire-hardening project makes the community more resilient, while wages circulate back through local businesses.
Groups like The C.R.E.W. or Concerned Resource and Environmental Workers are already mentoring young people in this work, and I want to expand that pipeline so the next generation inherits real trades — apprenticeships that turn today's fire-hardening crews into tomorrow's innovators that will build new businesses across different sectors. Add the 24 local restoration and conservation groups already active here, plus jobs from the Eco Center and Matilija Dam removal, and the goal is clear.
Ojai District 2
Rachel Lang
Age: 49
Occupation: City councilmember and business owner
Party registration: Democrat
Education: Master's degree in theology from Loyola Marymount University
Military service: None
Elected office: City council member since 2022
Website: voterachellang.com
What's your top priority and how do you intend to accomplish it?
My priority is keeping Ojai livable for Ojai residents. That means a regular person can afford to build a life in this valley, with recreation for our kids and a city-school partnership that puts their needs in focus.
Our teachers, retirees and hospitality workers are stretched thin by rent, insurance and inflation. I helped pass our rent stabilization ordinance, and we've managed growth by passing affordable housing that answers Ojai's needs, not developers'. As a businesswoman, I implement solutions. I'm driving an economic diversification plan to build revenue independent of tourism. I have supported policies that protect our budgetary reserves and improve efficiency within our finance department. Livability also means facing the climate crisis: wildfire prevention, energy-efficient buildings and trees planted now for future shade. I'm committed to keeping pesticides away from children and pets in our playgrounds. I have a record of listening to and advocating for Ojai residents.
How do you intend to attract more jobs?
Attracting jobs starts with supporting local businesses and maintaining our formula business ordinance. I serve as a director for the Economic Development Collaborative of Ventura County, connecting Ojai business owners with resources. I will build on current efforts to streamline permitting, improve communication and advance broadband infrastructure plans.
I will work to protect our limited commercial and light-industrial M-1 zoned land because once job-producing land is converted, we rarely get it back.I plan to continue exploring the creation of a business incubator that helps local entrepreneurs launch while generating long-term revenue for the city through leases, sales tax and more. We can focus on businesses that fit Ojai and provide stable, well paying jobs without compromising our environment. That’s why I’ve championed an economic diversification plan. Jobs and housing must be part of the same conversation. A resilient economy means people can both work and live in the community they serve.
Larry Steingold
Age: 74
Occupation: Retired commercial real estate professional
Party registration: No party preference
Education: Master’s degree in business administration from Babson College
Military service: None
Elected office: None
Website: LarryforOjai.com
What's your top priority and how do you intend to accomplish it?
My top priority is accountability for every taxpayer dollar.
I will ask questions, demand answers and challenge spending that cannot be clearly justified. I will not stop asking because the questions are uncomfortable or because someone disagrees with me.
Every dollar the city spends is a dollar that cannot be spent somewhere else. That is opportunity cost. Taxpayer money must be treated more carefully as we would treat our own money.
I want to change the attitude of city staff toward spending and make fiscal responsibility a fundamental expectation. I also want the City Council to make this its mantra: before we spend, we ask why, whether it is necessary and whether it directly benefits its residents.
My goal is simple: ensure that every taxpayer dollar is invested wisely in Ojai and its residents, both today and for the future.
How do you intend to attract more jobs?
You attract jobs by attracting businesses that can actually succeed in Ojai.
Ojai has limited commercial space and no large spaces for major companies. Our opportunity is businesses that need 2,500 square feet or less: small businesses, professional firms, entrepreneurs, light manufacturing and companies looking for a satellite office.
We have non-retail office and industrial space including smaller suites. Commercial and industrial rents can also be more reasonable than retail, creating an opportunity. We need to make occupancy easier.
I would explore helping Ojai residents start businesses here, including potentially providing seed capital for qualified local entrepreneurs.
I would move Ojai’s economic strategy away from making retail and hotels our primary source of work for residents. We need sales-tax and transient occupancy tax revenue, and there will always be pressure for more, but we should not depend on retail and hotels for most of our jobs.
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Meet the Ojai City Council candidates | election
