Four candidates are running to fill two open seats on the Manhattan Beach City Council during the Nov. 3 general election.

Here’s who’s on the ballot:

Mark Burton previously served on the Manhattan Beach City Council from 2013 to 2017.

He wants to return to the panel to create a savings culture through financial prudence, a hiring freeze, and a pause on adding new taxes and fees, he said in response to a candidate questionnaire.

During his time as mayor, he said, the council took action on more items with shorter meetings, always listened to residents and took actions in their best interests. He also saw several open government initiatives be adopted, like providing employees’ salaries on the city website and banning secret meetings.

Burton also voted to ban short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods, according to his campaign website, hire more police officers and create an automatic license plate reader security camera program during his previous term on council.

In terms of housing, Burton said he believes the city should develop criteria to oppose development projects proposed under California’s density bonus law, he said, as well as lobby for the state to change that law to allow cities’ review of such projects.

If elected, he also wants to implement strict council term limits, his website says, for a maximum of two four-year terms to continue rolling in new ideas instead of entrenching power.

Burton, who worked as a senior assistant city attorney for Los Angeles, has also previously served as president of the Manhattan Beach Rotary Club.

Incumbent Councilmember Amy Howorth, meanwhile, was elected to the Manhattan Beach Unified School District’s Board of Trustees in 2003 and served two terms there before being elected to the City Council in 2011. She served on the City Council until 2019, and was reelected in 2022.

Her more than two decades of public service, she said, would come into play if she is reelected.

Howorth, if elected, would continue pressuring state representatives to change housing legislation and gain more local control in residential development, according to her campaign website, adding that she has supported implementing developer fees to mitigate the impacts of state housing mandates.

Before becoming a public servant in Manhattan Beach, she worked as a photo editor for Wired Magazine, a role that she said has shaped her forward-thinking approach to leadership. Growing up with her father owning a bar, Howorth added, taught her that every person has a story that matters and should be listened to, which she practices in her city leadership.

While on the council, she has backed hiring seven new police officers, initiated the replacement of Fire Station No. 2, oversaw the passage of Measure MMB for long-term infrastructure needs, secured funding for safety improvements along Sepulveda Boulevard and more, her website says.

She also plans to continue advocating for sensible e-bike legislation and enforcement, if reelected, as well as supporting small businesses through initiatives like the new local shuttle, Circuit Waverider, and free parking downtown during the winter holidays, she said.

Richard Montgomery also previously served on the Manhattan Beach City Council, being first elected in 2005 and serving through 2013. He was reelected in 2017 and served until 2024.

He’s vying to return to the dais, he said, to bring back financial stability to the city by cutting unnecessary positions and stopping spending so much on consultants for things like ballot measure proposals.

During his years on the council, Montgomery said, he helped keep the city afloat during the Great Recession and the COVID-19 panedmic while not dipping into cash reserves, voted to hire a homelessness navigator, saved $300,000 per year by eliminating the assistant city manager position and oversaw many city infrastructure improvements and other initiatives.

He would listen to all viewpoints, if elected, and said that he has the knowledge and experience to make decisions that move the city forward.

Montgomery, a California government affairs manager for a New York-based advertising company, is currently the president of the Manhattan Beach Rotary Club, vice president of the Hometown Fair board, and serves on the Roundhouse Aquarium board, Manhattan Beach Co-ordinating Council, and Love MB Foundation. He is also on the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation’s Wine Auction Committee.

Joseph Ungoco has been a Manhattan Beach planning commissioner for seven years, according to his campaign website. His tenure on the commission has reinforced his belief that residents deserve to be heard before decisions are made, his website says.

There, he added, he’s gained experience navigating difficult conversations about housing, development, traffic, neighborhood character and local control.

Ungoco said he’s committed to a forward-thinking and solutions-oriented leadership style, his website says, to address the evolving opportunities and challenges facing his community.

If elected, he wants to implement council member term limits, support community policing and sensible enforcement, bring discipline and clear timelines to spending and projects, and exercise local control for housing and development projects.

He is also a Neighborhood Watch block captain, volunteers with the Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden, supports the Friends of Polliwog Park and is a member of the California Masonic Foundation Board of Trustees.