Katrina Anne Foley (born July 5, 1967) is an American politician and attorney currently serving as the vice chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Foley first assumed office as a supervisor on March 26, 2021 and has represented the fifth district since 2023.[1] She is chair of the Orange County Housing Finance Trust, and also serves on the boards of the Orange County Transportation Authority and Orange County Fire Authority.[2]
Prior to her victory in a 2021 special election, Foley served as mayor of Costa Mesa, California, where she became the city’s first directly elected mayor in 2018.[3][4] She previously ran an unsuccessful bid for California’s 37th State Senate district, placing 3rd in the 2020 primary election with 24.7% of the vote.
Her victory in the special election flipped a seat in the Orange County Board of Supervisors, making her the second Democrat on the board, the other being Doug Chaffee. In 2022, when Foley narrowly won re-election to the board under new district boundaries, a third Democrat also entered the board, flipping control of the Orange County Board of Supervisors from Republican to Democratic. That marked the first time since 1976 in which Democrats had control of the board
Endorsements
Democratic Party of Orange County, Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, many unions and Democratic officials. A full list is shown on her endorsements page.
Reputation/Scandals/Successes
Areas of Acclaim and Support
- Anti-Corruption and Transparency: She earned strong media praise from publications like the Orange County Register for her “yeoman’s work battling board secrecy” and pushing forward transparency reforms following the COVID-19 bribery scandal involving former supervisor Andrew Do.
- Fiscal Prudence: Editorial boards and moderate supporters define her as an “anti-tax-increase Democrat” with an intense mastery of local budgetary details.
- Pragmatic Governance: Supporters view her as a solution-oriented public servant with an excellent Avvo professional rating as an attorney, often backing environmental initiatives and common-sense public safety alignments.
- Broad Endorsements: She maintains strong backing from various civil service sectors, including local firefighters, paramedics, nurses, teachers, and conservation groups. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Critiques and Controversy
- Public Sector Union Allegiances: Critics and conservative policy groups, such as the Lincoln Club of Orange County, argue she maintains a problematic closeness to public-employee unions that influences her policy platform.
- Landfill Expansion Friction: She has drawn political fire from the local Republican Party and South County residents over a controversial footprint expansion at the Prima Deshecha landfill, despite her stated stance against increasing actual trash intake volume.
- Local Homelessness Policies: Her legislative approaches to handling homeless populations—including implementing mobile toilets and temporary housing services—have drawn localized pushback from community members who argue the resources negatively impact specific neighborhoods.
- Minor Compliance Disclosures: In 2023, she was fined $1,800 by California’s Fair Political Practices Commission for failing to properly report sports tickets received years prior, though regulators explicitly confirmed it resulted in no conflict of interest. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Campaign contributors
Total contributions not available. Many individuals, a few unions, Orange County Young Democrats. A list of contributions is available on netfile.com.
