Matthew

BRACH

Rancho Palos Verdes City Council

Keep RPV, RPV.

Election day · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Why I'm running

I figured I was done. That lasted about a month.

When my time on the Rancho Palos Verdes Planning Commission ended, I figured I was done with public service. I was looking forward to being a resident again.

RPV has real problems in front of it. The landslide is one. Wildfire risk is another. Then there are the roads, burglary, development, and rules coming out of Sacramento.

I am running because experience matters here. The job is difficult. It is not new to me.

Read the full statement →

What's in front of us

Six things this council does not get to ignore

01 · Land movement

The landslide

Portuguese Bend is moving substantially slower than it was a year ago, and the deep dewatering wells have pulled more than half a billion gallons out of the hillside since 2024. That is progress, not a finish line. The hard part is keeping the work funded after it stops making news.

02 · Public safety

Wildfire risk

Open space is what makes this city, and in a dry year it is also what threatens it. Fuel management, evacuation routes, and defensible space are not line items to trim in a tight budget year.

03 · Infrastructure

Roads

Streets are what residents touch every day and what quietly falls apart while more urgent things take the attention. Deferred maintenance is a loan taken out against the next council.

All six, in full →

The record

I know budgets, staff reports, and public hearings

  • PresidentPalos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Board
  • PresidentSouthern California Regional Occupational Center
  • Vice ChairRancho Palos Verdes Planning Commission

I know what happens when a room gets angry. That is not a small part of this job, and it is not something you learn on the dais. More about how I work →

Get involved

Put a sign in your yard

The fastest way to help is to let your neighbors know where you stand. Signs are free, and we will deliver and install it.