Jack Whitney
President · San Clemente
Chairs our meetings, sets the agenda, and represents the club across South OC.
About the club
South Orange County had no Young Democrats chapter of its own. In April 2026, about twenty people in a living room in Laguna Niguel ratified a set of bylaws and elected four officers. That's the whole origin story.
Who we are
A purple map is not a lost map
South Orange County splits close to even. Our congressional footprint runs roughly 51% Republican to 47% Democratic — the kind of margin where a few hundred conversations genuinely move a result.
We're the people who have those conversations. We're 13 to 35 years old, we live between the canyons and the coast, and most of us walked in with no idea how any of this worked.
We're a chartered chapter of the California Young Democrats and the Young Democrats of America, and we work as closely as we can with the Democratic Party of Orange County and the clubs around us.
The short version
| Founded | April 8, 2026 |
| Meetings | 2nd Wednesday, 7 PM |
| Ages | 13 to 35 |
| Board | 4 elected, 3 appointed |
| Endorsements | 9 in our first cycle |
| Affiliation | California Young Democrats |
Your 2026 board
Seven neighbors
Four officers elected by the membership in April, and three directors appointed by the board in July. Every one of them is reachable — come to a meeting and say hello.
Elected officers
Fatima Muñiz
Vice President · San Clemente
Backs up the president and helps lead our outreach and events.
Jasel Steinmetz
Treasurer · San Clemente
Manages the club's finances — dues, budget, and the bank account.
Ben Bartlett
Secretary · Laguna Niguel
Keeps our minutes, roster, member communications, and this website.
Appointed directors
Josh Brons
Political Director · Rancho Santa Margarita
Leads endorsements, candidate relationships, and field organizing.
Brandon Thede
Media Director · Rancho Santa Margarita
Runs our social media, graphics, and photo & video.
John Paculdo Koenigshofer
Parliamentarian & Board Advisor · San Clemente
Keeps meetings fair and orderly, and guides us on the bylaws.
Where we work
Sixteen communities
Our bylaws define South Orange County as the part of the county south of Santiago Peak and east of California State Route 133.
- Aliso Viejo
- Coto de Caza
- Dana Point
- Ladera Ranch
- Laguna Beach
- Laguna Hills
- Laguna Niguel
- Laguna Woods
- Lake Forest
- Las Flores
- Mission Viejo
- Modjeska
- Rancho Mission Viejo
- San Clemente
- San Juan Capistrano
- Trabuco Canyon
This is an open question right now
Whether that boundary is the right one has been debated since our first meeting. Members have raised adding Irvine, aligning with the South Orange County Community College District, and dropping the geographic requirement for membership entirely while keeping the defined area for endorsements.
In July the body formally classified this as a bylaw amendment. Of the options above, the one that came through the process is the last: an amendment to Article II, Section 1 opening membership to people living in or with a meaningful connection to South Orange County, leaving the boundary itself and the scope of our endorsements exactly where they are. The August meeting ran out of time before it reached the floor, and the board has set the vote aside for a meeting where enough members can be in the room for it to count. It will be noticed properly before it comes back.
Adoption takes three-quarters of the Executive Board, two-thirds of the general body, and at least half the membership in the room — which is the part that actually decides whether a vote can happen at all.
If you have a view, the right move is to show up and say it. Explore the current map and the proposals, then find the next meeting on the calendar.
Come see for yourself
Meetings are open. Bring a friend, bring a question, bring nothing at all.