Story by Maxine Messineo
Staff Writer

Illustration by Shyla Drake
Staff Illustrator

Michael Cacciotti and Nevin Stanton-Trehan ran for the District 4 city council member position in South Pasadena’s municipal elections held on Nov. 3, 2026. Both candidates aim to tackle numerous issues and overlap their concerns in countless areas, but their methods and priorities do differ. Cacciotti hopes to improve wider issues like air quality and rent, while Stanton-Trehan is prioritizing infrastructural issues.  

Stanton-Trehan is a six-year South Pasadena resident who has not previously held a position on the city council, but has taken on the challenge of running against a sitting council member. 

One of Stanton-Trehan’s primary issues that he wants to cover is the infrastructure in South Pasadena. He wants to address issues such as outdated playgrounds, broken sidewalks, and undermaintained sports fields that haven’t received attention as of late.  

According to Stanton-Trehan, the city of South Pasadena has several unaddressed and deferred maintenance issues that could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for the city. One of his goals is to address small things that the city could do to improve public safety.

“Some of our crosswords need to be repainted. Some of our streets don’t even have crosswalks. Maybe [adding] a lighted stop sign every once in a while; just simple things. Bike lanes that are painted properly for our kids, everyone else can ride safely around our city. Connecting our city together
is another big thing for me,” Stanton-Trehan said.

With the Olympics coming to Los Angeles in July 2028 and upcoming developments that the city will make in the next few years, Stanton-Trehan says that South Pasadena’s infrastructural issues need to be prioritized. However, as inflation continues to rise throughout the country, cities have to make tough decisions about what projects to do and discontinue  due to rising costs. 

“It comes down to strategy. Our city needs to come together. What are its priorities? I tell people all the time, a budget tells a story,” Stanton-Trehan said. “The story is where you’re gonna invest the money. It’s not just where to spend it and where to prioritize the spending. It’s the oversight of the spending.”

Stanton-Trehan wants to improve communication with residents to increase accountability and transparency and be available to listen to what residents need.

As opposed to Stanton-Trehan, who has never held a councilmember position previously, Cacciotti was first elected in December of 2001, and has held the position for 25 years, making him the longest-running council member in South Pasadena history.

Similarly to Stanton-Trehan, one of the issues Cacciotti aims to address is public safety and infrastructural issues through maintaining parks, fields, and bike lanes. He also wants to redesign the roads for optimal pedestrian safety for the students and residents of South Pasadena. 

“There’s a big issue with pedestrian safety … So I took a bike for the last 15 years to work and I walk my dogs every day. I see students almost get run over by cars. It just makes me so mad. We have to redesign our roads so pedestrians and bicycles have pathways.” said Cacciotti. 

Another issue that Cacciotti wants to improve is air pollution in South Pasadena. He aims to eliminate the use of gas and diesel fuel in the city to reduce the negative health effects of air pollution on residents. Gas and diesel fuels release greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants into the air, contributing to climate change and global warming. 

Cacciotti also wants to stabilize rent prices for South Pasadena residents. He says that one of the biggest issues that South Pasadena residents face is not being able to afford rent.

“You can have your friends in schools not going to be there next week or tomorrow because they can’t afford rent.
One of the biggest issues I see is renters having a really tough time because last year there was almost a nine percent increase in rent, which was authorized by the states. 
A lot of them can’t afford it. So I really want an ordinance for stabilized rent,”  Cacciotti said.

On Nov. 3, 2026 results for the City of South Pasadena’s general municipal election for the member of the City Council for the 4th District were released with Caciotti getting 1,011 votes, or 64.23 percent of total votes, and Stanton-Trehan getting 563 votes, or 35.77 percent of total votes. Cacciotti won by almost double the votes during the election.