Early Yorba Linda City Council Elections

The first five Yorba Linda City Councilmen were elected on 24 October 1967 from a field of 27 candidates. They were sworn in on 2 November 1967 at 4:52 pm by the County Clerk at the Richard Nixon School Auditorium in Yorba Linda to serve until April 1970.

​The five men elected were:
Roland E. Bigonger- 1,040 votes
David “Whit” Cromwell- 1,029 votes
William “Bill” Ross- 872 votes
Burton Brooks- 838 votes
Herbert Warren- 811 votes

The first Yorba Linda City Council was organized with the five men taking the following offices:
Mayor- Roland Bigonger
Mayor ProTem- David “Whit” Cromwell
Member- Burton Brooks
Member- William “Bill” Ross
Member- Herbert Warren

Over the next three years they all served as the Yorba Linda Mayor:

​Who were these five men that were elected to get the city organized and established?
Roland Eugene Bigonger was a 40 year old attorney and had been a Yorba Linda resident for 12 years. He had served as the president and director of the local Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club. He and wife Eleanor (Clark) had four children. Roland was born in 1926 in Chicago and died in 1997 in Yorba Linda. He was the force behind the effort to save the Richard Nixon Birthplace and to bring the Nixon Library complex to Yorba Linda.

David “Whit” Cromwell was a 50 year old retired postmaster and owner of a local investment counseling firm. He was an honorary life member of the PTA. He had resided in Yorba Linda since the early 1920's with his wife Awandi Elizabeth (LaBelle) and two children. Whit was born in 1917 in Mississippi and died in 2001 in Hemet, California.

William “Bill” Ross was a 36 year old state safety engineer. He had served as president of the Yorba Linda Homeowners Association and been very active on the Committee for Incorporation. He had resided in Yorba Linda since 1960 with his wife Beverly and six children. He was born in 1931 in Iowa and died in 2010 in Oregon.

Burton Lewis Brooks Sr. “Bert” was the 62 year old owner of a Rexall Drug store in town. He was the charter president of the Yorba Linda Republican Assembly and had resided in Yorba Linda since before 1960. He loved to play golf and had three children with his wife Ruth Gladys (Patton). He was born in 1905 in Georgia and died in 1982 in Orange County, California.

Hebert Merton Warren was a 50 year old general manager at Marshfield Farms in Norwalk, CA. He was a trustee of the North Orange County Junior College District. He had lived in Yorba Linda since 1923 with his wife Kathryn and six children. He was born in 1916 in Vermont and died in 2004 in Yorba Linda.

In the first city council race after Yorba Linda incorporation in 1967, thirteen people threw their hat in the ring to serve on the council. The five winning candidates were George Machado, Henry “Hank” Wedaa, Whit Cromwell, Roland Bigonger and Rudolph Castro. Burt Brooks, Herb Warren and Bill Ross were voted off the council. Those also running were James Matych, Laurence Klempner, William Clay, Anton Groot and Katherine Cavataio.

Sources:
​Anaheim Bulletin
Orange County Register
The Lompoc Record
Los Angeles Times
Find-a-Grave.com.
Social Security Death Index
Public Records Index
FamilySearch.org
Ancestry.com

​28 June 2025
Norma Storrs Keating