Community Involvement
- Brad has worked with the Special Olympics of Southern California, Big Brothers of Orange County, and the Saddleback Valley YMCA.
- He also campaigned against the El Toro Airport initiative.
- He devoted over 15 years coaching youth sports and donated his time and energies to Tijeras Creek Little League, Rancho Santa Margarita Little League, AYSO, Saddleback Valley YMCA, National Junior Basketball, and SVUSD Recreational and Community Services.
- Brad initiated the ZeroTrash RSM program in 2014, an all-volunteer community organization that has removed thousands of pounds of litter from the city’s streets, public spaces and wilderness.
Education
Brad received his Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University at Fullerton where he majored in Geography with an emphasis in Land Use Analysis and City Planning. While employed as a Contracts and Legislative Analyst at Pacific Life, Brad attended Western State University College of Law, graduating in 1985 with Scholastic Merit.
Career
Brad is a practicing attorney and is a member of the Board of Directors of his law firm, LaFollette, Johnson, DeHaas, Fesler and Ames. He also serves as a Pro Tem Judge for the Superior Court of Orange County, and as a court-appointed Arbitrator and Mediator.
Brad has been awarded the prestigious “Super Lawyer” designation every year since 2012, a distinction reserved for those who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
City Involvement
After years of service to the community, Brad was appointed to the Rancho Santa Margarita Planning Commission in December 2009 and served as the Vice Chair in 2012. He also served as a member of the City’s Economic Development Committee and the Business Attraction Working Group.
On November 6, 2012, Brad was elected to the Rancho Santa Margarita City Council, serving as Mayor Pro Tempore in 2014. After being re-elected to the City Council on November 4, 2014, McGirr was unanimously selected by his colleagues to serve as Mayor on December 10, 2014. On November 6, 2018, Brad was once again re-elected to the City Council. Brad served as Mayor Pro Tempore in 2019 and was again selected to serve as Mayor by his colleagues in 2020.
Personal Life
Brad has called Rancho Santa Margarita his home since the Fall of 1986. He and his wife, Julie, enjoyed their first date in Rancho Santa Margarita, a picnic at the lake. Brad and Julie married in 1990, and they have raised 3 children in Rancho Santa Margarita.
Brad and Julie enjoy traveling with their children and scuba diving as often as possible. In addition to his profession and serving as a City Council member, Brad fills any remaining free time he might have by playing his guitar and writing.