NOTE TO READERS: A week ago, OC Independent e-mailed Brandy Romero a set of questions related to issues examined in these articles, seeking her response. We sent the questions to her work e-mail on June 3, and again on June 4. On June 7, we e-mailed them to her via the “Contact Us” page on her candidate website (which states “Ask Us Anything”). We received no responses. We will incorporate her responses if and when we receive them.
NOTE TO READERS (June 10, 2026): In an Instagram video, Romero claimed she never received our e-mails. None of our e-mails bounced back as undeliverable. In any case, we sent her the questions via an Instagram message, and she promised “I will get back to you this week with a response.”. We will hold off on publishing Part 2 until the end of the week.
NOTE TO READERS (June 14, 2026): We did not receive any responses from Romero last week and so are publishing Part 2. We will incorporate her responses if and when we receive them.
Many Orange residents are familiar with Brandy Romero through her “There’s No Place Like Orange” social media channels, where the mediagenic woman spotlights happenings in Orange, big and small.
But one lesson of the social media age is we can be familiar with social media personalities while knowing next to nothing about them. In Romero’s case, this is an important matter since she is running for election to the Orange City Council at a time when the city government is experiencing unprecedented financial distress.
Romero is a newcomer to Orange, having moved there from Los Angeles in 2018. She is best known for her Instagram account “There’s No Place Like Orange,” which she launched in 2023. It’s a very upbeat page where she posts relentlessly about community news and happenings, while also promoting her “There’s No Place Like Orange” store and her own brand. She has built a considerable following, with more than 58,000 followers.
Romero’s upbeat personality and an infectious enthusiasm for Orange is evident in her social media presence, and marks one of her strengths as a candidate
She has secured the endorsements of Orange Mayor Dan Slater, Councilmembers Arianna Barrios and Ana Gutierrez and the Orange firefighters union. Romero has been raising money and in June 2025 loaned her campaign $20,000 of her own money.
Successful Business Woman?
The stark backdrop to the upcoming November council elections is Orange’s grave and ongoing financial and budget crisis. Two years ago, the city council placed a half-cent sales increase of 10 years duration on the ballot – which voters rejected.
The city still faces a multi-million dollar structural deficit, and the council has thus far failed to coalesce around a strategic plan to address it.
Given the unprecedented nature of the crisis facing Orange – not only budgetary but involving aggressive economic development, planning reforms, etc. – reasonable people would assume it is best addressed by councilmembers with the appropriate experience and qualifications.
In making the case for her candidacy, Romero points to her experience as a successful business owner as a strength she can bring to bear as a councilmember:
“My experience with finance comes with owning a very successful packaging company for the last 17 years. I’m the bread winner for my family and am very successful. I am also co-owner of The Squeeze.”
The packaging company to which Romero refers is Santa Ana-based OEM Materials & Supplies.
But Romero doesn’t own it – her mother, Wendy King, owns it.
According to Ms. King’s Linkedin profile, she – not Mr. Romero – is the CEO of OEM Materials & Supplies.
According to the California Secretary of State, King – not Romero – is the agent of service for OEM Materials & Supplies.
According to multiple online and public records, Ms. King founded OEM Materials & Supplies in 2005, and it has been recognized nationally as a woman-owned business enterprise.
According to Romero’s Linkedin profile (which is under her maiden name Brandy Murad), she is an account executive, not the company owner.
Romero does not own the company, but works for the company owner, her mother, as an Account Executive.
An Orange resident pointed this out to Romero in a comment on her Facebook post touting her endorsement by Mayor Dan Slater.
Romero did not address this significant discrepancy, instead offered to answer questions offline.
This is not to say that Romero is not a successful account executive. And it is not to say she will not someday succeed her mother as owner and CEO of the company. But her public claim to own the company is not supported by the facts – indeed, the facts are opposed to it.
Tax Troubles
Romero also cites co-ownership of “The Squeeze” as another business experience qualification for city council.
However, this claim of business acumen does not square with the Form 700 financial disclosure statements – here and here – Ms. Romero filed with the City of Orange. On those forms, Romero reports receiving less than $500 a year in gross income — before expenses — from her co-ownership interest in The Squeeze, despite valuing that same ownership stake at between $10,000 and $100,000. Put differently, Romero is asking the public to believe that a business she values as a potentially six-figure asset generates so little revenue that it falls below even the minimum reporting threshold for meaningful annual income.
According to a profile article in the Orange Plaza Review, The Squeeze is a partnership between Romero and Johana Marin that operates in the space once occupied by The Wall brewpub. Under The Squeeze umbrella, Marin operates a screen printing business and Romero runs her “There’s No Place Like Orange” gift shop.
That gift shop forms a large part of the basis for Romero’s claims to business owner success.
Romero formed a business entity called Rose & Hart LLC in 2021. She owns “There’s No Place Like Orange” via this entity, and – according to her Form 700 fillings – uses it as a pass-through for payment by her mother’s company, OEM Materials & Packaging.
However, it was suspended by the state Franchise Tax Board as of April 1, 2025.
According to the FTB, common reasons for such suspensions is when a business entity fails to stay current on tax obligations, especially if it does not file required returns or pay taxes, penalties, fees, or interest. A common trigger is missing the state’s minimum franchise or annual tax, which is generally at least $800 for entities registered with the Secretary of State.
The address listed for Rose & Hart LLC is the same as Romero’s residential address.
Following e-mail inquiries which OC independent sent last week to Mrs. Romero about the FTB suspension, the matter was apparently resolved.
Romero’s personal finances also do not appear to align with her claims of business expertise and success that she cites as a qualification for city council.
The residential address matching that of Romero’s Old Town house is shown as being delinquent on property taxes on the Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector website, which shows she owes a payment of $5,375.07 that was due on April 10, 2026.
UPDATE: after the publication of this article and after receiving questions from OC Independent about her delinquent property tax, Romero paid her property tax – two months after the deadline. Another 20 days and she would have been in default.
And yet, despite not paying her property taxes, Romero had $20,000 to loan to her city council campaign:
As of the most recent campaign reporting period, that $20,000 was still sitting in her campaign account.
Sued By Bank Over Business Loan
Romero was also sued by Synchrony Bank over non-payment of a consumer credit account.
According to the lawsuit, Romero opened an account in November 2019, which she used to make purchases, obtain cash advances, or conduct balance transfers. Synchrony claims that despite regularly sending statements to Romero, she failed to make the required minimum payments and the bank charged off the account on December 17, 2023.
Synchrony finally filed a lawsuit in March of 2024 seeking to compel Romero to pay the unpaid balance of $2,897.68, plus court costs and any additional relief the court deems proper. It wasn’t until seven months later that Romero squared herself with Synchrony.
Next: Part 2 of “Who Is Brandy Romero?”
