Mission Viejo voters will decide in the upcoming November election the fates of all five members of the city council, following a unanimous vote by councilors on July 12.
This comes after Orange County Superior Court Judge Walter Schwarm on June 28 ruled in favor of Michael Schlesinger, a Mission Viejo resident who sued the city and argued that councilors Trish Kelley and Brian Goodell—who had their terms extended when the council switched to district elections—should also appear on the ballot.
In a statement following the council meeting, Michael Schlesinger said he was “thankful” to Schwarm for his decision.
“I was in shock when the City Council extended the terms of Mr. Goodell and Ms. Kelley for two years without voter approval,” Schlesinger said. “I thought actions like this in taking away voting rights only occurred in dictatorships. It took Judge Schwarm’s court order and public outcry to force the city to grant me and my fellow citizens the right to vote and I am very thankful.”
The issue stems from legal wrangling that forced the city to switch from five “at-large” seats in which candidates run citywide, to a system made up of five separate districts.
A 2018 lawsuit by the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project contended the at-large system disenfranchised Latino voters and violated the California Voting Rights Act.
In switching to district elections, the council extended all councilors’ terms from two to four years, councilors Ed Sachs, Greg Raths, and Mayor Wendy Bucknam —elected in 2018—would appear on the ballot in 2022 instead of 2020 and Kelley and Goodell—elected in 2020—won’t be up for reelection until 2024.
But the legal settlement put them on this November’s ballot.
Because of that, the council decided to default to the city’s standard four-year term lengths, City Attorney Bill Curley said at the council meeting. The matter of staggering terms, Curley said, will be left to the new council after its members are elected in November.
“We want to do it properly ... pursuant to careful, thoughtful ordinance,” he said.
