Mission Viejo is on track to get four new council members after all five seats were listed on the ballot — according to Wednesday’s 5 p.m. election results from the OC Registrar of Voters.
It comes as the city is finally getting back on a regular election schedule after leaders spent years fighting election districts and coming under fire for illegally extending council terms.
In District 1, incumbent Bob Ruesch was leading with about 66% of the nearly 6,000 votes tallied so far, while Kristen Wilcox, a writer, was trailing with 34% of the vote. He’s the only incumbent that’s hanging onto his seat.
In District 2, two newcomers are vying for the same seat. Saga Conroy was leading with 54.6% of the nearly 7,000 votes tallied so far, while Peter Molinari, a small business owner, was trailing with 45.4% of the vote.
Conroy currently serves on the city’s community services commission and works as community outreach director for Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner.
In District 3, retired Mission Viejo Supervisor Bryan Zahn was leading with over 55.6% of the about 5,000 votes tallied so far, while incumbent Cynthia Vasquez was trailing with nearly 44.4% of the vote.
In District 4, two newcomers are also vying for the same seat. James Morrison, a human resources professional, was leading with over 51.4% of the about 5,000 votes tallied so far, while Laura Lacko, a community volunteer, was trailing with 48.6% of the vote.
District 5 has only one candidate running unopposed: Steven Thornton, a defense acquisition contractor who also serves on the city’s community services commission.
All five seats are listed on the ballot this year after the city spent years grappling with how to host elections — after putting up a fight against creating election districts.
Mission Viejo leaders attempted to argue that district-based elections weren’t going to help minority residents elect their preferred candidate because they claimed that different community groups were spread out across the city — not congregated in a certain region.
Instead, the city tried to pursue a different type of voting system known as cumulative voting. That system, which isn’t used by any general law cities in the state, allows residents to distribute multiple votes among their top-choice candidates.
But that idea was ultimately rejected by then Secretary of State Alex Padilla since the voting system isn’t approved by the state legislature. The council also came under fire for illegally extending terms for multiple officeholders.
