Potential Candidates Line Up

Ten Mission Viejo residents “pulled papers” last week to begin the process of running for three open city council seats in the November election. The filing period began on Mon., July 12, and candidates have until Aug. 6 to file.

The list as of July 16 includes Trish Kelley, Brian Skalsky, Dave Leckness, Neil Lonsinger, Steven D. Sperling, Sam Mamola, Mark Dobrilovic, Ken Golemo, Richard J. Sandzimier and Fred Carr.

Kelley and Leckness hold two of the seats that will be up for reelection on Nov. 2. Councilman John Paul Ledesma is completing his third four-year term, and he is ineligible to run because of term limits.

Both Lonsinger and Skalsky have been candidates in previous city elections. Lonsinger ran in the 1990s and again in 2006 and 2008. In 2008, he received approximately 13,000 votes when he finished in third place for two council seats. Skalsky received approximately 4,000 votes in 2006, finishing in last place, when 10 candidates ran for three seats.

Five candidates are serving on city commissions or have served at least one term: Lonsinger (Planning Commission), Dobrilovic (Financial Advisory Commission), Sandzimier (Planning Commission), Skalsky (Community Services Commission) and Leckness (Planning Commission).

Of the challengers whose names are less familiar in city politics, Sperling and Mamola are attorneys, Golemo is a consumer marketing consultant, and Carr is a businessman. They listed their occupation as part of their candidate information when taking out nomination papers.

City watchdogs say they expect at least two more candidates to pull papers.
 

View candidate data at http://cityofmissionviejo.org/ViewDocument.aspx?id=11038