City Council Race Update

Council incumbent Dave Leckness may have been first to post campaign signs along Mission Viejo’s main drags. His signs appeared last week near city hall. Challenger Fred Carr’s signs popped up a day later along arterials near the lake. A few signs belonging to other candidates have been posted on private property, including Neil Lonsinger’s at the gas station at Marguerite and La Paz.

The number of signs this year probably won’t surpass the record number that appeared in 2006 when 10 candidates ran for three council seats. Campaign finance records showed that Trish Kelley ordered 2,500 signs in 2006. Watchdogs estimated 12,000 signs were posted for council candidates in Mission Viejo. A homeowner near Mission Viejo high school spoke out against the sheer number, saying, “I’ll vote for the three candidates with the fewest signs.”

Two events last week showcased some of the candidates. The Casta Democrats interviewed candidates on Sept. 15, and Saddleback Republican Assembly held an endorsing convention on Sept. 16. Neither meeting included incumbents Trish Kelley and Dave Leckness or their slate mate Richard Sandzimier. The county Republicans on Sept. 20 will revisit the issue of OC GOP endorsements, and emails are already flying – for and against – Trish Kelley. Her opponents say she shouldn’t be endorsed by the Republican Party after she supported a Democrat, Dave Leckness, in the Feb. 2 recall as well as in the current election. Her supporters sending emails have no issue with her supporting Leckness, as they also campaigned for him.