Bucknum Campaign Update
Part 1 of 39 (number of weeks until the city election in November)

Wendy Bucknum is running for a council seat in the November 2014 election. On her most recent Form 460, campaign finance statement, donations she reported through 12-31-13 were largely from special interest and out-of-town donors. After paying herself $3,000, her year-end balance is $7,598.

Bucknum is a professional lobbyist in the housing industry. When she was a council candidate in 2012, her employer’s website touted her award-winning lobbying skills. When this blog published the links to Bucknum’s awards, her employer’s website was quickly scrubbed.

Mission Viejo residents can get the idea about Bucknum’s vision for the city by reviewing her Form 460 report. Financing her city council campaign are apartment developers, a real estate attorney, John Saunders (is he the owner of the property that formerly housed Unisys on Jeronimo Road?), builders associations and Roger Faubel, who was the P.R. agent when Sunrise proposed high-density housing on the Casta Del Sol Golf Course. Here’s the complete list of donors on Bucknum’s latest report:

John Kurzet, Professional Community Management, $1,000
Building Industry Assoc. of Orange County, $500
Matt Gunderson, Audi Mission Viejo, $500
Beverly Montrella, retired, $500
John Saunders, Saunders Property Co., $500
Orange County Assoc. of Realtors PAC, $500
Roger Faubel, Faubel Public Affairs, $250
Mary Young, “2nd Vice Chair,” $200
Steven Roseman, Attorney, Roseman & Associates, $180
Ryan Farsal, Farsal Group, LLC, $150
Assoc. Builders & Contractors PAC of So. Cal., $250
EMS Management LLC, $150
Building Industry Assoc of S/C, $500
VCS Environmental, $150
CJ Segerstrom & Sons, $500
South Coast Apartment Assoc. PAC, $500

Properties at risk for development of apartments include the Casta Del Sol Golf Course, the Unisys property on Jeronimo Road, school sites that are no longer needed by the school district and so on.

For those who still don’t understand why a housing lobbyist wants on the city council, check back next week for Part 2. Readers will find out why a housing lobbyist attends “community events” every day of the week – morning, noon and night – and every political meeting to pick up endorsements from her “clients” (your elected officials who are selling their votes).