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Mission Viejo City Councilmembers Must Step Down, Appeals Court Rules
The Mission Viejo Chamber of Commerce held a candidates forum for Mision Viejo city councilmember candidates on Oct. 19, 2022.
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Jill Replogle
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LAist
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Topline:
Three Mission Viejo city councilmembers must step down immediately, according to a state appeals court ruling Thursday.
The backstory: An Orange County Superior Court judge found earlier this year that councilmembers Ed Sachs, Greg Raths and Wendy Bucknum had overstayed their terms in office by more than two years. The Mission Viejo City Council had extended the terms illegally, the court found, while they tried to work out a deal to implement a new election system.
The city's appeal of the lower court's decision is still pending. But the appeals court ruled that the councilmembers need to step down in the meantime.
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What's next? At least one of the councilmembers will likely be back in office soon. All three were on the November ballot. The vote count is ongoing, but the latest tally has Bucknum with a substantial lead in her race. Raths and Sachs, who are running to represent the same district, are both trailing challenger Cynthia Vasquez.
The new council is expected to be sworn in in mid-December.
For more on the race and the legal quagmire, read this and this.
Do you live in Mission Viejo? Let us know your thoughts on the city council. You can drop us a note or a question here and it’ll be routed to our Orange County reporter.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
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