The two Mission Viejo City Council members who were court-ordered to vacate their elected offices appear to have lost their bid for re-election to the Third District on Nov. 8.
Greg Raths and Ed Sachs were among the three council members who were bumped from the council after Mission Viejo resident Michael Schlesinger filed a quo warranto legal action called in May.
A quo warranto legal action is typically filed when there is a question as to a specific elected official’s right to hold public office.
“Ed Sachs and myself are running against Cindy Vasquez who looks like she's going to win, so I’m going to be out and Ed Sachs is going to be out,” Raths said. “We split the vote of the Republicans and she won as a Democrat.”
Redistricting combined Raths and Sachs seats into one district. Vasquez is leading with 42.71% votes compared to Greg Raths with 32.44% and Ed Sachs with 24.85%, according to media reports.
“Planned Parenthood gave her a lot of money as well as the Fire Authority,” Raths told the Southern California Record. “Katie Porter gave her a lot of money. She got money from a group called the Canyon Democrats out here. They were the ones that got this lawsuit going in the first place.”
Currently, the Secretary of State's website states that Porter, Democrat incumbent, is leading with 51.2% of Congressional District 47's vote compared to 48.8% for Republican candidate Scott Baugh.
As previously reported in the Southern California Record, Raths, Wendy Bucknum, and Sachs were ordered by OC Superior Court Judge Walter Schwarm to vacate their elected offices to make way for candidates of color based on The Voting Rights Act of 2001.
The 2001 Voting Rights Act includes a provision that allows the implementation of district voting where communities of color are disenfranchised by at-large elections.
Bucknum was the only council member of the three who was re-elected after being removed by the court order.
“She'll get sworn in on December 16th,” Raths said. “It'll be four conservatives and one liberal.”
So far, Bucknum has secured 60.89% of the vote in the Fifth District compared to her Democrat opponent Jon Miller’s 39.11%.
Raths said he is taking a vacation with his family before deciding on his next political move.