3 Mission Viejo Council Members Removed From Dais, Court Says

MISSION VIEJO, CA — Three Mission Viejo City council members were removed from the dais Thursday, after a state appeals court order found defendant council members Ed Sachs, Greg Raths and Wendy Bucknum to be unlawfully holding office.

Mission Viejo City Attorney Bill Curley told the Orange County Register that an appeal may still be considered.

The order to remove Bucknum, Raths and Sachs was delayed through last month while arguments were considered. The appeals court issued its decision on Thursday, saying that the lower court's order would go through for the time being.

According to a previous Patch report, OC Superior Court Judge ruled in August that the three council members should be removed from their seats, saying the terms of the defendant council members expired in Dec. 2020.

Sachs, Raths and Bucknum were sued earlier this year over accusations that they were elected to two-year terms and have remained in office illegally since 2020. All three council members were elected to the council in 2018.

The allegations were reported by Mission Viejo resident Michael Schlesinger, who petitioned the Attorney General to address the case.

The case stems from the city's decision in 2018 to hold elections for two-year terms for the Mission Viejo City Council in order to settle a case brought against the city for violating the California Voting Rights Act.

According to a news release, in 2020, the city had not implemented the settlement and City Council members unanimously decided that incumbent members would "holdover without an election."