ORANGE, CA — Today, Eugene Fields, an award-winning journalist, civil rights advocate and college professor, announced his candidacy for the Orange City Council in the newly-created District 1.
“I’m running for City Council because the residents of District 1 and the City of Orange deserved accountable, responsive members of the City Council, especially in the midst of a pandemic that has left our city in financial crisis that has both residents and businesses looking for leadership and assurance.
“I am extremely concerned about the decline in the quality of life for everyone in the neighborhood I live in, my district and city. When I moved to Orange, it was ranked as the second-safest city of its size in the nation, but has fallen precipitously over the past decade. Homelessness is an unaddressed epidemic throughout our district, city and county. In a district where 62% of the residents are renters, income inequality is hindering the ability of the middle class to find affordable housing, causing people to have to move out of our district and city.
“As a husband and a father, I am extremely concerned about the world being left to my 4-year-old daughter and all the children and grandchildren of residents in my district and city. I worked as an award-winning reporter for the Orange County Register for more than a decade. As a reporter, much of my work included examining local and state budgets, new laws and labor negotiations. A good journalist is a much like a good elected representative:
- Working for the masses
- Asking tough questions
- Doing homework on the issues
- Being responsive to concerns and criticisms
“I feel I am uniquely qualified to understand the issues every day, middle class residents like my family face. If elected to represent District 1, I pledge to implement a servant-leadership style of representation, where the needs of the constituents take precedence over the desires of special interests.”
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Eugene Fields is a husband, father and resident of Orange, CA. Eugene began his professional career as a reporter for the Orange County Register, where he was known for his coverage of the City of Orange and his “Ask Mr. Orange” column. He went on to win state awards for his coverage of the largest mass murder in Orange County history. He is a former co-chair of the OCTA Taxpayer Oversight Committee, monitoring the use of an estimated $13 billion of Measure M funds and ensuring that all revenue collected from Measure M is spent on voter-approved transportation projects. Eugene holds a Master of Public Administration from University of Phoenix, being honored as a Distinguished Alumni in 2019.
Orange is Orange County’s sixth most populous city, with an estimated 138,568 residents. In 2019, the city created six electoral districts, with District 1 being the most populous district with 23,389 residents. Located in southwest Orange, District 1 encompasses historic Old Towne Orange, Chapman University and the Orange Plaza.