MISSION VIEJO – Orange County Superior Court Judge Walter Schwarm entered four orders requiring that the City of Mission Viejo pay a combined $715,137.21 to attorneys for Mission Viejo resident Michael Schlesinger in two related cases challenging the City Council’s illegal extension of their own terms. The cases resulted in all five City Council positions being placed on last November’s ballot and three councilmembers (Ed Sachs, Wendy Bucknum, and Greg Raths) being removed from office after they were found guilty of illegally usurping their council seats.
In February, Plaintiff’s attorneys had offered to settle the fee requests in both cases for a combined total of $550,000. The City declined the offer and refused to negotiate. The City’s refusal to accept the offer will now cost Mission Viejo taxpayers more than $165,000 than if the City had accepted that offer, plus the uncounted (and so far unaccounted for) tens of thousands of dollars paid to the City’s seven outside lawyers.
“These attorneys’ fee awards vindicate our efforts to hold the City and the City Council accountable,” said Michael Schlesinger, the Mission Viejo resident behind both cases. “What is sad is that all the City and the City Council had to do was simply follow the law. In simple terms, Councilmembers Goodell, Kelley, Sachs, Bucknum, and Raths tried to deprive myself and my fellow citizens of the right to vote. They got caught and are paying the consequences for their despicable and unprecedented actions.”
The two related cases stem from the City’s refusal to adopt district-based elections in 2018. After settling a lawsuit under the California Voting Rights Act, instead of moving to by-district elections, the City entered into a stipulated judgment to hold elections for two-year terms in 2018 in order to implement a “cumulative voting system,” even though the Secretary of State had repeatedly informed city leaders that such a system was not legal for general law cities like Mission Viejo. When the City did not implement cumulative voting in 2020, the Council illegally extended the terms of the councilmembers elected in 2018 (Sachs, Bucknum, and Raths) and held elections for two-year terms in 2020. When the City attempted to extend the terms of the other two councilmembers (Goodell and Kelley), Schlesinger brought these actions, forcing the City to place all five positions on the 2022 ballot and obtained an unprecedented judgment removing three members from the City Council.
Plaintiff’s attorneys are Aaron Hand of Bunsow De Mory LLP, Lee Fink of Brower Law Group, APC, and Brett Murdock of the Law Offices of Brett Murdock.
The Courts orders (attached to this release) were as follows:
- September 5, 2023: Attorneys’ Fee Award of $363,842.40 in the action to remove Sachs, Bucknam, and Raths (People v. Sachs, Case No. 30-2022-01262431-CU-JR-CJC);
- September 25, 2023: Costs Award of $4,232.76 in costs in People v. Sachs;
- September 25, 2023: Costs Award of $3,870.05 the action to require elections in 2022 (Schlesinger v. Mission Viejo, Case No. 30-2022-01253878-CU-WM-CJC);
- October 6, 2023: Attorneys’ Fee Award of $343,192.00 in Schlesinger v. Mission Viejo.