Lumbard leads Clark by 180 votes in unresolved Tustin mayoral race

Mayor Austin Lumbard held a 180-vote lead over former Mayor Letitia Clark early Wednesday in Tustin’s unresolved mayoral election, according to Voice of OC. Clark had briefly led by eight votes before Lumbard moved ahead during election-night counting.

The contest remained among Orange County’s closest races as ballot processing continued. More than 246,500 ballots awaited processing across the county Wednesday morning, Voice of OC reported; that total was not limited to Tustin.

As of 1:36 a.m. Wednesday, Lumbard had nearly 51% of the vote and Clark had about 49%, according to Voice of OC. The tally included more than 15,600 votes in the mayoral contest.

Tustin has more than 44,700 voters. Roughly 40% are registered Democrats, 27% are Republicans and 26% have no party preference, the publication reported.

Clark drew endorsements from labor unions, the Democratic Party of OC and prominent local Democratic elected officials. Lumbard had support from local public safety unions, the Republican Party of OC and prominent local Republican elected officials.

According to Voice of OC, the OC Firefighters Association had spent more than $70,000 on mailers supporting Lumbard as of Oct. 28. A Tustin police union political action committee had spent $7,500 supporting him by that date, while the Tustin Police Support union’s political action committee had spent $6,250 as of Oct. 26.

Clark said in a Wednesday phone interview that her campaign was preparing for an extended count and had volunteers willing to continue helping, Voice of OC reported. Lumbard did not immediately respond to the publication’s request for comment Wednesday morning.

Close council contests also remained in Santa Ana, according to Voice of OC. Sandra De Anda led Councilman Phil Bacerra by 533 votes in Ward 4, while Isuri Ramos led Giovanni Chavez by 379 votes in Ward 6.