Ruesch, Conroy, Zahn and Morrison lead early Mission Viejo council counts

Bob Ruesch, Saga Conroy, Bryan Zahn and James Morrison led preliminary counts in their Mission Viejo City Council races early Wednesday, according to Voice of OC. Steven Thornton faced no opponent in District 5.

All five council seats were on the ballot, with term limits ensuring at least three newcomers would take office. The Orange County city's election followed years of disputes over voting procedures and the move to district elections.

Voice of OC reported the initial tallies from the OC Registrar of Voters as of 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. Those counts were preliminary, not final election results.

In District 1, incumbent Bob Ruesch had nearly 66.6% of the vote to Kristen Wilcox's 33.4%, with 5,369 votes tallied. In District 2, newcomer Saga Conroy led fellow newcomer Peter Molinari, 54.8% to 45.1%, with 6,415 votes counted.

Bryan Zahn led incumbent Cynthia Vasquez in District 3 with over 56% of the vote, while Vasquez had nearly 44%. The tally included 4,762 votes. In District 4, James Morrison had over 51.8% to Laura Lacko's 48.1% among 4,632 votes counted; both candidates were newcomers.

Thornton was the sole candidate in District 5, according to Voice of OC. He is a defense acquisition contractor and serves on the city's community services commission.

City leaders had argued that geographically dispersed community groups meant district elections would not help minority residents elect their preferred candidates, Voice of OC reported. The city instead pursued cumulative voting, which lets residents allocate multiple votes among candidates they favor.

Then-Secretary of State Alex Padilla rejected that proposal because the state legislature had not approved the system, according to Voice of OC. The publication also reported that the council faced criticism for illegally extending the terms of multiple officeholders.

The early leads did not establish winners. Regardless of the final count, term limits had already assured a council with at least three new members.