A judge, who last month ruled three Mission Viejo City Council members had stayed in office beyond their legal terms, clarified during a hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 20, that the trio would be removed from their seats later this month, unless an appeals court steps in.

Attorneys convened at the Orange County Superior Court’s Central Justice Center in Santa Ana on Tuesday morning, seeking clarity from Judge Walter Schwarm on how to interpret his Aug. 31 order for the removal of council members Wendy Bucknum, Greg Raths and Ed Sachs.

When he announced his decision, Schwarm had said he was delaying implementation of his ruling for 30 days, starting from Aug. 31, to give attorneys representing the council members time to seek an appeal or for an appeals court to make a determination.

After questions over timing of the removal and appeals process, Schwarm said Tuesday he intended for the delay to allow time for the council members to seek an appeal, and “unless the California Court of Appeal issues a stay of the court’s order, the court’s order will go into effect 30 days from Aug. 31, 2022.” The city’s attorney said an appeal is expected to be filed this week.

Sachs, Raths and Bucknum, who were elected to the City Council in 2018, were sued by a Mission Viejo resident earlier this year over allegations they were only elected to two-year terms and have remained in office illegally since 2020.

City officials have said they were attempting to implement a new voting system in the city when the council members were voted into office for what were expected to be two-year terms in 2018. When there was a delay in getting the system up and running, they reverted in 2020 to the city’s normal ordinance that stipulates four-year terms for council members, attorneys for the city have argued.

Aaron Hand, an attorney representing the resident who sued the council members, said the judge’ order was “always abundantly clear.”

After Schwarm issued his order on Aug. 31 that Sachs, Bucknum and Raths be removed from office, Mission Viejo City Manager Dennis Wilberg said city officials planned to complete as much important city business as possible before the council members stepped down, including approving budget documents and project contracts. Without a quorum of at least three members, he said the city would likely “go dark” in October. Bucknum is currently serving as the city’s mayor.

Wilberg said Tuesday the City Council signed off on agreements for large projects such as the La Paz bridge widening at a meeting last week. They plan to address other “critical” business at the last planned meeting of the month on Sept. 27, including the fiscal year budget closeout and some grant applications, he said.

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