Left to Right, Jesus Silva, Greg Sebourn, Nickolas Wildstar
Matthew Leslie
Fullerton is transitioning from at-large elections to district-based elections this year. Candidates are filing to run for Fulleton City Council in specific, discreet districts, two of which (3 and 5) are up for election in 2018. Candidates are required to live in the district they intend to represent at the time they file for office. The final day to turn in the required signatures for Fullerton City Council was August 10. Following the submission of signatures by candidates, Fullerton’s City Clerk must certify that the signatures are valid, using the data of the Orange County Registrar of Voters.
The 2018 Fullerton City Council Candidate Filing Log shows that three candidates have qualified to appear on the ballot in November for District 3. I have listed them below in the order they appear on the city’s filing log.
Jesus Silva is an incumbent Fullerton City Council member. He was elected to an at-large seat in 2016, and can continue in that office until 2020. However, since his residence is now in the same district as that of Greg Sebourn, on the council in an at-large seat since 2014, he would not be able to run again until 2022 when that district is again on the ballot. So, Jesus Silva has chosen to run for the District 3 seat, which is sort of a no-fault decision. If he wins, he will occupy that seat through 2022; if he loses, he will be no better or worse off than he is now. If he wins, there should be a special election to fill the remaining term of his at-large seat.*
Mr. Silva’s ballot designation is “City of Fullerton Councilmember / Teacher.”
Greg Sebourn is currently Mayor Pro Tem of Fullerton, a largely ceremonially title, which, like Mayor in Fullerton, is awarded annually by the council itself, generally on a rotational basis. Greg Sebourn was first elected during the Recall Election of 2012, filling the seat left by successfully recalled Don Bankhead. Mr. Sebourn was re-elected in 2014.
Greg Sebourn’s ballot designation is “Mayor Pro Tem.”
Nickolas Wildstar ran for Governor of California this year, placing 17th in the primary (only the top two candidates advance to the General Election in November), which may explain why his website refers to statewide issues, and the word “Fullerton” does not seem to appear anywhere on it. A July 30 entry on his Facebook page urges voters to make him the “Next Mayor of Anaheim.”
Nickolas Wildstar’s ballot designation is “Recording Artist.”
A fourth prospective candidate, Mohammad Abdel Haq, pulled papers to run on August 9, but did not submit them, and so will not appear on the ballot.
*During a recent public presentation about the new district-based election system, our City Clerk suggested that if Mr. Silva wins the District 3 seat, the City Council might simply choose to appoint Greg Sebourn, who would then be off the council, to fill the remaining two years of Mr. Silva’s at-large seat. Such an action, in the opinion of The Rag, would be undemocratic, to say the least, and should not be taken by the City Council. If this election results in a vacant two year at-large term, a special election should be held to fill it.
fullertonrag.com 
Per the municipal code, the Council is required to call a special election in the event of a vacancy
Filling the remainder of the term with an appointment is not an option.
Filling the seat in the interim while a special election is being held is the option on the table.
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Fullerton streets are in poor condition, because councilmembers like Sebourn and Silva have preferred to spend your money on sexier priorities instead of taking care of the basics.
Nickolas Wildstar has a plan to get the streets fixed and will seek an audit of the city budget to reduce wasteful spending and overrhead.
The write-up here does not do him or his fresh perspective justice.
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Maybe if his campaign website had something about Fullerton in it I would have written more about him. Right now, his Platform page begins with: “With Nickolas Wildstar becoming the first Libertarian to be elected Governor of California…”
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As for his plan for road repair, his answer to the Fullerton Observer’s question about how he would fund it reads as follows: “By outsourcing the repair work to independent and private ventures which will alleviate the need to spend taxpayers (sic) money on fixing any damages done.” And just whose money does Gov. Wildstar plan to spend to pay the private road repair “ventures?” Let me know ASAP, because if he is going to pay for it out of his own pocket I’ll tell people to vote for him.
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