Two Fullerton incumbents are seeking reelection, but at least one new face will be elected to the City Council to represent District 4 where longtime Councilmember Bruce Whitaker is termed out.
Facing challengers are Fred Jung in District 1, who Matthew Truxaw hopes to replace, and District 2’s Nick Dunlap, facing Jan Flory, who is looking to return to the council.
On the ballot for the District 4 seat are Vivian “Kitty” Jaramillo, Scott Markowitz, Jamie Valencia and Linda Whitaker.
District 1
Jung was elected to the council in 2020, the first Koren American to sit on the dais.
“I continue to work to build bridges and expand the avenues of cooperation to represent the residents of Fullerton,” he said in response to the newspaper’s voter guide question about leadership. “I continue to defeat the dogmas of division and party to do what is in the best interest of the residents and future of Fullerton.”
Upgrading aging infrastructure remains critical, he said when asked about the biggest need facing the city. He also talked about the struggle to find enough public safety hires and continuing to “emphasize responsible economic development that encourages foreign investment in building facilities in Fullerton and provides incubator opportunities to grow small and medium-sized businesses so they can use Fullerton as a gateway into the U.S. marketplace.”
Truxaw said he’s an expert in technology and management, having worked for several decades in the business world and leading teams of all sizes.
“I will bring this savvy, economic focus and budgetary acumen to the city of Fullerton,” he said in response to the voter guide question about leadership. “I want to help build a safe city, with well-maintained roads, with top schools, with police and fire protection, with a thriving business environment and, most importantly, with compassion and support for all of our residents and visitors.”
Continuing to foster the sense of community he sees in Fullerton is a priority, Truxaw said. “Maintaining and improving this sense of community and personal involvement in the community is more important than any one thing that any one government official can do.”
District 2
Dunlap, a Fullerton native, was also elected to the council in 2020.
“As the youngest person on our City Council and the father of two young children, I’m invested in the future of our city, and I want everyone to continue to feel Fullerton is a welcoming place for all people,” he said in response to the voter guide question about leadership. “Fullerton is a dynamic and changing city, and that demands energetic and innovative city leaders.”
He called Fullerton’s roads and streets “the worst in all of Orange County,” when asked what is the biggest need facing the city.
“It took decades for our roads to deteriorate this badly,” he said, adding that in the past four years more than $50 million has been invested in repairs. “I will continue to fight to ensure that we prioritize our roads and streets and that any available city resources are dedicated to making these needed improvements.”
Flory previously served 14 years on the council, touting the construction of the Bastanchury Sports Complex, expansion of the Main Library and modernizing of the police station during that tenure, in response to the voter guide question about leadership.
“In addition to my public service experience, I practiced family law in Fullerton for 35 years and was a real estate broker before that,” she said. “I am running to bring my unique background of public and private experience back to the City Council.”
She echoed the need to address the “deplorable condition” of Fullerton’s streets and roads.
She also added, “Additionally, too many concerns are not being addressed, and people in Fullerton are not being heard. Even popular improvements to Downtown like the Walk on Wilshire are being threatened by a vocal minority. I am running to advocate for our neighbors and neighborhoods in City Hall.”
District 4
Markowitz pleaded guilty on Monday, Oct. 21, to violating California election law by making a false affidavit, the Orange County District Attorney’s office announced. Markowitz pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count; felony charges against him have been dismissed, according to court records.
DA’s investigators said Markowitz did not personally witness the signatures collected for his paperwork, but signed forms that he was the circulator and that he had witnessed the signatures.
In a press release about the arrest last week, the DA’s Office said though ballots have already been mailed out, Markowitz would now be ineligible to run.
In response to the DA’s Office statement, Fullerton City Clerk Lucinda Williams said last week Markowitz has met “all the technical requirements” to appear on the ballot, later adding she needed to do more research but she believed Markowitz remained a qualified candidate until a court says otherwise. She could not be reached again late Monday afternoon.
“If he were to win the election, our city attorney and I would discuss his status at that point,” she said last week. “Then we will follow whatever state election law says we’re supposed to do.”
Markowitz had not responded to requests for comment as of Monday and declined last month through a representative to participate in the newspaper’s voter guide, but his candidate statement for the ballot says he has lived in town for more than 20 years. It talks about reining back spending because “our city budget is blown out of proportion.”
“We need a city that fights for our individual liberties, for strong law enforcement, and for our local businesses,” the statement says
Jaramillo said she is a longtime volunteer in town who has “led efforts to combat crime, clean up graffiti, mentor kids, serve our veterans and ensure our communities have a voice at City Hall.”
“My whole life, I’ve put Fullerton first as a volunteer, resident, commissioner and former city employee,” she said in response to the voter guide question about leadership. She also talked about needing more “inclusive leadership for the entire city, including for all residents and employees.”
The south end of town is in need of attention, she said about the biggest need facing Fullerton.
“Attention to improving neighborhoods, streets, landscaping, lighting, vacant properties, etc., has not been equitable throughout the city,” she said. “All anyone needs to do is drive through Fullerton, and the inequities are visible and apparent.
Valencia, a registered nurse, said the biggest need in town, as he sees it “is the aging infrastructure. We have to put more money into fixing streets and roads.”
He also talked about the importance of having “a balance between building and resources. We have to keep and maintain quality of life.” And his candidate statement for the ballot talks about protecting clean air and drinking water, addressing crime and homelessness, making housing more affordable and enforcing city codes to address blight, among other priorities.
Asked by the voter guide what he would bring to leadership in the city, he said, “It is a non-partisan office, and I will work to build cooperation and collaboration in a non-partisan way.”
Whitaker said in response to the voter guide question about leadership, that through her years working she “developed the tools and experience to listen, question, continually learn and resolve long-standing issues, stalemated in our city’s recent history. Communication is key as is pragmatic compromise.”
“Our City Council must approach the challenges facing Fullerton’s citizens and businesses in a more united and objective way. It’s imperative that councilmembers understand fully the responsibilities and expectations of city government and stick to those issues only,” she said, adding that working “side by side” with Councilmember Whitaker, her husband, “I have learned much over the last 14 years by aiding and assisting constituents through the many problems that arise when dealing with local government.”
To address the city’s aging infrastructure, which she also says is the biggest need facing Fullerton, the “highest priority” should be given to budgeting, she said. “City infrastructure has also been systematically underfunded.”
The newspaper’s voter guide also asked the candidates questions about meeting the demand for housing, climate change and budgeting. Check out what they said at ocregister.com/voter-guide. The guide includes all the races on the ballots.
