Fink, Nielsen and Gallagher lead Tustin City Council races – Orange County Register

Candidates for the Council Lee Fink, John Nielsen and Ryan Gallagher all have front-runners in Tustin City Council races, where all will play an important role in determining how Tustin decides to view development in the city.

Tustin now elects district councilors. Gallagher leads his opponent, Wool Clay69% to 30% in District 4.

Fink heads the Planning Commissioner Tanner Douthit in District 1 by 51% to 48%.

District 2 was the only multi-candidate race, and Nielsen has a large lead over his opponents with more than 55 percent of the vote. Nathan Yeargin and Bill Esbitt they have 26% and 17%, respectively.

Fink and Nielsen would be new members of the City Council. The City Council is composed of four councilors and the mayor.

The candidates talked about the opportunity in Tustin to grow with new businesses and homes while respecting the city’s history.

Gallagher said he is excited to have the support of the community to return to the City Council. He felt his concerns as a resident reflected what voters also care about: public safety and quality of life.

He said the community has a lot of momentum for new projects in Tustin Legacy, which is in his district. These include new housing, new bridges, a new dog park and an experiential retail center comparable to The LAB Anti-Mall in Costa Mesa.

He also said he looks forward to starting community engagement with a Tustin heritage-focused subcommittee that will hold public meetings about the future of the former Marine Corps Air Station’s South Hangar and North Hangar starting next year.

“We have these opportunities to engage,” Gallagher said. “We need the public to participate so we can get that input early.”

Fink, an attorney, said people are concerned about affordability in Tustin. The chance to address that, he said, comes with building in the Tustin Legacy neighborhood, but also on vacant lots throughout the city to make it easier for families to afford to live in Tustin.

“Tustin has the opportunity to do that, but we need a forward-thinking council that’s trying to build those places for people and families to live,” Fink said.

Fink also said he wants to create a system that makes it easier for people to talk to someone at City Hall who can hear their concerns and address them.

Douthit leads Fink by about 200 votes. Douthit said he was following the count closely. Douthit said if elected, he hopes to get the word out that Tustin is open for business and cut red tape.

As planning commissioner, Douthit said his priorities will also include helping Old Town Tustin maintain its identity while making sure the city can grow responsibly.

“Many people have lived in the area for a very long time and just want to make sure that some of the reasons people originally moved to Tustin remain: a charming character, a good sense of community and walkable areas. eat and drink,” Douthit said.

Measure IIwhich would increase term limits for the mayor and aldermen, also leads with 53% of voters in favor.