- ocvote.gov (opens in a new tab)Orange County Registrar of Voters — "Contest/Candidate Proof List," General Election 11/3/2026 (printed by the county 8/28/2026 3:47-3:48pm): Mission Viejo's five City Council district contests (pages 130-134 of 188), each candidate's filing date, ballot occupation, and incumbency, and the "Short Term" label on Districts 2 and 4
- missionviejo.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Mission Viejo — Election Information page: the same nine-candidate, five-district roster as the county's Proof List, plus the city's own explanation that Districts 2 and 4 serve a short 2-year term (through 2028) while Districts 1, 3, and 5 serve the normal 4 years, to stagger future elections
- missionviejo.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Mission Viejo — City Council page: the sitting 5-member council, one per district (Ruesch D1, Goodell D2, Vasquez D3, Kelley D4, Bucknum D5/Mayor), council-manager government, and the annual council-selected Mayor/Mayor Pro Tem
- ocregister.com (opens in a new tab)Orange County Register — "Candidate fields take shape for City Council elections in Orange County": independently corroborates all five Mission Viejo district pairings, the two-year "staggered rotation" terms for Districts 2 and 4, and that Steven Thornton is unopposed in District 5; read via its Wayback Machine snapshot after a live fetch was blocked
- missionviejo.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Mission Viejo — Districting Plan A packet (Dec. 2021): the adopted five-district map and per-district population figures (total city population 93,760) that took effect for the city's first, November 2022 by-district council election
- missionviejo.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Mission Viejo — official council-member biography for Wendy Bucknum (District 5, the sitting Mayor, not seeking re-election in 2026): 30+ years in the community-association and development industry, on the council since 2014, elected Mayor by colleagues in 2017 and 2022, and currently serving as Mayor again for the 2026 calendar-year term
Last updated August 31, 2026.
City of Mission Viejo
Mission Viejo City Council, District 5
This person holds your district's seat on Mission Viejo's City Council. The council has five members. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. An appointed city manager runs day to day operations. The council elects a Mayor from among its own members each year. It also elects a Mayor Pro Tem the same way. The term is four years.
Only one candidate, Steven Thornton, qualified for Mission Viejo City Council, District 5. Incumbent Mayor Wendy Bucknum did not run for reelection, so Thornton is unopposed. Your vote here does not change the outcome.
This person holds your district's seat on Mission Viejo's 5-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. Mission Viejo is a general-law city with a council-manager government -- an appointed city manager runs day-to-day operations, and the council elects a Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem from among its own members each year. The term is four years.
This is the only genuinely uncontested race among Mission Viejo's five council districts this cycle -- the local-authoring queue's note that all five races were "uncontested" turns out to be accurate only here. Bucknum, on the council since 2014 and the city's sitting Mayor (also serving in that role in 2017 and 2022), did not seek another term, leaving District 5 open for a single filer.
Steven Thornton
Steven Thornton is the only qualified candidate, with the ballot occupation Defense Acquisition Contractor. No news profile or campaign website was found for them.
Your pick
A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.