Judge confirms Orange City Council member termed out, possible appeal looms

Orange City Council member Mike Alvarez may be forced to vacate his seat due to overstaying the city’s two consecutive-term limit policy, a process sparked by two lawsuits, that he has until March 8 to appeal. Panther Archives

Judge Nathan Scott of the Orange County Superior Court, confirmed a ruling from earlier this month that Orange City Council member Mike Alvarez must vacate his seat due to a violation of Orange’s 1996 limit law of two consecutive terms on city council. At a Feb. 24 conference, Scott ordered a 10-business-day period for Alvarez’ legal team to file an appeal. If no such action is taken, the Orange City Council will decide whether to appoint someone new to fill the seat or to hold a special election.

Mark Rosen, Alvarez’s attorney, told The Panther he plans to appeal the decision, an action that will further freeze Scott’s ruling until an appellate court can intervene. However, if Rosen does not appeal by March 8, Alvarez will be forced to vacate his seat immediately. 

“I’ve never liked term limits,” Rosen said. “This past election in 2020 … the voters were in a mood to throw people out, and Mike overwhelmed his opponents. Voters wanted to keep him.”

Rosen said that appeals for election contests rank high in priority, meaning these appeals will be seen over other civil cases. Rosen estimates that, if appealed, the proceedings will last approximately five to eight months, when a normal appeal takes anywhere from 12 to 18 months.

This decision comes after two lawsuits filed by John Russo, Alvarez’s challenger for the District 3 seat in the 2020 General Municipal Election, and Michael Macisaac, who Alvarez said primarily resides in San Diego, but operates Orange residences and is frustrated with Alvarez’s refusal to loosen restrictions for short-term rental properties. The Panther reached out to Macisaac’s attorney, Gary Winuk, for comment regarding Macisaac’s residency but received no further response after initial correspondence.

Russo said he was excited the contest was being granted in his favor, but also said he was disappointed with the city’s original permission to allow Alvarez run a third consecutive term despite the cities’ public term rules, which Alvarez’s own biography mentions.

“This is a simple matter of law, and the judge was very clear on that,” Russo told The Panther. “I’m not super thrilled that they are probably planning on appealing, but overall, I’m excited and hopeful with the ruling … I really wish that our city attorney, our city clerk and our city council would have not turned a blind eye to this and let their buddy run.”

Alvarez argued that since Orange City Council seats were transitioned from at-large voting to district voting for the 2020 election, his then-seat no longer existed and he was no longer subject to the two-term limit. As such, Alvarez ran for reelection in 2020 and won with 50.8% of the vote.

Alvarez declined to provide further comment to the lawsuit.

Russo went on to discuss a “questionable” July 14, 2020 city council meeting and agenda item that links the timing of Alvarez’s renomination to City Attorney Gary Sheatz. Sheatz was allegedly scheduled, per Russo, for a pay raise and contract renewal around the same time as the filing period for Alvarez’s reelection — a time when even Alvarez wasn’t 100% sure of his eligibility to run.

“Our city council has to vote to not only renew the contract of the city attorney, but they have to vote to give him a pay raise,” Russo said. “I don't find it completely ethical that one of those voters was able to rerun illegally. I don't want to accuse anybody, but I find it very coincidental.”

Winuk told The Panther that he supports Scott’s court ruling against Alvarez. However, Alvarez told The Panther Feb. 11 that the decision to remove him from his newly-appointed chair shortly after votes determined his victory “seems backwards.”

 “The election has happened, the will of the people have spoken, I got elected and the judge is just ignoring the will of the people,” Alvarez told The Panther Feb. 11.

Russo also brought up a 2018 scenario in which then-council member Mark Murphy moved to the mayor’s seat and left his former seat vacant. At the time, the Orange City Council held a special election to fill Murphy’s seat. As such, Russo believes the council may follow this precedent to fill Alvarez’s seat if he does not appeal or the appellate court affirms the lower court’s ruling.

“I’m disappointed it had to come to this, but I’m very glad the court has ruled in favor of the people,” Russo said. “This really sends a message that …  somebody will be watching to ensure that our council, our city attorney and the city clerk do the right thing.”