By Collin Breaux
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9.
“Cautiously optimistic” is how John Campbell summed up his mood while early election results came in on Tuesday night, Nov. 8.
Campbell was one of the three candidates running for the District 3 seat on the San Juan Capistrano City Council. Based on results available Wednesday morning, Campbell had 51% (1,079) of the votes.
The other two candidates, Paul Lopez and Cody Martin, had 32% (682) and 17% (357) of votes, respectively.
Current District 3 Councilmember and San Juan Mayor Derek Reeve opted to not run for reelection and is stepping away from the dais after 12 years on the City Council. Reeve instead ran for the South Orange County Community College District Area 4 Trustee seat, which was a neck-and-neck race in early results.
Campbell was at Hennessey’s Tavern in Downtown San Juan on election night, surrounded by city officials and local community fixtures, including Mayor Pro Tem Howard Hart and Planning Commissioner Tami Wilhelm.
“I’ve worked my butt off,” Campbell said. “I’ve done everything I could do.”
Campbell said he was surprised by how much San Juan citizens knew about what was happening in town and learned how invested they are in their town while on the campaign trail.
He further said he enjoyed meeting such well-informed constituents and learning about their perspectives.
Campbell’s platform included fully funding first responders and law enforcement, finding immediate and long-term solutions to remove homeless people from our streets and fighting against “poorly managed sober living operations” in local neighborhoods.
He has lived in San Juan Capistrano for 16 years with his wife, Hoa, and is the treasurer and board member for the Camino Real Playhouse.
Martin was watching his race and how 49th Congressional District candidate Brian Maryott fared out while in Oceanside.
“I worked my butt off. The final outcome is yet to be determined,” Martin said shortly after early results were released. “However, I know I will be a councilman—if not this cycle, then in the future. Thank you, San Juan!”
Martin chairs the city’s Parks, Equestrian and Community Services Commission and campaigned on working to reduce traffic and congestion, maintaining a balanced city budget and keeping San Juan a small town.
Lopez spent election night at home with his family.
“It has been a privilege and honor to run for City Council in San Juan Capistrano,” Lopez said on Wednesday morning. “I am proud of all three of us candidates for running positive campaigns that focused solely on our city. I look forward to what the future holds for San Juan Capistrano.”
Lopez is an attorney for a nonprofit that provides mental health services to underserved communities in Orange County and is the vice-chairperson for the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission.
Ensuring law enforcement and firefighters have resources to keep people safe, working to improve traffic conditions and making sure any local development is responsible and consistent with San Juan’s small-town vibe were key issues mentioned by Lopez during his campaign.
Reeve and Hart have also complimented the civil nature of this year’s election.
The new District 3 candidate will be sworn in in December.
Collin Breaux
Collin Breaux covers San Juan Capistrano and other South Orange County news as the City Editor for The Capistrano Dispatch. Before moving to California, he covered Hurricane Michael, politics and education in Panama City, Florida. He can be reached by email at cbreaux@picketfencemedia.com.
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