New members elected as Orange City Council grows

The Orange City Council transitioned from a five to a seven-person body with six districts for the first time in the city’s history. The 2020 election voted in three new office holders. Left to right: Mark Murphy, Arianna Barrios, Jon Dumitru, Mike Alvarez, Ana Gutierrez. Photos courtesy of candidates

For the first time in the city’s existence, the City of Orange transitioned from a five-person council to a seven-person body with six new voting districts. The increase in representation is a direct byproduct of a settlement reached to abide by the California Voting Rights Act, following a lawsuit in February 2019 against the former electoral system in Orange.

After the 2020 general election, Orange residents elected three new city council members and reelected two others, who are all now representatives of the new district-driven form of government.

Incumbent Mark Murphy, mayor of Orange, won a reelection with 59.4% of the total vote and will now serve at-large over the six new districts, according to live polling updates from Voice of OC.*

While Orange City Council members are voted into office by their respective districts, Murphy’s reelection was determined by the entire city’s collective votes.

“I’m very grateful that voters have trusted me and given me the opportunity to be mayor of my hometown more than one time,” Murphy said. “I feel very fortunate.”

Arianna Barrios, the new Orange City Council member for District 1, secured 40.7% of the vote and outraised all other newly elected city council members with $34,523 from Sept. 20 to Oct. 17, according to her campaign disclosure forms. Moving into her term, Barrios’ goals include improving public safety and working closely with Chapman University, which is within the boundaries of District 1.

Barrios told The Panther her campaign process differed greatly from her experience running for her college trustee position with the Rancho Santiago Community College Board of Trustees, a role she’s held for nearly 10 years.

“Campaigning was hard,” Barrios said. “Everything was all new. I've been involved in campaigns for many years, but there were really no guiding principles because everything was new. There was a lot to learn from scratch.”

In District 2, Jon Dumitru secured 41.4% of the vote and raised the second highest amount of campaign contributions among newly elected council members. According to his disclosure forms, he received $18,694 between Sept 20. to Oct. 17. Dumitru did not respond to The Panther’s request for comment.

Incumbent Mike Alvarez was reelected with 50.8% of the vote in District 3. Alvarez, who was originally wary of the transition to districts in the City of Orange, explained how the council is likely to face challenges with the transition.

“(The new city council members) will have a pretty steep learning curve, so we definitely want to work with them and get them up to speed with what’s happening,” Alvarez said. “It'll be really interesting to see how it begins to shape out for the first time.”

In District 5, Ana Gutierrez secured 53% of the vote. Gutierrez, who had never run for public office before, described her campaign as family-oriented, as she relied on family and friends to aid her through the campaign process. 

“My niece was my treasurer and my other niece was my secretary, and I definitely could have never done it by myself,” Gutierrez said. “It feels fantastic. We have all worked so hard.”

Gutierrez describes herself as a “concerned citizen” instead of a politician, and defines her goals as prioritizing oft-forgotten areas of the city and hearing community needs, especially as Orange continues to function amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The other two city council members, Kim Nichols and Chip Monaco in District 4 and District 6, will continue serving until the end of their terms in 2022.

Although the city has never operated with a seven-person city council before, Murphy is confident the transition will occur smoothly, without much difference than before the change. 

“We have some people coming on that haven’t had any experience,” Murphy said. “The body as a whole will be just fine, and we’ll have some new viewpoints along with those who have been on before, so that blend is healthy.”

*All Orange City Council voter behavior percentages are attributed to Voice of OC.