Challengers Rout 2 Tustin Council Incumbents

In an upset election, two challengers soundly defeated Council members Leslie Anne Pontious and Charles E. Puckett in Tuesday’s municipal elections.

Tracy Worley and Michael J. Doyle each received well over 600 votes more than the incumbents, according to unofficial results.

“Obviously I’m very happy,” Worley said.

An electronic counting machine broke down during the count, delaying results and forcing the city to bring in a machine from Orange.

In the campaign, the incumbents said that planning for the future reuse of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station is the most critical decision City Council members will face in the next four years.

Pontious and Puckett contended that the city was in good hands under the current council, whose other members are Mayor Jim Potts and Councilmen Thomas R. Saltarelli and Jeffrey Thomas. Crime is down, sales tax income is up, new businesses are coming in, and while nearby cities struggle to maintain services, Tustin is financially healthy, they said.

But Doyle and Worley said that the more important issues were the city attorney’s fees, a gift ban for council members, term limits and limits on campaign contribution.

“We need to have more accountability,” Doyle said. He said that Pontious and Puckett failed to order a thorough review of city credit expenses last year even after allegations surfaced that high-ranking officials of the Police Department were using city credit cards to charge meals and gifts.

The challengers had criticized Puckett for using city credit cards for business lunches with City Manager William A. Huston in 1991 and 1992 at a Fullerton restaurant that featured female models in scanty clothing. Puckett said the meetings were strictly business.

An audit later indicated that there was no widespread abuse.

EDITION TIME ELECTION RETURNS

Tustin City Council

2 Elected

100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Tracy Worley: 2,516 (30.4) Michael J. Doyle: 2,386 (28.8) Leslie Anne Pontious*: 1,700 (20.5) Charles E. Puckett*: 1,672 (20.2)

* Incumbent

Elected candidates are in bold type.