Jozef Maldonado

Fullerton City Council District 5 candidate Jozef Maldonado has agreed to remove “Parks Commissioner” from his ballot designation after opponent Oscar Valadez sued to have the title struck from election materials.

The dispute was not over whether Maldonado is actually a Parks Commissioner. Instead, Valadez’s lawsuit argued that because Maldonado serves on the Fullerton Parks and Recreation Commission as an unpaid volunteer, the position does not qualify as one of the “principal professions, vocations, or occupations” California allows candidates to place beneath their names on the ballot.

Rather than continue litigating the dispute, Maldonado agreed to change his ballot designation. Court records show that the parties submitted a proposed stipulation and stipulated judgment on August 26. The following day, the court granted Valadez’s petition and entered judgment pursuant to the parties’ stipulated resolution.

Oscar Valadez

Valadez filed a petition for writ of mandate in Orange County Superior Court on August 19, seeking to remove “Parks Commissioner” from Maldonado’s proposed “Parks Commissioner / Scientist” ballot designation. He also sought to have the words removed from the occupation listed in Maldonado’s candidate statement.

Valadez’s argument focused heavily on the fact that Maldonado’s commission service is unpaid. The petition states that Parks Commissioner is a volunteer position that “does not pay any compensation,” is not Maldonado’s principal occupation and is not a source of income. On those grounds, Valadez argued the designation was false, misleading or inconsistent with California election law.

California does place restrictions on what candidates may use as ballot occupations. A profession, vocation or occupation must constitute one of the candidate’s principal activities, with state regulations considering the amount of time and effort devoted to it.

That made the case less a dispute over whether Maldonado held the title than over whether his public service was substantial enough to qualify as an occupation for ballot purposes.

The lawsuit also highlights an unusual distinction between the commissions on which the two candidates serve. Maldonado serves on Fullerton’s Parks and Recreation Commission, which the City lists as providing no stipend. Valadez serves as chair of the Fullerton Planning Commission, where commissioners receive $75 for each meeting they attend. Fullerton’s Municipal Code generally states that city commissioners serve without compensation “except as otherwise provided by ordinance.” That raised a separate question: what ordinance authorizes the Planning Commission’s $75-per-meeting payment?

A public records request submitted to the City on August 28 sought “the resolution or ordinance establishing the compensation Planning Commissioners receive.” The City responded that it had “found no records meeting your criteria” and closed the request. The response is notable because the City currently advertises a $75-per-meeting stipend for Planning Commissioners, while the Municipal Code says commissioners serve without compensation unless an ordinance provides otherwise. Yet when specifically asked for the ordinance or resolution establishing that compensation, the City identified no responsive record.

Maldonado ultimately chose not to litigate whether his unpaid commission service satisfied California’s ballot-designation requirements. In announcing the decision, his campaign emphasized that both descriptions were factually accurate: he works professionally as a scientist and serves Fullerton as a Parks Commissioner.

Maldonado said he did not want to spend additional campaign resources fighting over the designation and would instead use his professional title.

Maldonado remains a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission. The only change is what occupational description will appear beneath his name in election materials. Valadez and Maldonado are competing for the District 5 seat on the Fullerton City Council in November.