Follow the Money: Fullerton City Council Race 2026

By Staff on September 22, 2026 • ( Leave a comment )

Who is paying for the District 3 and District 5 races, the Jung recall fight, and the groups trying to sway Fullerton voters?

How to Read This:

Sources: Campaign filings (FPPC Forms 410, 460, 497 and 501) and campaign transaction records posted on the City of Fullerton’s election pages and the Fair Political Practices Commission website.

Filing rules: A committee must file full campaign statements (Form 460) once it raises or spends $2,000 or more in a calendar year; candidates who stay under that amount may file a short Form 470 instead. In the 90 days before the November 3 election, committees must report any contribution of $1,000 or more within 24 hours on a Form 497 (“late contribution report”). The first pre-election Form 460s, covering July 1 through September 19, are due September 24, so the most recent totals below rely partly on 24-hour reports and the prior 460 filing.

Contribution limit: Fullerton has no local contribution limit to candidates, so the state default applies: $5,900 per donor, per election for 2025-26 (state law AB 571). Candidates may lend their own campaigns up to $100,000.

“Total raised” below includes candidate loans, which are listed separately so readers can see how much came from outside donors.

Candidates for District 3

Shana Charles (incumbent) is a public health professor at CSU Fullerton, a nationally recognized expert on public policy https://shana4fullerton.com/

Source: Form 460 and Form 497 late filings.

Total Raised: $41,819 since January 2025: $17,830 in 2025, $17,089 from January through June 2026, and $6,900 in late contributions reported since August. That includes $2,480 in in-kind contributions and a $300 loan from herself. Cash on hand: $22,966 as of June 30, 2026.

$3,900 Avelino Valencia for State Assembly 2026 (two contributions: $1,000 on Aug. 23 and $2,900 on Sept. 13)
$2,500 Teamsters Local 396 PAC
$1,500 Ashley Eagle (homemaker)
$1,489 Aaruni Thakur (attorney, PG Firm), including $489 in food and beverages
$1,246 Sarah Harmon (realtor, Drake Real Estate), in kind: bartender, DJ, food, drinks and decor for an event
$1,000 Sharon Quirk-Silva for Assembly 2024
$1,000 National Union of Healthcare Workers
$1,000 UA Journeymen & Apprentices Local #250 PAC
$1,000 Ruthi Hanchett for School Board 2026 (Hanchett also gave $500 personally)
$1,000 Building A Stronger West (sponsored by Western States Regional Council of Carpenters)

Plus 62 other itemized contributions from January through June 2026, mostly $100 to $500 and mostly from Fullerton residents, $1,274 in unitemized contributions under $100, and dozens more in 2025. Charles’s committee gave $250 to the Democrats of North Orange County and $600 to the Democratic Party of Orange County’s federal account.

Daniel Kim is the founder of the Dragon Kim Foundation https://www.danielkim4fullerton.com/

Kim filed his candidate statement on August 6 so his first Form 460 is due September 24.

Source: Form 497 late filings;

Total Raised: $37,900 (reports covering September 11 through September 19)

$20,000 Loan from Daniel Kim (owner, Abacus Partners) to his own campaign; $5,900 from Jong Limb of Irvine (president, Newport Partners), $5,000; Fred Jung (Mayor, City of Fullerton)
$3,000 Pio Kim of Pasadena (attorney, Lim Nexus LLP); $3,000 John Saunders of Newport Beach (Saunders Property Co. AKA Rancho La Paz owner); $1,000 James Lee of Hacienda Heights (retired)

Candidates for District 5, Maldonado, Valadez and Fischbein have active campaign committees for the District 5 seat.

Jozef Maldonado is a Chemist https://www.jozefforfullerton.com/

Source: Form 460 and Form 497 late filings.

Total Raised: $22,105, including a $2,500 loan from himself. Since August 20, he has reported $9,500 in late contributions, $7,500 of it from labor unions. $2,500 United Food & Commercial Workers Local 324 PAC $1,500 UA Journeymen & Apprentices Local #250
$1,500 Southern California Pipe Trades District Council #16 $1,363 Ryan Adams (data specialist, CSU Long Beach) $1,000 Sharon Quirk-Silva for Assembly 2024

$1,000 Ruthi Hanchett for School Board 2026
$1,000 National Union of Healthcare Workers
$1,000 Building A Stronger West (sponsored by Western States Regional Council of Carpenters)
$622 Helen Higgins (retired)

Plus 43 smaller itemized contributions from 31 other donors (29 of the 49 itemized contributions came from Fullerton addresses) and $1,118 in unitemized contributions of less than $100 each. Donors include County Supervisor Doug Chaffee ($500) and Councilmember Shana Charles ($104).

Oscar Valadez is the owner of Construction JVC INC (a drywall and construction contractor business https://www.valadezforfullerton.com/

Source: Form 460 and Form 497 late filings.

Total Raised: $50,500, including a $30,000 loan from himself. Cash on hand: $48,193 as of June 30, 2026.

$30,000 Loan from Oscar Valadez (owner, JCV, Inc.) to his own campaign; $5,500 John Saunders of Newport Beach (Saunders Property Co.); $4,500 ANB Properties, LLC (Bushala)
$4,500 GKB Jr, LLC (Bushala)

$2,000 Maria Valadez (retired)
$1,000 George Bushala Jr. (Bushala Brothers property management)
$1,000 David Jerome (real estate professional)
Plus 9 smaller contributions of $100 to $400, mostly from Fullerton.

David Fischbein is a Federal Quality Assurance Specialist https://www.fischbein4fullerton.com/

Fischbein has not yet filed a Form 460 or 497; his first Form 460 is due September 24. He formed “Fischbein for Fullerton City Council D5 2026” in August and is his own treasurer. The committee reports it passed the $2,000 threshold on August 12, 2026. His Statement of Organization does not list a campaign bank account.

Groups Trying to Influence Votes

Voters Opposing the Recall of Fred Jung 2026

Formed in August 2026 to oppose the recall of District 1 Councilmember and Fullerton Mayor Fred Jung. NOTE: Jung is the committee’s treasurer with the Norwalk firm Gould & Orellana hired as assistant treasurers. No Form 460 has been filed yet; figures are from Form 497 late filings (23 days late).

Total Raised: $16,939

$7,500 ENF Prime Holdings, LLC (Richard Lee of Buena Park)
$5,700 John Saunders of Newport Beach (Saunders Property Co.)
$3,739 Fullerton Police Officers Association Issues Committee: text messages provided in kind ($1,939 on August 13, $925 on August 26, $875 on September 8)

The recall committees

Two committees registered in July 2026 to recall members of the council. Neither has reported raising money yet.

Committee to Recall Fred Jung (District 1). Principal officer: Matthew Truxaw. https://www.recalljung.com/
Committee to Recall Jamie Valencia (District 4). Principal officer: Wonnapa Natanom-Harrold. https://www.recallvalencia.com/

Both list Joana Barcelona as treasurer. Barcelona is also treasurer of Jozef Maldonado’s campaign.

Fullerton Forward PAC

A city general purpose committee formed “to support/oppose State and Local candidates and measures.” It reached the $2,000 threshold February 23, 2026. Treasurer: Steven Sherry. Its largest contribution $10,150 is from Joel Maus, CEO of Found Rental Co. Most other of the 55 contributions from May through June ranged from $5 to $200, many from residents who also contributed to Charles or Maldonado. Donors include the leaders of both recall committees: Matthew Truxaw (Committee to Recall Fred Jung) and Wonnapa Natanom-Harrold (Committee to Recall Jamie Valencia). Its spending included digital work by Turn It Blue Digital LLC of Boulder, Colo., about $1,156 at Apollo Printing of Anaheim, Facebook ads, mailings, a website and a $1,147 fundraiser at Les Amis restaurant.

Fullerton Firefighters Association PAC (Local 3421)

The PAC is funded by $25 union dues from individual Fullerton firefighters, collected through the Fullerton Firefighters Association. From Jan. 1 to May 16, 2026, it raised $15,585 and spent $1,814. Cash on hand: $84,387 as of May 16, 2026.

2026 spending: $1,500 independent expenditure slate mailer (Law Enforcement Voter Guide) supporting Fred Jung for Orange County Supervisor, District 4. 2024 spending included: $18,943 to support Jamie Valencia for City Council D4; $3,000 to support Dunlap in D2. 2022 spending included: $975 in independent expenditures supporting Ahmad Zahra D5 and Shana Charles D3.

Fullerton Police Officers Association PAC

The PAC is funded by union dues from Fullerton police officers: more than 100 officers giving $160 or $180 each, collected through the Fullerton Police Officers Association. From Jan. 1 to June 30, 2026, it raised $20,980 and spent $10,050. Cash on hand: $173,610 as of June 30, 2026.

2026 spending includes $6,000 on May 8 for a slate mailer (through Law Enforcement Voter Guide) supporting Fred Jung for Orange County Supervisor, District 4. (The union’s separate Issues Committee provided $3,739 in text messages to Voters Opposing the Recall of Fred Jung; see above. 2024 contributions included $4527 each to support Jung and Dunlap and $8,527 in support of Valencia. 2022 contributions included $38,150 to Ariel Dino, and $20,233 to the successful candidate Ahmad Zahra.)

Fullerton Taxpayers for Reform

Still registered as a general purpose committee, it reported no 2026 activity. Prior filings showed $75,700 raised through contributions from: $16,700/George Bushala Jr.; $15,000/David Perez of Valley Vista Services; $14,750/Anthony Bushala; $5,000/John Saunders; $5,000/Apartment Association of OC (apartment owners); $5,000/David Jerome; $4,750 each from Sylvia Bushala, George Bushala Sr., and George Bushala.

2024 spending included $44,126 to oppose D4 candidate Vivian Jaramillo; $2052 to oppose both school district measures N & L. 2022 spending included $1,849 in support of Oscar Valadez D5; $26,567 to oppose Ahmad Zahra D5; $2038 to oppose Shana Charles D3; and in the Fullerton School District 4 race $1554 to oppose Ruthie Hanchett, and $1,553 to support Lisa Wozab.

Fair Elections for Fullerton

Still registered as a general purpose committee. It reported no 2026 activity and $1,605 in cash as of June 30, 2026.

Connections across the Races

The same donor, three campaigns. John Saunders of Newport Beach has contributed $5,500 to Valadez (D5), $3,000 to Kim (D3) and $5,700 to the committee opposing Jung’s recall. The Observer reported in 2019 that Saunders had bought the Rancho La Paz mobile home park, which straddles the Anaheim-Fullerton border.

The Rancho La Paz fight. John Saunders of Newport Beach (Saunders Property Co.) the owner of Rancho La Paz tried to raise the rent on seniors by 70%. In 2021, Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva wrote AB 978, a state law limiting rent increases at certain mobile home parks, including Rancho La Paz which at the time was a senior mobile home park. In this 2026 election, Quirk-Silva’s 2024 Assembly committee has contributed $1,000 each to the campaigns of Charles and Maldonado, while Saunders has contributed $3,000 to Kim, $5,500 to Valadez and $5,700 to the committee opposing Jung’s recall.

The mayor as donor and treasurer. Fred Jung contributed $5,000 of his own money to Daniel Kim, who is challenging incumbent Shana Charles in District 3. Jung serves as treasurer of the committee fighting his own recall. The police and firefighter PACs both paid for slate mailers backing Jung’s run for County Supervisor which failed in the primaries.

Labor Unions behind Maldonado and Charles. Five of the same donors contributed to both D5 candidate Maldonado and D3 incumbent Charles: Sharon Quirk-Silva’s 2024 Assembly committee, the National Union of Healthcare Workers, the UA Journeymen & Apprentices, the carpenters’ union, and school board trustee Ruthi Hanchett’s 2024 campaign committee. Charles herself gave $104 to Maldonado.

Shared supporters. Beyond the labor groups, at least 11 individuals gave to both Charles and Maldonado this year, including Helen Higgins, Harry Langenbacher, Wonnapa Natanom-Harrold, Ruthi Hanchett and Aaruni Thakur. Several of the same residents also gave to Fullerton Forward PAC.

The recall organizers. The leaders of both recall committees are donors to Fullerton Forward PAC: Matthew Truxaw, principal officer of the Committee to Recall Fred Jung, and Wonnapa Natanom-Harrold, principal officer of the Committee to Recall Jamie Valencia. Natanom-Harrold has also contributed to the campaigns of Charles and Maldonado.

Shared treasurers. Richard L. Montoya Jr. of Garden Grove is treasurer for Valadez, and Kim’s campaign committee lists the same Garden Grove address and phone. Joana Barcelona handles Maldonado’s campaign and both recall committees. Gould & Orellana staff are treasurers for both Charles’s campaign and the committee opposing Jung’s recall.

Filings to Watch

Late reports. Once weekend extensions are counted, three of Kim’s 24-hour reports were filed one to two days late, including the one disclosing Jung’s $5,000 contribution. Charles filed one 24-hour report a day late. The committee opposing Jung’s recall filed its Statement of Organization on August 27, 23 days after the date it says it qualified; state law allows 10 days.

Also on file. John Schaefer registered “Schaefer for City Council 2028” in April 2026 to run for District 1 in 2028. Between May 4 and June 11, he lent his campaign $21,000. The committee has spent about $4,550 with Creative Print Consulting LLC of Long Beach for printing and web work and $800 with Lysa Ray Campaign Services, the business of its treasurer. It has reported $400 from other donors.

Follow the Money

Campaign-finance filings do not tell voters how to vote. They do, however, provide a public record of who is financing campaigns, how much candidates are putting into their own races, which donors appear in multiple contests, and how political committees spend money to influence local elections.

Because several major campaign filings are still pending, the financial picture for the 2026 Fullerton City Council races is not yet complete. The September 24 filings should provide substantially more information before the November 3 election – so stay tuned for an update.