New City Council Candidate Announced in Mission Viejo

The 2012 race for Mission Viejo City Council is already underway.

Wendy Bucknum filed paperwork Thursday morning to run for city council next year. She will be competing for one of two seats currently occupied by Council members and .

Bucknum is a board member on the and a commissioner on the city's community services board.

She has also volunteered for swim meets, baseball functions, grad nights and fundraising for the Mission Viejo High School aquatics program.

Bucknum said she was inspired to run in order to represent two-parent working families like hers.

"A lot of people ... don't go to city council meetings because they're busy enjoying their life," she said. "

She's filed early to get a jump on fundraising. Bucknum said she hopes to find supporters among the city's swim team, among other groups. Her first fundraising event, scheduled for October 24, will be hosted by 1976 Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Brian Goodell.

She says she loves the city's recreation programs and plans to support them if she wins. But she says she wants to be a council member to promote good governance, and not any particular project.

"I'm not tied to one specific thing in the community. If it helps, ... we need to be speaking up and supporting it," she said. "I feel very strongly we need to be held accountable and do what is necessary for the whole community."

So far Bucknum has the endorsement of Ury and current mayor .

Along with her husband Paul, Bucknum has raised one boy and one girl in Mission Viejo.