Politics & Government

Garcia, Ficke to Say Goodbye to Council

On Wednesday, outgoing Mayor Donald Garcia and Councilman Greg Ficke will be recognized for their service on the Aliso Viejo City Council.

It's all about election results at Wednesday night's Aliso Viejo City Council meeting.

Outgoing Mayor Donald Garcia and Councilman Greg Ficke will be recognized for their years of service on the council. And the city will certify the November election results that saw the men defeated by former Aliso Viejo Community Association president Ross Chun and mortgage broker Mike Munzing.

(Chun and Munzing will take the oath of office at the first council meeting in January, said City Clerk Susan Ramos.)

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Greg Ficke

Ficke began serving on the council when Aliso Viejo incorporated on July 1, 2001.

He was re-elected in 2004 and appointed in 2008 when he ran unopposed.

Find out what's happening in Aliso Viejowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In 2006, Ficke proposed the council televise its meetings, but the idea died for lack of a second.

He founded and chaired the now-defunct Aliso Viejo Business Council. He also fought the proposed El Toro airport, a plan which died in March 2002 after years of legal and political dispute.

Ficke never served as mayor, a position chosen by the council each year.

He was investigated for illegal politicking by the Orange County District Attorney's office. That investigation was closed in April 2005 for lack of evidence.

He's a director in the Irvine office of real estate consultants Cushman & Wakefield.

Donald Garcia

Garcia first ran and lost in 2004, when he campaigned alongside Councilman Bill Phillips. Garcia was appointed to the council in March 2007 after another councilman left to take a job across the country. Garcia beat out four other candidates and was elected in a 3-1 vote, with Ficke dissenting.

Garcia, a personal injury attorney, started his community involvement in 2000, when he was appointed architectural chairman of his neighborhood subdivision. In 2002, he was appointed to the city's Development Review Committee and served for three years.

He served as mayor in 2009 and 2012. He also represented Aliso Viejo on the League of California Cities.

He served in the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division. He and his wife, Toni, have four children.


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