So if you have the good fortune of living in the delightfully cool and comfortable town of Tustin, odds are fairly high you’ve received this mailer over the past few days. It’s via the AI slop factory of Austin Lumbard, Tustin’s Trump-voting Republican mayor …
And, well, it’s weird, because DEMOCRATS FOR LUMBARD features (wait for it) literally nary a single Democrat for Lumbard. Hell, look at the brochure. Right there. Above this paragraph. Do you see a name listed, besides (cough) Austin Lumbard (a registered Republican and MAGA sympathizer, to be clear)? Do you spot a Democrat for Lumbard alongside DEMOCRATS FOR LUMBARD? Like, a single Democrat?
And do you know any Democrats who’d allign with this sort of thinking …
Truth be told, the whole thing is a hoax, and also horribly unbecoming of a small-town mayor who (beyond anything else) needs to be honest and direct with his constituents. Yesterday, on his Facebook page, Tustin City Council member Lee Fink rightly teed off …
I just, truly, hate this shit. It’s slimy and petty and unbecoming, and yet another reason to back Dr. Letitia Clark, the Democrat and former Tustin mayor, who offered up this fantastic Q&A a month back. Clark has quickly emerged as one of my favorite local political figures. She clearly loves her city, and wants to represent all its inhabitants—politics be damned.
Alas, she’ll need to survive the dishonesty of a foe who should know better.
Such is 2026.
PS: I worked on the brochure. No charge …
His campaign has also used racist dog-whistle slanders. They have a mailer claiming Letitia called for de-funding the police, which she never did. Even the Tustin Police Officers Association, a Republican stronghold, posted a message saying it was a lie, and that Letitia has been a steadfast friend and supporter of Tustin Police with a long record of helping them. By the way, he has the worst record of all the city council candidates re showing up to meetings and other obligations. He’s a bad guy.