TUSTIN, Calif. — Letitia Clark is moving up on the heels of a historic voter turnout in the nation and in Orange County. 

“It feels exciting. It also feels heavy,” said Mayor Letitia Clark, who realizes there is a great weight that sits on her shoulders as she leads Tustin. “There are so many members of our community struggling due to coronavirus, job loss and also still struggling with the aftermath of what we’ve seen across the nation.”

Clark successfully ran for City Council in 2016. This November, about 20% of registered voters re-elected Clark. Following her win, Clark was nominated to be the city’s new mayor. This makes her the first Black woman to be mayor of Tustin and the first woman to lead the council in 18 years.

“To get that resounding unanimous vote from them and to serve as mayor was just a great feeling. I knew the respect was there and the trust was there to lead this team throughout 2021,” said Clark.

Part of that trust came from how she handled the social justice movement following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. She helped author a proclamation in support of peaceful protesters, the first of its kind in Orange County.

Clark also posted an online video on May 30 addressing how she shared the exhaustion and pain many people feel about Black men.

“As a mom of a young Black man, as a daughter of a Black man, as a fiancé of a Black man, I often sit with the worry of how they’ll be treated and looked at,” said Clark.

The mayor said Orange County is changing and people are paying more attention to who represents them on a more local level, even if they are not old enough to vote. 

“I know that there are young women, and little girls, and kids of color looking up to me, seeing me in this seat, seeing me in this position, and really feeling like if she can do it, I can do it,” said Clark.

The mother of twins and full-time working professional believes people should focus and work towards a movement, instead of focusing on the moment. Clark said one of the top items on her agenda is to work with her council to get their residents out of the pandemic’s crisis mode and into a recovery phase so they can rebuild their lives in 2021.