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Fink would go on to release a thirty second video where he calls his own behavior “unfitting for anyone, much less someone running for public office,” but many are not convinced that the apology is sincere.
It’s been a rough week for Tustin City Council candidate Lee Fink, the Orange County Democrat Party’s chosen pick for District 1. A video is making the rounds online—footage taken from a Ring security camera—which shows Lee physically and verbally accosting an elderly man. It culminates in Lee getting up in an elderly man’s face, shouting obscenities, and being told to leave by the property owners.
"You’d better get the f*ck away from me, you little piece of sh*t!" Frink yelled.
With hardly two weeks left until Election Day, it’s hardly the kind of attention Fink’s campaign was hoping to attract.
The incident itself actually occurred on May 18, 2024 during the annual Old Town Tustin Home and Garden Tour. The altercation began when the elderly docent politely requested that Fink's young daughter not play with some breakable items on display. What should have been a calm exchange quickly escalated as Fink became increasingly hostile to the docent.
“She didn’t touch anything. She didn’t break anything. We don’t have a problem unless you want to make a problem,” yelled Fink as he quickly approached the docent until their faces were inches apart... “I’m her father, and we either have a problem or we don’t have a problem. So you make a decision right now!”
Fink followed up the verbal tirade with a threat: “You stop f*cking around with my daughter or you go down!” Fink pushed the elderly man back and yelled “that’s the way it goes!”
The docent, who had been calmly trying to enforce the rules of the event, was visibly shaken by the outburst. Following the outburst, Fink was asked to leave the property by the wife of the property owner.
“This is my house and I’d like you to leave!” she told Frink. “You’re out of line! I don’t know why you have your baby playing with my stuff and throwing things on the ground. I don’t appreciate it.”
“She slammed it on the coffee table. I was right there. You weren’t even watching her,” another customer told Fink.
OC Independent, who broke the story, points out that Fink shoving the elderly man is “behavior that could be viewed as assault and battery.” On October 15, they reached out to Fink with a request for comment. Fink responded to say “I am in the middle of a trial in the Probate Court. I will review it and send you a statement first thing in the morning,” which would refer to the 16th.
No statement was ever shared with OC Independent, but Fink would go on to later release a “quasi-apology” video. More on that shortly.
Beyond that, Fink hasn’t posted on social media since the story broke. This makes sense, as the community response to Fink’s conduct has been overwhelmingly negative.
“I watched the video and must say I am shocked,” said Tustin Mayor Austin Lumbard. “I feel horribly for the homeowner and the poor individual who were subjected to this violent assault. We reject bullying and violence in Tustin. Our community deserves better.”
“I think Lee Fink has some anger issues,” writes one commenter on YouTube.
“[He] picks a fight before he has all the facts and then wants to take on an elderly gentleman,” writes another. “Glad the public got to see this side of him before they made the mistake of electing him into office.”
The incident has gone so viral that variations of the question “do we have a problem?” are now being used to mock Fink’s poor professional decorum and temperament in Facebook comments.
“Word of your fame has spread to Ireland,” comments Facebook user Neil Gardner. “If you're planning a visit, please let us know so we can hide our elderly people in case you feel like abusing them.”
“I don’t care what party he’s from, I’m not going to vote for this guy, I don’t want him representing me,” writes a Reddit user.
Fink recently released a thirty second video where he calls his own behavior “unfitting for anyone, much less someone running for public office.” He would go on to say that he was wrong and that he “[wants] to apologize to that individual and the homeowners involved.” Many are not convinced, however, that the apology is sincere.
For one, the apology comes nearly half a year after the incident took place, but only two days after the OC Independent broke the story. Secondly, the apology was sent not to the homeowner or the docent, but to campaign supporters via email.
It seems more like damage control for a public relations disaster than a legitimate mea culpa. One Reddit user goes as far as to say that Fink was “only sorry because he was caught.”
And frankly, Fink will have a difficult time beating that allegation.
Fink first ran for Tustin City Council, unsuccessfully, in 2020. His opponent this cycle is Tanner Douthit, who sits on the Tustin Planning Commission.
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