On December 23, 2024, Tustin Councilman Lee Fink quietly pled guilty to one misdemeanor count of battery. His conviction was the end result of an incident that last May, when Fink flew into an unprovoked rage and physically intimidated, cursed and shoved an elderly docent during the Old Town Tustin Home Tour.
A Ring camera video of Fink’s battery surfaced and went viral three weeks before the November election, in which Fink was making his second run for Tustin City Council.
READ: Video Shows Tustin City Council Candidate Lee Fink Shoving, Threatening Elderly Man
After OC Independent broke the story, Fink e-mailed out an semi-apology, accompanied by an appeal for campaign donations.
Fink nonetheless won election to the city council from District 1.
The docent filed a police report about the incident on October 24, 2024. OC Independent filed a public record act request with the Tustin Police Department. On November 11, a department representative denied the request because the report was “exempt from disclosure as “investigatory records” as the case is currently active.”
Yesterday morning, OC Independent learned, when a source provided a copy of the court document, that Fink entered a guilty plea on December 23 and was convicted of misdemeanor battery, sentenced to one-year probation and ordered to pay restitution, if necessary. The OC District Attorney’s office also reported the conviction to the California Bar Association (which is a matter of course when attorneys are convicted of a crime).
We reached out to Fink for comment yesterday morning after receiving the document, but have received no response.
Tustin Mayor Austin Lumbard had this to say about Fink’s unhinged behavior and resulting battery conviction:
“Our elected officials should be held to the highest standards of professional and personal conduct. It harms the communities they represent when officials fail to adhere to those standards. Tustin stands for civility and compassion and we reject any behavior that falls short of those ideals including acts of violence, bullying, or intimidation.”
Once law enforcement began investigating the incident, it is clear to anyone who views the disturbing video that the battery case against Fink was open-and-shut.
In the two minute video, an elderly male docent approaches Fink’s wife and politely asks that she not let her daughter, a toddler, play with some unseen and apparently breakable items.
“Don’t let her please play with these things,” says the docent. “I mean she already broke the coral.”
The docent expressed understanding about trying to control a toddler, and told her the tour “really appreciates it.”
By this time, Fink had walked over and immediately became confrontational with the elderly man, denying his daughter had broken anything.
When the docent requested that Fink leave, the council candidate came unglued.
“She didn’t touch anything. She didn’t break anything. We don’t have a problem unless you want to make a problem,” Fink told the docent, his volume rising as he jabbed the air with his fingers.
“Do you want to make a problem? I don’t think that you do,” an angry Fink said as he quickly closed the distance with the docent, until their faces were millimeters 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 shouted as he got in the docent’s face.
“We have a problem,” the docent replied calmly and quietly.
At that point, Fink really erupted, yelling “Then you’d better get the fuck away from me, you little piece of shit!” as he physically shoved the elderly man back.
“You stop fucking around with my daughter or you go down!” yelled an enraged Fink, physically pushing against the docent, exhibiting behavior that could be viewed as assault and battery. “That’s the way it goes!”
At that point, the elderly owners of the house had hurried over.
“This is my house and I’d like you to leave!” said the wife, telling Fink, “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 continued.
Another woman chimed in, “She slammed it on the coffee table. I was right there. You weren’t even watching her.”
“Who does he think he is?” the woman exclaimed as Fink left – apparently unaware “he” was a candidate to represent her on the city council.
Well – now he’s a Tustin councilman.
Fink is active in Democrat politics, and has recently been spearheading Democratic Party lawfare against members of the Orange County Board of Education, who are conservative and supportive of parental rights and charter schools.
The response Democratic quarters to Fink’s battery against the elderly man was a wall of silence. Not a single Democratic official or organization mentioned it, let alone directed any criticism or condemnation of Fink’s unprovoked act of physical violence against a senior citizens. The candidate didn’t lose a single endorsement.
Some observers have made light of the matter, as if nothing very serious occurred that would raise doubts about Fink’s fitness for office. In reality, it could have been much worse if Fink’s shoving had caused the docent to fall backwards and hit his head on the concrete patio deck.
In November 2023, 69-year-old Paul Kessler, while demonstrating his support for Israel, was assaulted by a pro-Palestinian protestor. Kessler fell over and hit his head on the asphalt. Kessler died the next day, as a result.
Outside of that quasi-apology and the guilty plea, Fink has not publicly addressed the matter.
