In Chinese astrology, the Year of the Dog begins Jan. 29, 2006. Before concluding that 2006 will be a “dog,” one should consider the dog’s attributes of loyalty and faithfulness – a good astrological sign by comparison.

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Meanwhile, this is still the Year of the Rooster: Lance MacLean ran his first meeting as mayor on Jan. 3, but Frank Ury put an item on the agenda about 2006 council goals, appearing to upstage MacLean. Ury’s item had a strange beginning with a PowerPoint presentation and an even stranger ending, when he proposed a “regional sports complex” for Mission Viejo. Some observers estimated the cost could run around $100 million. (Or, factoring in the city’s tendency to run over budget, $200 million.) What’s the source of Ury’s grand idea? One should remember his campaign contributors from San Diego County – The Friends of John Lewis – and connect the dots. Keep Ury’s words in mind: he knows “people who can put that type of project together.” Should one expect that all of Ury’s out-of-town contributors will eventually form a conga line through council chambers?

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Closed-session meetings should be just that – without information leaking to friends, confidants and the media. On Wed., Dec. 28, Maria Hsin of the Or. Co. Register wrote a story about the council’s ongoing search for a city attorney, which is closed-session business. Hsin reported the field had narrowed from 12 to six firms, and the council had likely completed the first round of interviews on Dec. 28. Who leaked the closed-session information? The possibilities include those in the meeting – council members, city staffers and the attorneys being interviewed. The attorneys are the least likely source, since they’d have to call each other to determine who had been eliminated and then report their findings to Maria Hsin.

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MacLean ended his first meeting as mayor approximately two hours earlier than the average meeting run by Trish Kelley. MacLean managed to refrain from commenting after everyone else’s comment. He also refrained from constantly asking questions of the city attorney and city manager, which eliminated a couple hours of meaningless chatter. Best of all, he remembered whose turn it was to speak and such other details as asking the council to vote on agenda items.

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Approximately one year ago, the council majority of Kelley, MacLean and Ury voted against Bo Klein and Dorothy Wedel being reappointed to the Planning Commission. The same majority ended the planning commission careers of Norman Murray and Jack Anderson by voting against extending their terms. Dr. Michael Kennedy had resigned from the commission months earlier. Thus, the best and most knowledgeable planning commission in the history of the city abruptly ended. Kelley, MacLean and Ury proceeded to put inexperienced residents on the commission. Except for Brad Morton (appointed by Reavis), the new commissioners stumbled through meetings. Ury’s appointee gave PowerPoint presentations about her favorite topic, “green buildings,” instead of taking care of business. The topic of green buildings was not one of the goals or directives from the council. Ury’s own appointee hijacked the meeting time for a completely symbolic, feel-good measure with no impact on a built-out city.

At the Jan. 3 council meeting, Ury commented that the Planning Commission had become incapable of accomplishing goals. He complained that the meetings “go on for hours” until 11 and 12 at night. Is the council majority not reaping what it sowed? Unfortunately, the city is also reaping what the council majority sowed.