Send Out the Clowns, Part Two
Staff editorial

This week’s Pants on Fire Award goes to Councilwoman Trish Kelley.

For openers, Kelley continues to perpetuate a myth by falsely elevating affordable housing goals to mandates. At a recent council meeting, she invoked the city’s smoke-shoveling lawyer to join her in the mosh pit. Together, they portrayed Mission Viejo residents taking cold showers because the evil empire (state of California) would prevent the installation of new water heaters. These outrageous proclamations grew from nonexistent threats regarding the city’s noncompliance with state housing guidelines.

Kelley attempts to start an epidemic of fear by yelling “movie” in a crowded firehouse. She is among the inept and agenda-driven council members who pretend their irrational decisions protect the city and its residents.

As another tall tale, Kelley is saying a committee has formed to prevent her reelection in November. What committee would that be – the city’s 60,000 voters? This sounds like the beginning of Kelley’s Victim Tour. Throughout her tenure on the council, her primary mode of communication has been a whispering campaign, using hushed tones to speak ill of other council members. After orchestrating the nastiest campaign anyone had ever seen in 2004, perhaps Kelley is concerned about payback. For one reason or another, Chicken Little’s sky is always falling.

Kelley’s attempt during the March 7 council meeting to explain her proposal for senior transportation was laughable. After 3 1/2 years in office, she’s now trying to make good on her promise of rides for seniors. As the sad truth, most seniors won’t live long enough to get a ride. Kelley, together with Ury, led the council (4-1, Reavis dissenting) in spending $20,000 to study the problem. Kelley and Ury initially misrepresented the expenditure by indicating a “pilot program” of rides for seniors is imminent. Kelley has wasted 3 1/2 years waging personal battles and talking about character words instead of meeting residents’ needs.

Writers miss the point
Letter to the editor

The first two letters in last week’s Saddleback Valley News are amusing. John Laguna ("Low-income housing the right thing to do,” Letters, March 10) complains that anyone who doesn't want more low-income housing built in our small city is a bigot. The fact that we all bought homes in a master-planned community expecting that plan to be observed does not impress him. I would suggest that he volunteer his own street for the next project. The Steadfast project is in an area already heavily impacted.

Then, Keith Arnold complains ("Recreation center sign a waste of money,” Letters, March 10) that no one uses the remodeled Sierra rec center. I agree with him about the sign but, when the project was finished, I signed up for a family membership and my daughter found the exercise room too crowded at the times she wants to use it. Maybe Mr. Arnold is exaggerating slightly. Too bad about his park, but the rec center was there when he bought his house.

Michael Kennedy, M.D.
Mission Viejo

Take care of city healthcare retirement
Letter to the editor

On March 6, our city council voted to defer the city’s healthcare defined benefit payments for 15 years and to pay slightly more than $300,000 this year. The city’s liability approximated $3,800,000. The weak argument was used that this is what other cities have done and, therefore, it is fine for Mission Viejo.

Can you imagine paying your household mortgage on the current market value rather than on the acquisition cost? With health costs going up at 10 percent to 15 percent in some years, this liability plus the annual accrual payments actuarially will far exceed the city’s ability to liquidate the debt. Our council mortgaged our future without significant payment, leaving future generations with massive costs. All this has happened because our council has refused to make the painful choices this year.

Our city needs an amended plan to defined contribution requiring a two-tier system of old and new employees with an eligibility cap at Medicare, currently age 65.

Any investment returns when averaged will never exceed healthcare costs over the life of this deferral. How much have your healthcare costs gone up in the past 15 years? This decision was the worst possible choice for our taxpayers.

James Edward Woodin
Mission Viejo

CUSD Leadership Under Investigation
By Michael Winsten

An investigation into allegations of illegal activities at the Capistrano Unified School District has begun. The Orange County District Attorney’s office is leading the investigation.

This past summer, residents throughout south Orange County sought to recall the entire school board based on allegations of corruption and gross fiscal mismanagement. More than 177,000 petition signatures seeking to remove the trustees from office were delivered to the Orange County Registrar of Voters.

Susan Schroeder, spokesperson for the D.A.’s office confirmed the D.A. has assigned a deputy D.A. to the case. Schroeder added, “We are reviewing the evidence and witness statements.

CUSD is led by Supt. James A. Fleming, as well as seven elected trustees (John Casabianca, Marlene Draper, Crystal Kochendorfer, Sheila Benecke, Sheila Henness, Duane Stiff and Mike Darnold).

On Dec. 22, 2005, the Registrar announced it would not certify the recall, claiming that not enough valid signatures from registered voters had been turned in. Recall leaders are now questioning that decision.

Thomas Russell, spokesman for the CUSD Recall Committee, the organization that led the unprecedented recall campaign, was gratified and hopeful. He said, “We hope that commencement of the D.A.’s investigation brings us one step closer to restoring honesty, integrity and accountability into our public school system.”

Russell continued, “The recall campaign uncovered compelling evidence of corruption at CUSD. As a result, many citizens called upon law enforcement authorities to commence a full and complete investigation. We believe those CUSD officials who have misled our community and violated the law must be removed from office, held accountable and brought to justice.”

As of this date, the D.A. has not publicly announced details of the specific illegal activities under investigation.

Council Should Reflect Community
Letter to the editor

The November election is on the horizon, and I hope we will have good city council candidates to choose from. An election should be more than throwing out incumbents who have failed to solve any of the city's problems.

Mission Viejo is a dynamic city with intelligent, hardworking residents. I see so much potential in the community – wonderful leaders who have built businesses and done great things. How is it that we end up with a council that doesn't reflect the positive attributes of the city?

It's time to elect people from the community who truly represent the residents rather than those who have connections to every politician in the county.

Milt Jacobson
Mission Viejo

Reader reaction

I enjoy reading the Buzz and some of the comments made jokingly about our city council members. I've attended some of the council meetings and strongly feel it's time to clean out some of the members from the council.

We, the people, need someone who is honest and on the people’s side rather than council members who will allow things to be approved even though it would affect all of us in a bad way. I moved to this city because it was a safe place to live and not crowded like it is today. Prices of homes are high, and I would like to keep it that way and keep it a safe place to live.

I feel our council members need to open their eyes and see what is really going on in our city.

Bonnie Carnahan
Mission Viejo

The Buzz column, March 14

Earlier this week, a pricey electronic sign appeared on Crown Valley Parkway to flash announcements of delays because of road improvements. Is this part of the $100,000 contract for public education? The sign blocks a lane of traffic and distracts motorists as they speed at a reckless 15 MPH if traffic isn’t completely gridlocked. Thanks to the sign, everyone stopped in traffic is now aware a delay is in progress.

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Some European cars don’t have cup holders because the engineers in Europe design for 120-plus MPH. They don’t believe it’s safe to drink coffee and drive. But that’s not the case in Mission Viejo. Residents here need a special category of cars built just for Mission Viejo. Thanks to the mismanagement of city traffic issues, the residents can drink and drive safely, and they need cup holders, cell phones, laptops, and DVDs playing on the windshields.

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A resident is informally polling 100-200 people a week about city politics. He says Mission Viejo residents don’t like the city council. This informal poll isn’t funded by the city (e.g., Roger Faubel’s $100,000 contract for “education” regarding street-widening), nor is it based on phone interviews (the $20,200 contract given to True North Research to poll 400 residents on city issues). Other findings of the informal poll: new recreation facilities (basketball gym, sports center) have a low priority, and fixing infrastructure (repairing slopes, maintaining streets) has a high priority. The results shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone except council members.

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Councilman Frank Ury, who may have been a conservative Republican a long time ago, is now defending his far-left liberal Planning Commissioner, Chandra Krout, a Democrat. Krout changed her party affiliation immediately prior to the appointment, likely upon Ury’s urging. She first switched to American Independent, a far-right group. She next changed to “decline to state.” Ury explained, “Chandra isn’t a Democrat, she’s a decline to state.” When does the “decline to state” party hold its national convention?

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Ury’s ranting appeared in a county blog last week. Here’s a sample: “When people try to take, by legal force, money from the taxpayers of Mission Viejo, I get ticked.” He apparently prefers bilking taxpayers the old-fashioned way. One of Ury’s first acts as a councilman was to try to slip a taxpayer-funded park onto his homeowner association’s property, and that’s illegal. Ury accepted thousands of “campaign dollars” from developers who asked for the zone changes he recently approved on east Los Alisos and Steadfast’s parcel next to Unisys. Mission Viejo taxpayers are the ones who should be ticked.

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A taxpayer-funded brochure is being distributed by Capo USD, “Just the Facts … Excellence in Education.” Excellence evidently doesn’t include spelling. The mission statement talks about “memebers,” and another line says “because os lost teaching days.” This thinly disguised campaign piece for the trustees puts their names first. The Orange Co. Register recently quoted a CUSD spokesman who said the recall effort was promoted by NIMBYs. Either he doesn’t know what a NIMBY is, or it’s one helluva big back yard.

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In a TV interview last week on KOCE, CUSD Trustee Marlene Draper claimed the district is “saving” $500,000 in rent by building an administration center that will likely cost more than $50 million. In the mathematically challenged Flemingdom, spending a couple million a year on interest will evidently be offset by “saving” the half million they’re currently paying for rent. Draper said the “saved money” will be spent in the classrooms. This should help explain why children are attending class in portables and teachers are buying supplies.