The Buzz Column, March 28

A new program covering the corruption in Capistrano Unified School District’s administration will air at 6 p.m., Wed., April 5, on public access television, Channel 31. Another topic will be aired at 6 p.m. the following Wed., April 12., with focus on the new high school being built next to a dump in San Juan Capistrano. The programs are produced by Full Disclosure Network.

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Riddle: When is the number seven unlucky? Answer: when you have seven Capo U.S.D. trustees endorsing your political campaign. Councilwoman Trish Kelley apparently gathered and then tossed the trustees’ endorsements for her reelection campaign. Perhaps Kelley decided she can’t afford to have the names of embattled trustees listed as her supporters.

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The race for city council has begun. With several candidates filing their Form 501 eight months in advance, will the race become a stampede? Jim Woodin was followed by Kelley two weeks ago, and Diane Greenwood has emerged from Frank Ury’s pod as a candidate. Observers see Greenwood as Ury’s prot‚g‚. If Ury is to pay back one of his campaign donors, Astrum – a utility company giving him big bucks – he’ll at least need a second on the council to bring another utility company into the city.

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What did Ury mean when he campaigned in 2004 to “bring the city to the next level”? The exchange of email gunfire continued a week after his appearance at the Mar. 16 Saddleback Republican Assembly meeting. His attack of council members and others who weren’t there caused quite a reaction. “The next level” apparently meant elevated hostility to the point this council can’t work together.

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Will affordable housing be an election issue this fall? Representatives of the California Department of Housing and Community Development recently visited City Hall. It’s quite interesting they met first with city staff members and second with council representatives. Who’s in charge of city decisions? With the current council majority, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the state has a foot in the door.

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Residents who are concerned about the condition of school facilities should plan to attend the April 3 council meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall. An item is on the agenda to get Capo U.S.D. to spend more money on its schools in Mission Viejo. Mission Viejo has become a “donor” city, giving far more than it receives from the district.

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With approximately 200 days until the Nov. 7 election, the city’s character word program could end abruptly if Kelley isn’t reelected. A City Hall insider said, “That program sucks up an incredible amount of time. Employees are making posters and having meetings about words.” Meanwhile, unresolved city issues continue: declining infrastructure, traffic issues, unpaid retirement liabilities, lack of leadership over housing and the destruction of commercial zones in favor of backroom deals for developers.