The Buzz column, August 1

In the last two council elections, 2002 and 2004, a newcomer got the most votes. With 12 potential candidates in this year’s council race and 90 days until the election, no one is predicting who will get the most votes. However, everyone polled agrees which candidate will be at the bottom: 20-something Brian Skalsky, referred to as “a nice young socialist” by a political pundit.

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After months of frustration, parents who organized the recall of Capo trustees have renewed hope for restoring integrity at CUSD. The first break came in June when former CUSD employee David Smollar started giving evidence of CUSD’s wrongdoing to newspapers. Supt. James Fleming resigned under pressure. Although the Grand Jury and District Attorney didn’t act on claims from the parents against Fleming and the trustees, Smollar’s evidence has been lethal. Insiders say there’s more to come. Some newspapers reported the parents aren’t pursuing an appeal regarding the lawsuit against the Registrar of Voters for botching the recall effort – that’s incorrect.

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The CUSD board meeting on July 29 – perhaps Fleming’s last – was akin to Jim Jones Kool-Aid Sunday. Several administrators and other district shills made fawning comments about Fleming. How long will the facade continue? Others who attended the meeting said the trustees, once arrogant and rude to anyone who disagreed with them, have at least changed their attitude. Even Marlene Draper, school board president, is being polite when cutting off critics at the public microphone after three minutes.

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The unanimous Aug. 1 decision by the Board of Supervisors to investigate Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley reversed its previous stance of looking the other way. The board approved an independent probe of Kelley’s actions, which included allowing CUSD administrators illegal access to petition signatures and falsely claiming the recall would cost the district $600,000. A speaker on Aug. 1 said from the public microphone, “I have read about a third mistake made by Mr. Kelley – that he provided updates to CUSD as to the validity of signatures on the petitions during the certification process. That's three BIG mistakes on one issue. Mr. Kelley's job is to KNOW the rules before they are broken.” Additionally, Kelley provided faulty voter registration data to those trying to confirm valid signatures, and his office repeatedly provided faulty information about signature gathering.

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Making a difference in the Board of Supervisors’ Aug. 1 decision to investigate Kelley were two remarkable Mission Viejo women who have pushed for better school facilities. Their public comments during the Aug. 1 meeting likely brought about the 5-0 decision to investigate the RoV. Through research and persuasion, they initiated the council’s audit of tax dollars collected in Mission Viejo by CUSD, and they influenced the council as well as the supervisors to do the right things. These women are a new breed of PTA moms – smart, organized and effective – real leaders who make compelling arguments for integrity.

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Councilman Frank Ury waged a new attack against fellow council members and fellow Republicans John Paul Ledesma, Trish Kelley and Lance MacLean, who are up for reelection in November. Ury went to the Orange County Republican Central Committee and succeeded in preventing all three from getting an automatic endorsement. Ury wrote complaints against them and got a member of the committee to challenge the endorsement. The incumbents then had to interview on July 31 with a subcommittee, which recommended their endorsement. The entire committee will vote Aug. 21, likely following the subcommittee’s recommendation to endorse all three.

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Trish Kelley has 90 days to make good on her 2002 campaign plank of rides for seniors before the November election. Has senior transportation gone completely off track? Flipping on nearly every statement in her campaign platform, Kelley’s fallback tactic is to act nice. Following 3 1/2 years of sniping and attacking those who had the nerve to disagree with her, Ms. Kelley is offering sappy remarks and handshakes to compensate for her failures as a council member.

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While Ury has complained publicly about his council peers not getting along and “acting like two-year-olds,” no one has launched more vicious attacks against other council members than he has. Trish Kelley, following her nasty campaign to unseat Gail Reavis two years ago, is now on the receiving end. Kelley, who has publicly said she’ll do nothing negative in this campaign is, of course, maligning Ury behind his back. The best way to bring civility to the council is to dump both Kelley and MacLean in November and remove Ury when he’s up for reelection in 2008.