The Sacking of Mission Viejo
Staff editorial

The city staff claims to be working on a disaster preparedness plan, which has become somewhat of a joke. It’s no joke, however, that the imminent threat to the city might not be from Mother Nature. Residents should be concerned about Mission Viejo being sacked by the Orange County Republican Party in the November election.

A Mission Viejo Democrat observed that city residents are accustomed to the good ol’ boys trying to gain influence. He said, “For a long time, the Orange County Republican Party was fairly organized and effective. They did their homework and supported the best local candidates.”

The county party changed with the departure of county chair Tom Fuentes in 2004. What emerged was far worse – for Democrats and Republicans as well – when a group of lobbyists took over. If the lobbyists couldn’t back winners, they could buy seats. They already control the Orange County Sheriff and the District Attorney. A candidate running for a supervisorial seat is making people uneasy by having the county power club’s blessing. The time has passed when having a long string of endorsements is a good thing.

Two weeks ago, the Orange County Republican Central Committee endorsed Mission Viejo council candidate Justin McCusker. McCusker’s campaign would be laughable if he didn’t have the Orange County lobbyists backing him. McCusker, who attended only one city council meeting and stayed for about 10 minutes, has otherwise been invisible in the community. McCusker won the endorsement over other Mission Viejo challengers who are clearly superior, self-funded and well-known. County hacks said McCusker’s record of participating in several Republican campaigns around the state made him the best candidate for the Mission Viejo council, and they unanimously recommended endorsing him. The endorsement process was as transparent as it was rigged. Those on the lobbyists’ payrolls aren’t even subtle about their motives and methods – they don’t have to be. It’s business as usual.

The county lobbyists are supporters of Mission Viejo Councilman Frank Ury, who has become so unpopular on the city council he can’t get anyone to second his motions. Ury, who won a seat in 2004 with large campaign contributions coming from San Diego County, has been unable to repay the special interest donors with his lone effort. The pressure is on to get Ury’s “boy” elected in November.

One factor making Mission Viejo so vulnerable is the disharmony on the council and a lack of collective will to accomplish anything positive for the residents. As a result, some residents think the reelection of Council Members Trish Kelley and Lance MacLean would be the worst thing that could happen. A far worse result would be Justin McCusker getting into office along with Diane Greenwood – another Ury enabler – which would form a new majority with Ury in charge.

Orange resident and lobbyist John Lewis, who is Ury’s buddy and political consultant, raised cash in 2002 to help Trish Kelley and Lance MacLean win seats on the council. They apparently had no taste for Lewis and didn’t shower his clients with city contracts. Lewis now is helping two more unfit candidates, McCusker and Greenwood. The threat of a lobbyist taking over Mission Viejo should give residents strong motivation to vote in November.

With Mission Viejo being the largest South County city, one insider observed that the smaller cities would fall like dominos. “It’s about power and money,” he said. “They don’t care what happens to the residents.”