The Buzz column, Dec. 9

If observers blinked during the Dec. 4 council meeting, they could have missed the selection of a mayor and vice mayor for 2007. One person said, “It took about 45 seconds and looked like a setup.” Rather than having voters elect a mayor, the title rotates among council members. For 2007, Councilman Frank Ury was due for a turn, as he hasn’t yet had the title. However, it was up to four other council members to give him a turn, and he’s spent two years insulting each of them. Gail Reavis will be the mayor and John Paul Ledesma will be vice-mayor for 2007, and both decisions were unanimous.

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Ury might want to review the videotape from January 2005 when the council voted on planning commission appointments. When Ledesma nominated Bo Klein as his planning commission appointee, Kelley, MacLean and Ury in unison said no and refused to discuss the matter. When Reavis nominated Dorothy Wedel as her planning commission appointee, Kelley, MacLean and Ury in unison said no. What goes around comes around, and perhaps Ury would now like to discuss whether or not his votes of two years ago were prearranged. Some residents have long suspected three-way conversations or sequential meetings took place in 2005 among Kelley, MacLean and Ury in violation of the Brown Act.

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Rumors circulated during the past several months that Ury would bypassed for mayor. Friends of Trish Kelley seemed to be among the first to know he wouldn’t have three votes on the council. This is similar to “friends of Kelley” knowing two years ago that Bo Klein had three votes against him for planning commissioner. If Kelley hadn’t illegally talked two years ago with both Ury and MacLean, she might have made the remark, “I’m not going to nominate Bo as my commissioner.” The problem arose when Kelley said Klein would be removed, indicating she’d lined up two other votes. A city hall insider recently said, “Kelley is the most vindictive person on the council.” Considering Ury publicly opposed the reelection of Kelley, he had a snowball’s chance of getting her vote. Rumors correctly predicted three votes were in and Ury was out.

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The county Republican party might receive unfavorable publicity in the upcoming trial of George Jaramillo, who was once viewed as Sheriff Mike Carona’s heir apparent. A Dec. 9 OC Register article referred to the trial as promising “tales of political intrigue among the county’s most powerful GOP insiders.” Mission Viejo residents should watch for names of out-of-towners who have meddled in their city’s politics as well.

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The investigation of criminal wrongdoing continues regarding Capistrano Unified School District. A CUSD resident reports: “Former trustee John Casabianca and certain school district staff members already have been called to testify before the O.C. Grand Jury. Now, CUSD board president Marlene Draper has been called to testify before the O.C. Grand Jury as well. Apparently, the DA’s investigation of CUSD is still very much alive, and the Grand Jury is still working its way up the CUSD food chain.”