Delusions End Abruptly
Staff editorial

Several candidates who ran for council seats in November wrapped up their campaigns by thanking those who helped them. Some sent letters of gratitude to supporters. Incumbent council members Trish Kelley and Lance MacLean threw a party for themselves – a bad one, according to those who attended and hadn’t voted for either of them. One such attendee said, “Despite being a free party, it was so bad we left early.”

One unsuccessful candidate took the high road by sending notes to his campaign workers, saying he thought everyone had done all they could. This is in sharp contrast to the reaction of another unsuccessful candidate, Diane Greenwood. A month after the election, the ragging continues following her unraveled attempt to grab a council seat.

Before Election Night was over, someone in Greenwood’s camp sent an email to supporters of other candidates – “Hello, you lost!” The childish tactics continued with Greenwood’s supporters sending letters to the editor blaming everyone else for their candidate’s failure to attract votes. With the final tally, MacLean had 94 more votes than Greenwood, ending her threat to unseat him. The relative quiet following the election shouldn’t be mistaken as peace. The Greenwood gang that behaved so badly during the campaign is likely reloading instead of folding

As mentioned on last week’s blog, another casualty of the city election came in the form of four council members’ decision to deny Councilman Frank Ury a turn at being mayor. In a conversation immediately following the Nov. 7 election, Ury revealed to two political players that he suspected he would be bypassed after his failed attempt to get rid of the three incumbents. Another council member who may have felt bypassed was Trish Kelley, whose close friends incorrectly announced prior to the Dec. 4 council meeting she would become the next vice mayor.

Other monumental egos toppled as votes were counted on Nov. 7. Unsuccessful candidate Bill Barker was barking loudly during his campaign that he was about to become “one of the most powerful people in Mission Viejo.” Confident he would win, Barker claimed he would also become the next vice mayor. Residents who have spoken with Barker following the election said he’s so distraught over his loss he's talking about moving.

Justin McCusker disappeared after Nov. 7. As one of the most amazing campaign statements, he billed himself as “the most qualified candidate running for city council.” If McCusker has the good fortune of selling his house, which has been on the market for months, maybe he could become the most qualified person running for city council elsewhere. Perhaps McCusker and Barker could team up again and dazzle another community.

Comment on affordable housing issue

Elizabeth Yaeger's idea [letter to the blog published last week] to solve the low-rent housing problem is the best one I have heard yet. When the city approves a zoning change, it is a gift to the property owner. When the city permits a board-and-care facility to be placed in Mission Viejo, it is a gift to the homeowner. The profits in these places are huge. A bed rents from $3,500 to $4,000 per month, TIMES FOUR residents, equals $14,000 to $16,000 per month with costs somewhere in the $8,000-per-month range. These "gifts" need to be repaid to our city.

Carl Schulthess

The Buzz column, December 15

Former Mayor Lance MacLean was quoted in the Dec. 15 Saddleback Valley News: “I want residents to trust me to listen to their thoughts and issues.” Isn’t it a little late for that? MacLean announced from the dais shortly after his first win in 2002 that he would use his own ideas despite what residents tell him. He did admit in the recent SVN story that the recent election was a wakeup call for him. Mission Viejo has 59,563 voters, and only 8,574 of them voted for MacLean.

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Councilwoman Gail Reavis, who became mayor on Dec. 4, was also quoted in the Dec. 15 SVN. Among her puzzling remarks, she mentioned revisiting the issue of burying power lines. If voters agreed on undergrounding the lines, Diane Greenwood could have been elected on Nov. 7 as a one-issue candidate who wants to bury the lines. Anyone who would like to discuss the issue in a responsible manner should first identify the source of funding – up to $100 million – to bury the lines. To pretend Santa Claus or the power-line fairy will pay for it is ludicrous. Homeowners in north Mission Viejo were asked in 2004 if they’d like to pay for the project as a special assessment district, and they said no. The California Public Utilities Commission also decided in 2004 that ratepayers don’t have to foot the bill. What’s left – having the city pay for it? Put it on the ballot.

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As a legal matter, ballot measures require specific statements of cost and who will pay. Power lines not only run across north Mission Viejo, a second string cuts across the south part of town and a third runs through Aegean Hills. If Mission Viejo has representative government, let the people decide. If the cost and who will pay are publicized, the issue would abruptly end. That’s precisely what happened in 2004 when north Mission Viejo homeowners rejected the special assessment district with 84 percent against and 16 percent in favor.

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The Winter 2006/2007 issue of the city newsletter, “City Outlook,” contained yet another puff-piece update on the Mission Viejo Community Foundation. The organization held a golf-outing fundraiser on Sept. 11 but failed to disclose financial information beyond “$54,000 in gross revenues.” With two months to figure it out, someone should have had time to subtract expenses from $54,000 to report the difference. As an ongoing problem, the foundation counts as revenue any in-kind donation of goods and services, as well as city grants, thus far approximately $400,000 in taxpayer dollars. If the foundation is unable to cover operational expenses including its overpaid executive director, the city must stop subsidizing this organization.

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The “Outlook” also contained an article about coyotes. Ironically, “Living with Coyotes” appears alongside “Share Our Love of Animals.” Are residents aware coyotes are being shot in Mission Viejo? Meanwhile, the rabbit population is thriving in some neighborhoods. With the balance of nature upset by the selective elimination of natural predators, is anyone surprised at the abundance of rabbits? Rather than involving homeowner associations and city government to control the rabbit population, why not let the coyotes handle it?

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Missing from news coverage is the number of drug houses thriving in Mission Viejo. Numerous residents have reported information to the blog – dealing, marijuana farms, traffic in otherwise quiet neighborhoods and greenhouses in yards and attics. Except for the large operation discovered adjacent to Stoneridge Homeowners Association near Olympiad and Alicia, no one is minding the farm, so to speak.