February. 19, 2007 Council Meeting
Staff editorial

The number of speakers making comments from the public microphone at the beginning of meetings has dropped off since the November election. City activists of years ago don’t often attend meetings, and residents who speak frequently usually wage personal attacks or complain without offering solutions.

Several items from the Feb. 19 agenda are noteworthy. The council voted 5-0 in favor of an ordinance to stop loitering, aimed specifically at day laborers trespassing on private property along Los Alisos Blvd. The item was initiated by Lake Forest residents who approached the Mission Viejo council after succeeding with a similar ordinance in their own city. As an aside, the Lake Forest council also is dealing with boardinghouse limits, and the Mission Viejo council should continue to follow Lake Forest’s lead instead of saying nothing can be done about it.

The council unanimously approved spending $14,750 on a workshop to be conducted by the Urban Land Institute regarding recommendations for the Mission Viejo Village Center. Several business owners voiced opposition to the city’s interference. A blog staff member later asked a city hall insider what precipitated the proposal, since the center is fully occupied and no owner requested the city’s opinion on how to conduct business. No one answered why ULI is involving itself in private enterprise in Mission Viejo. This appears to be a revival of the “vision” of an old council regime that was voted out of office in 2002. The blog notes this type of direction frequently comes from city staff members who aren’t responsible to voters. This retail center has already been the focus of city effort, a road-widening project that took so long to complete some shops closed due to the disruption of their business. Although a city staffer indicated the project is merely “seeking advice on what could be out there,” at least two business owners referred to the proposal as threatening their livelihood.

The council directed staff to look for additional uses of the Potocki Center despite having two interested parties, one of which offered to submit a proposal. This action appeared to follow a yoga-wellness organization’s interest in leasing the center. The spokeswoman for the yoga organization made public comments on Feb. 19 when the item was called. She said her organization would be willing to share the space with those currently teaching art classes at the center. A staff member added that another individual is asking the city to turn the Potocki Center into an art center. Two council members indicated the facility’s function is use and enjoyment by the community, not as a profit center for the city.

The council unanimously approved a variance to allow shooting of rabbits in Casta del Sol, which would permit the homeowners association to contract with a pest-control service. The subject was previously discussed in 2005 when the council allowed the variance. According to a Casta del Sol resident who watched the Feb. 19 meeting, the process was halted two years ago when the California Department of Fish and Game prohibited any such shooting. The resident said the council cannot override the state with a variance. This aspect wasn’t discussed at the Feb. 19 meeting.

Orange County’s Power Club
Staff editorial

The race for Orange County’s first district seat might seem remote to Mission Viejo politics. Two relative newcomers, Trung Nguyen and Janet Nguyen (both Garden Grove Republicans), await results of a recount to determine which of them will be seated. The Feb. 6 special election disappointed the county Democrat and Republican good ol’ boys, whose favorite candidates, Tom Umberg and Carlos Bustamante, placed third and fourth, respectively.

Trung Nguyen is the prot‚g‚ of Assemblyman Van Tran, and Janet Nguyen appeared to lack big-name backers. Reports about those lining up behind Trung and Janet during the recount are bringing familiar names to the forefront. Trung’s supporters include some well-known county Republicans. Those lining up behind Janet include associates of the Orange County lobbyist who tried to buy three seats in Mission Viejo’s 2006 council election. The lobbyist’s meddling in Mission Viejo politics includes financial involvement in the city’s 2002, 2004 and 2006 campaigns.

Perhaps the lobbyist was hedging his bets by supporting both Carlos Bustamante and Janet Nguyen. The lobbyist’s friend – a Newport Beach attorney – follows two steps behind him and makes a timely appearance whenever political hay is at stake. The Newport Beach attorney is now representing Janet in the recount. Some people might call it coincidental, but the same attorney connected to the same lobbyist represented Pat Bates in her lawsuits and appeals when she was battling Cassie DeYoung to become supervisor of the county’s fifth district. To others, all of the above are examples of the lobbyist trying to gain influence in every corner of the county.

The Buzz column, Feb. 23

What if Councilman Frank Ury threw a party and no one came. Wait – that was last summer when he was supposed to organize Republicans to walk precincts in Mission Viejo. Mission Viejo didn’t have a Republican Get Out The Vote campaign for the November election after Ury volunteered to be the city chairman. Almost everyone knows it was a washout except the bigwigs at the county level. They sent personalized thank-you notes to Mission Viejo residents who didn’t participate.

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Ury recently threw another party – his annual birthday fund-raiser – and almost no one came. A few of his political friends from other cities were probably comped instead of having to pay $200 to attend, but why wasn’t his Mission Viejo fan club at the party? As a show of his true feelings about Mission Viejo, he chose a restaurant in another city for his event. As a show of his true feelings about those worked hardest to get him elected, he apparently didn’t comp them. More likely, they weren’t even invited.

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When a blogger asked why Ury is having a fund-raiser, a city hall insider offered an opinion. “He was running money through his campaign treasury to support losing candidates Diane Greenwood, Bill Barker and Justin McCusker in the 2006 city election. When potential donors – city vendors – objected to supporting his candidates, Frank asked them to write a check to his campaign.” Trying to fund Greenwood, Barker and McCusker may have lowered Ury’s campaign balance, despite all the cash streaming in from out of town.

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Anyone attending an event where Councilwoman Trish Kelley is present should expect to be approached. Ms. Kelley cannot get enough attention by having her presence announced from the microphone, so she interrupts every conversation in the room, forcing each person to acknowledge her. She’s become the Blanche DuBois of Mission Viejo, depending on the kindness of strangers not telling her to knock it off. Of Mission Viejo’s 60,000 registered voters, approximately 48,000 didn’t vote for Ms. Kelley in the last election, which she apparently doesn’t comprehend.

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Results of the 2006 city election should be compared with other recent elections. In 2000, winners received at least 14,355 votes. In 2002, winners received at least 15,114 votes, and in 2004, winners received at least 14,441.The incumbents’ totals in 2006 (Kelley 12,191, Ledesma 10,763, MacLean
8,574) were nothing to brag about. In 2004, unsuccessful challenger Brad Morton surpassed Kelley’s 2006 total when he received 12,299 votes. What if he had run again in 2006? Morton distinguished himself throughout 2005-2006 with exemplary service on the planning commission, where he opposed slumlord developers, cell towers in neighborhood parks and destruction of commercial zones. Meanwhile, Kelley is b-a-a-a-a-a-ck, already in full campaign mode with her next reelection bid only 1,300 or so days away.