Votes for Sale
Staff editorial

Is the Orange County Republican Party imploding? The customary tug-of-war between factions has escalated to a range war unrelated to Republican ideology. Former OC Sheriff Mike Carona is under federal indictment, County Treasurer-Tax Collector Chriss Street is being investigated and Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley influenced the outcome of a recall effort, broke laws and then lied about what happened. Instead of supporting investigations, the party either stood by or circled the wagons to protect officials.

The county party boss, Scott Baugh, has turned off former Republican volunteers. As an example of his cronyism, he chose his buddy, Councilman Frank Ury, to chair Mission Viejo’s Republican effort. Ury should have been stripped of his party’s chairmanship for promoting a longtime Democrat in the 2006 city election. Traditional Mission Viejo Republican activities of voter registration and getting out the vote for elections have ceased. Ironically, former Republican Party volunteers continue receiving thank-you letters from Republican figureheads for doing nothing. Evidently, Mission Viejo’s chairman of lies put residents on a phony list, claiming they had participated.

This blog reported Ury’s lack of connection in Mission Viejo when he tried to organize a precinct walk in 2006 for a GOP candidate for county supervisor. Ury spread the word far and wide to recruit volunteers, advertising a BBQ dinner at his house following the walk. Only one person showed up to cover a city of nearly 100,000 residents (60,000 registered voters). The volunteer would have been busier than Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. The volunteer later said Ury was so angry he didn’t deliver on the free dinner – not even a hot dog for the lone volunteer.

Those reading the OC Register or LA Times can daily observe the infighting between county lobbyists and other power-hungry insiders who have clawed their way to the top of the party. Following Carona’s freefall, insiders predicted other county GOP bigwigs would be indicted. Instead of promoting Republican principles, party chiefs spend time dodging charges of corruption, lawbreaking, malfeasance and abuse of power. The Grand Old Party is becoming irrelevant while lobbyists slug it out for city contracts and rezoning favors for their special friends. Mission Viejo council members who sell their votes to county lobbyists have demonstrated how low they’ll go, selling their constituents down the river in exchange for a box of trinkets or a shiny rock.

The real Republicans of Orange County are becoming an endangered species. They’re walking away in disgust but not aligning with the Democrat Party, which is also losing registrants. The growing category is Decline To State. Orange County – the “most Republican county in the nation” – now has less than 50 percent Republicans.

City chairs deceive the county party (“Yeah, yeah. I’ve got it covered.”), and county chairs deceive the state party (“Our city chairs have it covered.”). In 2002, Republicans lost all statewide elections. In 2006, only one Republican won a statewide office – for insurance commissioner. In the past three general elections, Republicans have lost 20 of the 24 statewide elections. The lies and deception add up, the votes don’t.

This blog – which has contributors who are registered Republicans – certainly isn’t out to bash Republican ideology. Lobbyists and their enablers at the top of the county heap are calling themselves Republicans at great expense to the Republican Party.

Some Mission Viejo residents have asked this blog about a magazine, Red County, which is designed to look like an official Republican publication. The magazine is the product of one of the county lobbyists, but it occasionally has an article written by a credible Republican spokesman. In each election, however, readers will see which candidates are being promoted by the lobbyist. When looking at Red County Magazine, readers will see which candidates are under the thumb of the lobbyist and willing to sell their votes.

Fundraiser Party Will Benefit Arts

A fundraising event to benefit Fun With Chalk / The Children’s Creative Festival will be held Sat., Feb. 9, from 7 to 11 p.m. With a theme of “Hearts and Flowers,” Joyce and Al Hicks will host “Fun With Chips” at their lakefront home in Mission Viejo. The party will mark its fourth year as an annual benefit.

Enjoy delicious hors d’oeuvres, desserts and a choice of beverage. Cover charge of $40 per person or $45 per person after February 4, also includes a starter pack of casino chips for blackjack, craps and the opportunity to win prizes. Other entertainment includes music, an auction and door prizes.

For more information, please call (877) 932-4255. Those wanting to attend should make reservations by February 4..

CUSD Update, January 25
Editorial staff

The deadline to sign the petition to recall two Capo school district trustees is Jan. 29. Proponents will need 20,493 valid signatures per trustee to put the recall election before the voters. Staffers on this blog have supported both recall efforts – the failed one in 2005 to recall all seven trustees and the current one to recall two Fleming-era trustees.

Targets of the current recall are Trustees Marlene Draper and Sheila Benecke. Proponents say the recall will succeed this time, with some saying they have as many as 30,000 signatures per trustee. If they have enough signatures to proceed, a special election will follow. The recall group is asking Draper and Benecke to resign prior to the signatures being turned in, which would save the cost of an election. Once signatures are submitted to the Registrar of Voters, the process cannot be stopped. If the trustees resign now, their seats would be up for election on the June ballot, according to those encouraging the resignations.

A special election could cost the school district from $288,000 to $784,000 at a time when district funds are short. The price depends on whether the recall stands alone or shares the ballot with other items. Opponents of the recall argue the district cannot afford the expense of a special election. Recall proponents say that the trustees have spent the district into its current $28-million deficit, and a recall is the only way to prevent further damage. As an additional consideration, some proponents point to Draper’s long tenure on the board. If she reaches the 20-year mark when her current term ends in November, she could qualify for lifetime benefits.

As another ongoing issue, the district appeared to violate the Brown Act on Jan. 23 by canceling an agenda item without adequate public notice. The purpose of the agenda item was to discuss rescinding a vote (on construction projects at San Juan Hills High School) from the previous week because it may have been a Brown Act violation.

The debate over school boundaries and overcrowding has become so heated that the continued illegal acts practically go unnoticed. Parents in Mission Viejo held a rally last weekend to protest overcrowding at Newhart following an announcement the district has no plan other than to rely on projections of declining numbers in the future.

The new superintendent, Woodrow Carter, was recently quoted in a newspaper article saying it takes time to turn a battleship around. Someone should check to see if anyone is steering.

The Buzz column, Jan. 25

A reader sent a tongue-in-cheek comment upon seeing the city’s renderings of its road widening project: “My reaction to the Crown Valley Parkway debacle – Wow! There's such a lineup trying to get into the mall, almost like South Coast Plaza at Christmas. Having another turn lane will make it so much easier for the multitudes of invisible shoppers.”

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The Jan. 25 Saddleback Valley News presented a front-page story, “Senior housing proposal is being tweaked.” The article says the city director of community development expects the city to complete its investigation of the Sunrise “proposal” late this spring. Wait a minute! In the next paragraph, the mayor is quoted saying, “ … we don’t have a proposal yet before us.”

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The city might be confused because Sunrise has approached each council member individually, and probably the city staff as well – but the public isn’t supposed to know. Community activists intend to start gathering signatures for a ballot initiative before the city officially sees a proposal to rezone the Casta del Sol golf course. The Mission Viejo Right To Vote initiative will give residents the opportunity to reject any zone change that doesn’t benefit the community. Passing the initiative would likely put an end to replacing open space, recreation zones and commercial zones with more high-density housing. Zoning decisions shouldn’t be made by council members who accept campaign donations from developers.

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Reader comment: “I’d like to see a law passed so council members couldn’t take donations from city vendors or hide donations by running them through Political Action Committees. It would put an end to incumbents having a huge financial advantage over challengers in elections. When council members invite city vendors to their fundraisers, it’s like blackmail. Pay to play.”

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Community members are invited to Capistrano Unified School District’s School Safety Expo from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tues., Jan. 29, at the CUSD Education Center, 33122 Valle Road, San Juan Capistrano. Tour the CUSD Emergency Operations Center and the Mobile Command Center, and learn about programs to keep students safe during an emergency. Meet the Safe Schools/Healthy Students partners, including the OC Sheriff’s Dept. School Resource Officers, the SMART Team, the Parent Project, and PRYDE. Learn about the voluntary drug testing program, alternatives to suspension, and the anti-bullying campaign.

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A blog reader forwarded an OC Discussion Board comment posted by a parent in response to the announcement above: “Maybe we should report [Trustees] Draper and Benecke to whomever is in charge of that anti-bullying campaign!”

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An item appeared on Brad Morton’s blog, http://missionviejodispatch.com, about a city traffic meeting, to be held in the Saddleback Room at city hall, 8:30 a.m., Fri., Feb. 1. The public is invited to hear a presentation during the Traffic Committee meeting about traffic circles. With the city’s history of failing to solve any traffic problem, should it take on a new road construction project?

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Residents reported a huge traffic tie-up on Alicia Parkway during the evening rush hour on Thurs., Jan. 17. Two of the three eastbound lanes between Trabuco and Marguerite were blocked off. Those stopped in traffic were amazed to find no road hazards, no workers on the scene or any other reason for closing two lanes. Road workers had placed a large steel plate over the area where they had been working. When they quit for the day, they apparently forgot to do something – open the lanes.

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Reader reaction to last week’s coverage of the dog park: “One thing I noticed about the requirements from the beginning is that the city said a dog park wouldn’t be next to homes. It’s very strange to see the only remaining choice, near the community center, is next to homes. I have read that the city employees don’t want a dog park, and this gravitation to the one remaining choice next to homes looks like citizens are being set up to fight with each other. I don’t know how anyone came up with a price of a million dollars, but that’s strange when Laguna Niguel built a dog park for less than $100,000.”