The Buzz column, April 4

The OC Register printed a political zinger to the CUSD Recall Committee on Sun., April 6. An article pointed to a $17,000 donation in 2006 from Education Alliance through a PAC to three winning reform candidates backed by the Recall Committee. Education Alliance is controlled by Mark Bucher, a political operative who lives in Tustin. Note a reference in Bucher’s statement to the Register: “You’ve got incompetent trustees that are making decisions that are hurting the education of our children …” What exactly is his claim to children in CUSD? Bucher doesn’t live in CUSD, and if he doesn’t pay taxes in CUSD, its issues are none of his business.

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It does appear that CUSD constituents are capable of sorting out their own issues without the influence of Mark Bucher. The Dana Point Times poll on March 28 showed 91 percent of those responding want to remove CUSD Trustees Marlene Draper and Sheila Benecke in the June 24 special recall election. Other categories: 6 percent said keep them in office, and 3 percent said I’m not sure yet, I need to know more.

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The Buzz asked for feedback from residents who attended the weeklong celebration of the city’s 20th anniversary. As a big problem, no one could be found who attended any of the festivities during the week.

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In an informal survey, Buzz readers were asked why they didn’t participate in the city’s festivities. Here’s a sample response: “City hall employees are out of step with the community, and they don’t have any idea what appeals to those who live here. The city staff’s celebration last week was a horrendous waste of money. The rows of pictures were junky clutter on the street, and the pieces of lawn furniture sitting at Marguerite and La Paz looked like they fell off a truck headed for Tijuana.”

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The Mission Viejo Right-to-Vote Initiative is progressing, and signature-gathering should take place this spring. Several Mission Viejo residents have suggested it would be easy to get two signatures from voters while qualifying the initiative. Simultaneously recalling Councilman Lance McLean continues to get a mention, and another suggestion has been an initiative to reduce term limits for city council members. Some activists say one term is enough, given the embarrassing behavior of council members and the difficulty in removing incumbents from office. Other residents suggest two four-year terms should be the limit. Currently, Mission Viejo council members can serve three four-year terms before terming out.

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Councilman Lance McLean apparently has enough free time these days to update his bio on the city’s Website. He’s dropped any mention that he ever worked at the University of Irvine. Councilman Frank Ury’s profile still says he’s an employee of Intel. Has it been a year since he worked there? It’s difficult to gauge any conflict of interest a council member might have when he keeps his employment under wraps. Should residents conclude that both McLean and Ury are unemployed?