Trio Plans Hostile Campaign
Staff editorial

A city election plan hatched by Council Members Trish Kelley, Frank Ury and Lance MacLean emerged a couple months ago. Although the three have been unable to work together to benefit residents, they are in complete harmony about removing Councilwoman Gail Reavis from office in the November city election. Both Reavis and Ury are up for reelection, and both have pulled papers to run.

This isn’t Ury’s first attempt at a hostile takeover of the city council. In 2006, he carried the ball for the so-called 1-2-3 slate of council challengers, Diane Greenwood, Bill Barker and Justin McCusker, in his attempt to unseat incumbents Kelley, MacLean and John Paul Ledesma. Greenwood, Barker and McCusker lost after mounting what some residents describe as the nastiest campaign in city history. The 1-2-3 candidates claimed to be conservative Republicans, and then Greenwood was endorsed a pro-abortion, far-left organization. Both Greenwood and Barker were endorsed by other liberals but no Republican groups. Ury should have lost his good-ol’-boy standing with the county Republican power clique after campaigning for Greenwood, a longtime liberal Democrat who changed her voter registration when she decided to run for office.

Information posted this week on another blog revealed that political consultant Paul Glaab recently submitted a request for public information from Mission Viejo city hall to get records on Reavis. Allegedly, Glaab will create a hit piece against Reavis. Glaab also represents ATS, Mission Viejo’s infamous cell-tower contractor whose business was pushed on the city by Ury.

Isn’t it time for voters to say “no” to all of the above? It would be easy to do if intelligent, ethical candidates were lining up to run for office. In fact, such challengers are rare. Neil Lonsinger, a retired businessman, has pulled papers and appears to be in the race. Despite two other challengers pulling papers, only Lonsinger has credentials and a reputation as an ethical community leader. Ury, Kelley and MacLean are backing Rich Atkinson, a challenger Kelley pulled into the contest. Atkinson has allegedly claimed a campaign budget of $67,000 dollars. What outsiders are willing to put that kind of money into Atkinson’s campaign besides ATS and friends of county lobbyist John Lewis?

Once again, Ury has bamboozled his foolish enemies, Kelley and MacLean. After Ury tried to dump them during their reelection campaigns in 2006, they would do the same to him if they had any sense. Instead, Ury leveraged their distaste for Reavis to protect his own campaign.

Voters hardly need the unholy trio to point out Reavis’ flaws. Her $10-million claim against the city in 2005 is enough to sink her boat without any “consultation” from Paul Glaab. Again, Ury deserves credit for outsmarting Kelley and MacLean and diverting their attention.

Contrary to an article about the city election in the July 25 Saddleback Valley News, all incumbents and challengers are running for two open seats. The winners will be the top two vote-getters without distinction about who is running against whom: they’re all running against each other. Residents should prepare for another bloodbath with candidates making complete fools of themselves on street corners. Anonymous hit pieces planned against Reavis are not-so-secretly connected to Kelley, Ury and MacLean.