City Election Shapes Up
Editorial Staff

With a week to go before the Aug. 8 filing deadline, at least six candidates are lining up for two city council seats. Council Members Gail Reavis and Frank Ury are up for reelection on Nov. 4, and both have pulled papers to run.

Speculation that Ury might not file turned out to be wishful thinking among his detractors. Ury gathered steam when he first ran in 2004 by jumping in front of a group of north Mission Viejo residents opposing more overhead power lines. Once elected, Ury turned his back on the issue and put his supporters on ignore. His “business acumen” heralded in his 2004 campaign has been used to enrich developers and good ol’ boys around the county. Activists who don’t agree on a lot of other things are united on dumping Ury.

Speculation that Reavis might not run has been based on her vulnerability, but she’s in the race. She lost the support of city activists over rezoning and other issues, and she filed a $10-million claim against the city. If her statement is true she filed the claim only “to get everyone’s attention,” there are better ways to get attention.

Challengers who have begun the process of filing include Rich Atkinson, Neil Lonsinger, Cathy Schlicht and Michael Williamson. At least one other potential challenger has an appointment next week with the city clerk to get started.

Rich Atkinson is a city planning commissioner, and he works in code enforcement for the city of San Clemente. Councilwoman Trish Kelley appointed him to the commission, and Kelley, Ury and Councilman Lance MacLean are allegedly supporting him to knock Reavis off the council. Atkinson has talked about a campaign budget of $68,000, and residents should ask which outsiders are funding him.

Neil Lonsinger served on the planning commission in 2005-2006, and he was a candidate in the 2006 city election. A retired business owner, he served as president of Mission Viejo’s largest homeowners association. During informal chats, he says that government is too big, it spends too much money, and Mission Viejo residents feel as if they have no voice in decisions. One of his issues is to preserve the Casta golf course.

Cathy Schlicht is a longtime resident and frequent speaker at council and commission meetings. She often talks about the need for open government, and she frequently defends First Amendment rights. Her issues have included power lines and EMF dangers.

Michael Williamson, a police sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Dept. who also works as a lawyer, is a newcomer to city politics. He and his wife Danna have two grown children. According to information he filed with the city clerk, his wife will serve as his campaign treasurer. In an interview on another blog, Williamson indicated his campaign budget is $500, which he says he’ll spend on yard signs. Given that this is 2008, $500 just doesn’t go as far as it used to in, say, 1958. Williamson is registered as a Democrat.

Four other potential candidates made appointments with the city clerk but either canceled or didn’t show up.