Change the Council, Not the City
by Lisa De Paul-Snyder

While gathering signatures on the Mission Viejo Right-To-Vote Initiative, I’m getting an earful from residents. They say the current council is untrustworthy and incompetent. It’s not just about their harmful rezoning decisions, it’s cell towers near homes, increasing traffic congestion, road-widening that takes years, lawsuits and threats of putting apartments on top of stores.

In direct contradiction to the fiscal conservative assertions of their campaign days, these council members refuse to rein in wasteful spending by the city. Despite conducting an expensive PR charade of Character Words, the council tolerates and even promotes out-and-out lies, such as the “vandalism” of 93 easels and reason for the dumping at Lower Curtis Park on top of what was a $200,000.00 grading project by Granich Construction back in 2002. Instead of “Make living your mission” their slogan has become “Make spinning your mission.”

City hall has decided to “re-brand” the city with multistory housing development in open spaces and omnipresent depictions of the “mark of the iron tree” instead of real trees. By the time they’re done, Beautiful Mission Viejo will no longer exist.

Like many residents, I want city hall to gather up their re-branding slogans, non-recyclable banners, overbearing tree stamp and miscellaneous community engagement fiascos and take a hike. Sure, a few areas could benefit from a little facade updating, but the original land-use plan remains family-friendly and sound.

We don’t need to change the city, but changing the city council is long overdue.