Council Campaigns Take Form
Staff editorial

With the election only 50 days away, campaigns for city council are still low key. As a big change from the last city election, candidates have been slow to break out the yard signs. In 2006, signs for the council race began appearing the first week of September.

Two council challengers, Judy Rackauckas and Michael Williamson, indicated during blog interviews that they won’t put much effort into campaigning. Rackauckas as the sister-in-law of Or. Co. District Attorney Tony Rackauckas has a familiar last name. With two seats up for election on Nov. 4 and only two women running, both would benefit on the basis of gender. Williamson has the distinction of being the only Democrat among six candidates. Without campaigning, however, Rackauckas and Williamson are not likely to be factors.

This year, ballot order for city candidates will be 1) Judy Rackauckas, 2) Michael Williamson, 3) Cathy Schlicht, 4) Neil Lonsinger, 5) Rich Atkinson and 6) Frank Ury. In 2006, three council candidates touted themselves as the 1-2-3 slate because of their first three spots on the ballot. Voters evidently didn’t consider ballot order on Election Day, as 1-2-3 came in at 4-6-8 with only three seats available.

Councilman Frank Ury is the only incumbent running, following the Aug. 8 announcement from Councilwoman Gail Reavis that she wouldn’t seek reelection. When Ury first ran in 2004, he had a team of supporters who had selected him as their spokesman to get the power lines buried. After four years of ignoring his fans except for laughing behind their backs, Ury in this election will have his former supporters campaigning against him. Ury has angered many others with his promotion of cell towers all over town, and some community watchdogs believe he has a business relationship with ATS, the city’s cell tower contractor.

Candidate Rich Atkinson has been endorsed by Council Members Ury, MacLean and Kelley. Atkinson would be completely unknown in city politics if Kelley hadn’t appointed him to the planning commission. Those who have encountered Atkinson are saying they won’t vote for him. If his association with the unholy trio doesn’t sink him, there’s something about him that turns people off. As a whole other matter, he may have falsely claimed last week that he has the endorsement of a political group. If that’s what he said, strong reaction will follow. Residents who have read his ballot statement suspect he favors housing on the Casta golf course.

Activists and blog contributors continue to recommend Neil Lonsinger and Cathy Schlicht as the only reasonable city council candidates. Lonsinger comes across as informed about city issues and opposed to the whacko views of MacLean. Schlicht rarely misses a council meeting, and she generally does a good job of representing residents’ views from the public microphone. Voters might as well put her on the dais and give her a shot at straightening things out.

Easelgate Update

If residents think city hall’s Easelgate hoax can't get worse, stay tuned. Someone emerged last week with knowledge of city employee Keith Rattay’s claim of volunteers building easels. As a summary, after months of investigation, not one person has been found who built easels other than city contractor Jamey Clark, who was paid $45 an hour.

One of the names that turned up in the city's easel records is a resident who works with scout groups. When a blog staffer called her to ask why her name was among the records, the scout leader said Girl Scouts were interested in providing community service, and they answered the city’s call regarding the easel project. The scout leader’s description of the scouts sounded as if they were primarily children, and that information had already come from another source. It explains why Rattay is claiming volunteers participated, yet city records show no one but Clark did the work. Upon hearing the job description from the city, the scout leader indicated she was unsure if the scouts could help, but she sent them – not to construct easels but to paint them.

City records verify Jamey Clark billed the city for painting all the easels, plus all the signboards that were used in the photo display. If Girl Scouts painted any easels, the easels were repainted by Clark. Rattay may have tried to fool the public with his implication that volunteer help reduced easel costs. Given the circumstances, volunteers likely raised the costs. The “work sessions” took place on weekends when hourly employees would have been paid overtime for supervising kids.

The deceit goes beyond Rattay’s well-documented lies to newspapers. Scouts were drawn into Rattay’s web of “community service” when no such situation existed.

The easels were part of a photo display conceived by city hall employees in a wasteful project that had failed long before the photos went on display. Very few residents returned 500 free disposable cameras, and staff members evidently provided most of the photos to give an appearance the community participated. To demonstrate city hall’s opinion of everyone’s effort, check the pictures on this blog posted April 27 or Brad Morton’s April 22 MissionViejoDispatch.com showing hundreds of easels trashed on a hillside. Children were used by adults in city hall to prop up the appearance of “engaging the community,” and then Rattay falsely counted them as easel builders in his June 18 memo to City Manager Dennis Wilberg. Was there one shred of integrity in the whole project?

By the time the scouts were painting easels, the deadline had passed for residents to return cameras. City hall employees knew the photo project lacked community participation, and it should have been quietly scrapped. Incredibly, city staffers started snapping pictures to create a sham photo gallery, and Jamey Clark made pricey, custom-built easels to display photos the community members didn’t take.

Instead of congratulating city hall for a brilliant community-engaging idea, residents complained about the trashy look of all the “junk” on the street, including the easels, yellowed photos and the bizarre lawn furniture parked on the corner of La Paz and Marguerite. Probably because of the complaints, Jamey Clark’s workers hauled off the junk quickly and threw it in a heap on a hillside. They didn’t carefully stack it because it was next going to a dump. By the time Rattay was proclaiming that nearly all 500 the easels would be used again by the city or school groups, Jamey Clark had taken truckloads – up to 200 easels – to a county dump on El Toro Road.

When an activist asked in August for names of volunteers who built easels, Rattay said the names had been discarded. In addition to disposable cameras, the contractor's work, materials, names of volunteers and taxpayer dollars were all deemed throwaways.

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Important notice to those who have contributed information about Easelgate and other city shenanigans: check your email. Look for communication from edt@tylerent.com

City’s Lawsuits Are Dirty Politics
Letter to the Editor

City hall’s lawsuits against two council challengers highlight our dysfunctional city council. Councilman Lance MacLean initiated lawsuits against two council candidates, Neil Lonsinger and Cathy Schlicht, and he used our tax money to do it. Doesn’t MacLean have anything better to do?

Isn’t former CUSD Supt. James Fleming facing felony charges for using tax dollars to interfere with an election? I see no difference between what Fleming did and MacLean’s blatant smear campaign against two candidates he doesn’t want on the council.

I’ve had enough of both MacLean and Councilman Frank Ury, who is running for reelection. Instead of representing us, they’ve used their council positions to favor developers who fund their reelection campaigns and add unwanted housing and traffic congestion. Both Ury and MacLean appear to want housing on the Casta golf course and apartments on top of stores at La Paz and Marguerite.

MacLean, Ury and Councilwoman Trish Kelley have now joined together to keep Ury in office and bring in their own candidate, Rich Atkinson. What is Atkinson’s sudden interest in getting on the council?

My vote will go for Lonsinger and Schlict on Nov. 4. I hope MacLean, Ury and Kelley’s effort backfires.

Elizabeth Mimm
Mission Viejo

Friends of the Foothills Will Host Briefing
by Robin Everett

In preparation for the upcoming Commerce hearing on Sept. 22 regarding the TCA's appeal of the Coastal Commission decision, Sierra Club's Friends of the Foothills is hosting a community briefing with special guest speaker Coastal Commissioner Larry Clark. The meeting will be held on Wed., Sept. 17, at the San Clemente Community Center at 7 p.m.

Clark was one of the Coastal Commissioners who stood up to Governor Schwarzenegger, special interests and the TCA and voted to uphold the Coastal Act and deny the Foothill-South Toll Road. He will brief us on why the Transportation Corridor Agencies think the federal government should overturn the Coastal Commission’s rejection of the Toll Road and why they are wrong.

To RSVP, email robin.everett@sierraclub.org or call 949-361-7534.

Parent Advocate League Update
by Julie Collier

I was able to attend the CUSD board mtg. on Monday, and I arrived after opening comments. Thankfully, PALs member, Debi, took great notes on the opening comments.

Opening comments: Supt. Woodrow Carter explained more about Marco Forester and the comments made by a parent, Kim McCarthy. He stated he met with her, and he described her as candid, forthright and well-spoken. He further explained that the situation was a breakdown between a parent and the district and exacerbated by the media. CUEA President V. Soderburg spoke to say all classes are taught in English. Trustees Anna Bryson and Sue Palazzo said the American flag painted at M. Forester should be repainted. Teachers from M. Forester spoke in support of their school.

Item 25 (Portables at Oso Grande and Truman Benedict): Approved 7-0. Discussion: Timeline for portables is still February; DSA approval is required; Christensen asked about other options. Parents from Oso Grande spoke: four classes are held in MPR and the library; the areas are not walled – lots of noise; the process is taking too long; this will have long-term effects. District personnel state this is the fastest they can do this. A parent from Oso Grande said he has spoken with DSA on three occasions and was told portables can be provided to schools on emergency and temporary bases, such as this situation. He also told the district that he made an appointment for them this Thursday at 10 a.m. Lebs (Asst. Supt. of Operations) stated he will go back and review those options.

Item 26 (APR Results): This was a display of CUSD test results and how well our district is teaching our students. Many thanks to our wonderful teachers of CUSD.

• 81 percent of schools exceeded 800
• 31 of 36 elementary schools are over 800 (three are at 900)
• 11 of 12 junior high schools are over 800
• 5 of 6 high schools are over 800
• 91 percent of schools districtwide met growth target (compared to county 83 percent and state 70 percent)
• 3 schools are still in Program Improvement

Item 29A (Volunteer Assistance Program): Suspension was approved 5-2 (Addonizio and Palazzo stated they were for the Megan's Law review and the TB testing, but not the fingerprinting. Addonizio stated, "Regulations exceed authority of this policy." Three people spoke on this topic. I spoke and asked five questions parents want to know about this policy. I also urged the district to be very clear with parents on this policy so they do not open the door to costly lawsuits, as well as the need for one dist. badge not school badges. PALs member, Debi, spoke in support of the overworked school secretaries. Rhonda Whalen, head of Classified workers union, stated it is a huge burden to the school secretaries and urged the district to have one badge issued from the district. Trustee Darnold asked Supt. Carter if he would respond to the questions asked. Carter stated he would not respond point-by-point because that information is already available to parents and has been since October. He also stated the speakers had been a part of the decision-making process of this policy. Unfortunately, Debi and I have never been a part of the decision-making policy, which is why we are asking so many questions. I did look up on the dist. website to find the answers to the 5 questions and only 2 out of the 5 can be answered. Please view the following: Frequently Asked Questions about Volunteer Fingerprinting PDF http://www.capousd.org/volunteer/Volunteers-FAQ.pdf

I am looking forward to finding out more information, so if anyone attended the initial meetings on this, please let me know and I will forward to the rest of PALs. Carter also believes it is better to have school site badges so schools know who is allowed at the schools and who is not. Carter wanted to stress that this suspension is temporary (until Dec. 1), and parents still need to move quickly if you intend to volunteer this year. He will be doing an "all call" via telephone to make that point to parents soon.

The next board meeting is on Monday, Sept. 22, at 7 pm.

The Buzz column

One of the city’s original planners with the Mission Viejo Co. recently chatted with blog staff members about some of the parcels that were unsuitable for housing when the Master Plan was developed. He mentioned an earthquake fault that runs near the city’s eastern border where the ball parks are situated. He said it’s not a fault of consequence, but it was a factor in deciding the area would become sports fields rather than homes. He said the Casta golf course is ideal for a golf course and it shouldn’t change. Residents generally agree that the Mission Viejo Co. did things right, and city hall bureaucrats have erred every time they’ve tried to undo the original plan.

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Council candidates Neil Lonsinger and Cathy Schmidt entered the current city council race believing they would be treated fairly by city hall. In return for their offer to serve the community, they were sued for trivial items in their ballot statements. Instead of receiving calls from city hall officials to discuss any issue, each received a summons to appear in court. Councilman Lance MacLean was working behind the scenes, and he initiated the lawsuit. Will his dirty trick next be used by the Political Action Committee that he, Frank Ury and Trish Kelley conceived of, filling residents’ mailboxes with hit pieces against Lonsinger and Schlicht?

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The Crown Valley Parkway widening project is now “slated” for completion in March according to some announcements coming from the city staff. They’re even saying the project could be finished in November if placed on a fast track. The project, in its third year of non-progress, will likely drag on well beyond March. What’s behind the nonsense of a November completion? Councilman Frank Ury lied in his ballot statement, saying the project is already finished. His exact words: “We completed the Crown Valley traffic improvements.” Ury’s accomplice, Lance MacLean, asked staff members during a council meeting how the project could be accelerated. One of them answered that the road crew could work day and night, but there would be “a cost involved.”

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Also blending into a defense of Ury’s lie about completing the Crown Valley road widening, MacLean arranged to bring a representative of SDG&E to the public microphone to blame the utility company for the city’s incompetence in managing the project. The plan backfired when the SDG&E spokesman mentioned the lack of communication between city hall and his company – until very recently, city officials hadn’t contacted SDG&E. Then: project planning escaped city hall – they just dug in and began tearing up the road without first figuring out how to relocate utility boxes. Now: it’s SDG&E’s fault.

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What’s been the impact of Sunrise announcing it is “withdrawing its plan” to build an assisted living project on the Casta del Sol Golf Course? Right-To-Vote signature gatherers report that some residents are quoting HOA board members who say that the threats to carve up the golf course are over. Is any HOA board member pretending to speak for the golf course owner or the developer? The correct and truthful answer is that HOA board members have no information about Sunrise’s PR tactics or offers that might come from any other housing developer to buy the property. The golf course is still for sale, and developers aren’t stupid. After Sunrise has spent a year developing a PR strategy, donating to four out of five council members’ campaign treasuries and staking the property, what are the chances it won’t be back?