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Outcomes Are Known The Orange County Registrar of Voters finished counting ballots on Wed, Nov. 26, taking the last few days to evaluate provisional ballots. Turnout for the county was 72.6 percent (OC has 1,607,989 registered voters, and 1,167,657 cast votes on Nov. 4). While the RoV hasn’t made it official, readers can view final tallies at http://www.ocvote.com Totals in the city election didn’t change much during the past week, and the six candidates’ respective percentages didn’t change at all. Here are the final numbers: FRANK URY 16,928 24.9% Last week, KOCE-TV’s “Real Orange” revealed how things are evolving at the county level with the economic downturn. County supervisors are no longer making decisions with 5-0 votes now that they’re competing with each other for dwindling funds. When the board met on Tuesday, supervisors cut $32 million during a contentious meeting. The Nov. 26 OC Register quoted Supv. Bill Campbell saying to Supv. Janet Nguyen, “I’m getting tired of this crap. You’ve got to face reality instead of saying my city needs this, needs that.” At stake were park funds, cut by $10 million. How will the county’s cuts affect Mission Viejo Councilman Frank Ury’s personal finances? After Ury lost his job in 2007, his followers-turned-critics say he’s looking to political friends to maintain his lifestyle, including his plan for his consulting business to profit from the proposed countywide Wi-Fi. It wouldn’t be the first time politicians cut core services for their constituents while enriching their friends. On Nov. 29, Brad Morton broke a story on his blog, http://missionviejodispatch.com , following the city clerk’s release of the city’s financial summary for fiscal 2007-2008. It shows the council overspent revenue by approximately $12 million. The General Fund balance of $43,158,728 on June 30 is largely already allocated, leaving only $5 million for discretionary use. The council’s attempt to increase the reserves by selling off cell-antenna leases fell through when the buyer couldn’t get financing. The council’s next budget workshop will be held Dec. 15. Newly elected Councilwoman Cathy Schlicht will take the oath of office during the Dec. 1 meeting, and Ury will become the city’s next mayor. The selection of mayor is supposed to be determined by a vote in front of the public during the meeting. With the majority members of Lance MacLean, Frank Ury and Trish Kelley making deals behind the scenes, the vote on Monday is just a formality. |
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