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City Manager Pressured Newspaper
Saddleback Valley News rarely publishes letters to the editor about city issues. SVN’s policy about letters – or at least its practice – changed in 2008 after Easelgate erupted. Public records requested by a citizen reveal how City Manager Dennis Wilberg has used a heavy hand to influence local news coverage.
Last June, Wilberg was displeased when SVN covered city hall’s wasteful spending on a 20th anniversary party. A photo of easels in a county dump made SVN’s front page, showing city hall's disregard for tax dollars. Wilberg emailed SVN reporter Lindsey Baguio a list of 30 people and directed her to interview them as “community members” instead of quoting his critics who'd found Baguio on their own. Wilberg also emailed Baguio’s editor to discourage negative coverage of city hall.
Copies of Wilberg’s emails and his “List of 30” recently surfaced and were forwarded to this blog.
Wilberg listed his 30 favorite trough-feeders – those showing up for taxpayer-funded “free” meals and/or cashing large city checks. But quite a few "community members" on Wilberg's list don’t live in Mission Viejo. Wilberg also doesn't live here, so it’s understandable he confuses taxpayers with tax-receivers. Matt Gunderson of Ladera Ranch was No. 11 on the list. Gunderson gained tax-receiver status in 2003 when he wanted $2.1 million in city redevelopment funds to add Audi to his auto sales business. After residents spoke out against corporate welfare, David Doomey of CUSD and PTA moms leaned on Councilwoman Trish Kelley to change her stance against redevelopment. Kelley brought the request back after twice voting against it, approving $600,000 for Gunderson to please the CUSD folks. An incentive of $600,000 in taxpayer money should guarantee a favorable viewpoint from the recipient. Wilberg’s list includes at least five other non-residents, one he described as a participant in “Fun With Chuck.” The other 29 are apparently participants in “Fun With Dennis.”
Another person on Wilberg’s list, Nancy Cho, is the Chamber of Commerce spokesperson. Cho squired Trish Kelley’s political puppet, Richard Atkinson, to a 2008 city committee meeting so he could pitch his council candidacy. Her action caused some committee members to complain that Cho had used the committee for political purposes. Atkinson went on to tell a county political group that he had the city staff’s endorsement when such endorsement would be illegal.
Wilberg’s email to Baguio includes the statement, “Clearly, contacting other individuals in Mission Viejo is of utmost importance to me in order to provide a fair and accurate representation of both sides of the issue.” All Mission Viejo residents have equal access to SVN, but that’s evidently not fair and accurate enough for Wilberg. He already controls city spin, city-generated press releases and taxpayer-funded publications, the Outlook Magazine and city blog. He has a full-time staff member who annually receives more than $100,000 for such bilge production, but Wilberg also wants control over SVN and the Register.
Letters to the SVN editor were the first to go. After SVN published an article about city blogs, Wilberg put the kibosh on that as well. He emailed, “Should the paper be publishing email addresses [he means Websites] of blogs that basically represent people’s personal opinions?” Wilberg first gives Baguio a list of personal opinions he wants in SVN, and then he questions promotion of blogs because they “represent people’s personal opinions.”
Wilberg avoids mentioning Lance MacLean when he writes to Baguio, “I have heard commissioners and volunteers in the community say they are frustrated with the blogs because what is printed could hurt them in their own professional lives because some companies Goggle [sic] perspective [sic] employees to see what is said about them and they were upset that the misinformation could prevent them from future job opportunities.” Please pass the rose-colored goggles to anyone who would risk hiring MacLean.
MacLean – a councilman, not a "commissioner" or "volunteer" – revealed in a Nov. 5 Register interview that he was the one being Googled. His assault and battery incident at UCI pops up immediately. How did MacLean’s anger issues become the blogs’ fault? He chose to attack a co-worker, and UCI concluded he was too big a risk to have on the payroll. Employers have a choice, especially with California unemployment rate exceeding 10 percent: angry bullies who try to choke their co-workers can’t get jobs.
Wilberg ends his memo to Baguio by telling her to interview “participants” in the easel art gallery. That’s laughable, as photos were largely taken either by city hall employees and/or non-residents. The display was so poorly received by the community that other participants were scarce. Perhaps Wilberg would like to augment his “list of 30” with the names of 153.2 city employees.
Letters to the editor are practically gone and, for awhile, SVN’s city news sounded more like press releases written by city hall’s $100,000-a-year spin writer. If Wilberg had his way, SVN and the Register would become private-sector mouthpieces of his propaganda machine.
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Another ‘Week That Wasn’t
Is the worldwide trend of downsizing affecting “The Week That Was,” city hall’s insider newsletter? Newsletter recipients are asking if the airing on blogs is causing City Manager Dennis Wilberg to cut back on what he releases.
The Feb. 27 “Week” contains little insider stuff. Wilberg reports 1) a Mission Viejo resident who died in 2008 had established a trust fund to benefit the library, 2) Mission Viejo will be listed on a real estate Website as one of the 10 safest cities, 3) LensCrafters acquired Pearle Vision, and Pearle Vision’s location in the mall will become a children’s clothing store, 4) a Relay for Life Tennis Tournament raised nearly $2,000 for charity.
The Feb. 27 newsletter gives yet another plug for the Rose Parade float, a project widely criticized by residents as wasteful and inappropriate. The city has produced a DVD of “Making a Splash in the Tournament of Roses Parade.” For those who haven’t had enough of the city’s expense of $362,000-plus, the float has been memorialized on DVD at an undisclosed cost. Float riders and others have received their “free” (paid for by taxpayers) copy.
A blog reader got it right several months ago, dubbing the float “Mission Viejo Takes a Bath.”
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Who Won the Liar’s Contest?
Councilwoman Trish Kelley is either confused or she’d like to confuse others. During the council’s Feb. 24 meeting, she indicated:
- It is false that she (Kelley) ever said she didn’t want affordable housing in “her neighborhood” or the Capo school district.
- It is false that the council is considering razing the shopping center at La Paz and Marguerite and replacing it with a mixed-use project of stores with apartments on top.
- It is false that the council considered putting housing on the Casta del Sol Golf Course.
Kelley’s words and the public record don’t match, and what she says at council meetings doesn’t match what she says off camera.
Regarding Kelley’s wish to protect the interests of the Capo district, readers should remember she has a history of catering to the Capo school district instead of representing residents. As an example, homeowners near CUSD schools have received no help from her when it comes to school traffic and parking issues. If Kelley wanted to keep her views about affordable housing a secret, she’s told too many people what she really thinks. Among those speaking out, former council member Gail Reavis was the first public speaker at the Feb. 24 meeting. Reavis said Kelley has stated her objection to more affordable units in the Capo district.
Perhaps Kelley was too surprised to respond. She was unusually quiet during the meeting while public speakers had another shot. She instead waited until the end during council comments to give not only her opinion but her own facts.
As for apartments on top of stores at La Paz and Marguerite, Councilman Frank Ury brought the Urban Land Institute to the city, and the council approved the $30,000 study. ULI recommended mixed use with retail on the bottom level and multiple stories on top comprising 350 apartments. According to Kelley, the council said, “Thanks but no thanks.” To the contrary, the council made no such decision. The city staff has taken up where ULI left off, touting an urban atmosphere, promenade and “downtown.” The city staff’s 20th anniversary party included signage inviting people to walk around Mission Viejo’s “downtown.” The Master Plan has no downtown, but city officials apparently have one in mind.
Ms. Kelley’s denial of a plan to allow housing on the Casta del Sol Golf Course conflicts with public statements by Councilmen Frank Ury and Lance MacLean. Kelley’s support has been more subtle, particularly with references to projects the city can undertake with the million dollars in developer fees that will result from housing on the golf course. During a candidate forum prior to the Nov. 4 election, Ury refused to say he would oppose housing on the golf course, and Kelley’s hand-picked candidate Richard Atkinson took the same position.
Kelley wasn’t the only one attempting to mislead the public during the Feb. 24 meeting. Ury, when referring to closed-session discussions, claimed the council had never considered having the city purchase the undeveloped parcel at Jeronimo and Los Alisos for an affordable apartment project. Councilwoman Cathy Schlicht immediately responded to Ury’s claim, stating the city has discussed it.
At one point, Kelley held up a map. With her usual faltering speech, she attempted to count the city’s high-density housing projects. She spoke very slowly, “One, two … .” And then she paused. Ury couldn’t resist, and he leaned down and spoke into his microphone, “Three!” He succeeded with his insinuation Kelley couldn’t count to three, and audience members laughed out loud. Kelley seemed not get it. Those who watched the meeting on Feb. 24 should view the videotape to note it has been edited to Kelley’s advantage (at 2:51 on the tape).
Having Kelley represent Mission Viejo on any outside board or agency, particularly the Southern California Association of Governments, risks the city’s best interests. The Feb. 24 meeting underscored the need for responsible, thinking adults on the council who aren’t susceptible to scare tactics from the state or shenanigans of city staff members who want more high-density housing in Mission Viejo.
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The Buzz
From a Buzz reader: quote of the century. "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." – Margaret Thatcher
What’s the basis for an email trail that someone wants to recall Assemblyman Jeff Miller? A staffer in Miller’s office responded to a query from this blog, “Does Assemblyman Miller have any opponents, yes. Did he vote to approve the state budget or new taxes? Heck no.” Miller represents the city of Mission Viejo, and he was elected in November after Todd Spitzer termed out of office.
Proponents and supporters of Mission Viejo’s Right-To-Vote Initiative have received no word from the OC Registrar of Voters on how the signature count is going. Proponents turned in approximately 11,000 signatures on Jan. 26. Residents should anticipate that the initiative will qualify (6,100 verified signatures for the next General Election or 9,300 verified signatures for a special election).
The next statewide election will be May 19, which will include seven propositions placed on the ballot by the California State Legislature. Here’s a link for information (including the latest update on Feb. 25) from the California Secretary of State: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_j.htm
Councilman Lance MacLean and those launching a recall to remove him from office finally agree on something. Proponents say they’ll succeed, and MacLean told OC Weekly reporter Spencer Kornhaber that he expects to be removed from office. MacLean has scheduled a fundraiser this month, and he’s inviting all his supporters – city vendors, developers, consultants and others who would like to receive city tax dollars.
What’s at the bottom of Councilman Frank Ury’s statement he has taken steps to include all of Mission Viejo in one school district? According to those he should have notified, no one knows about Ury’s fantasy.
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