Former Councilwoman Enters the Fray
Press Release

Mission Viejo, CA, June 6, 2009 – For a third time, former councilwoman Sherri Butterfield confronted storefront teams gathering signatures to recall Mission Viejo City Councilman Lance MacLean. She attempted to block residents from signing the petition by creating a scene. She seemed unaware that volunteer workers were taking her picture and videotaping her.

One of the volunteers described the incident, “Sherri just needed some attention. She tried to cause a disturbance in front of several people, and they ignored her. As soon as I asked her a question that made her the center of attention, she changed entirely and became somewhat civil."

Another volunteer said Butterfield "suffers from post-trouncing syndrome.” Butterfield lost by a landslide in her 2002 reelection bid. She and former councilwoman Susan Withrow got only 5,487 and 4,781 votes, respectively. In comparison, a 2008 council challenger, Michael Williamson, received 7,085 votes as an unknown candidate who didn't organize a campaign.

The petition lists eight reasons for recalling MacLean. The grounds are based on UCI police records, public records and council meetings. Without any specifics, Butterfield challenged the petition statements when she was in front of the store. She added, “The recall election is going to cost $250,000.”

When one of the volunteers asked about her source of information, Butterfield avoided the question by stating, “I was on the council, and I know.”

While MacLean wrote the $250,000 figure into his rebuttal, Councilman Frank Ury doesn’t agree with the amount of $250,000. He says it will cost $200,000. Another MacLean supporter who has harassed volunteers at storefronts says it will cost $100,000.

Recall proponents responded to MacLean’s $250,000 claim as a gross exaggeration in any scenario. Several factors will determine the cost of the recall. One is the potential of combining it with other ballot measures in the same election. Another is the county’s gravitation toward all-mail ballots to cut costs.

Butterfield also told the storefront volunteers that MacLean had not voted to give himself lifetime medical benefits for serving three terms. The vote took place on Nov. 17, 2008, and it passed 3-2. Others voting with MacLean in favor of lifetime benefits were Ury and Kelley.

Recall proponents expect to succeed in qualifying the recall for the ballot. They added that MacLean’s supporters have been ineffective at stopping the process.

Mission Viejo group plans July 4 TEA Party

Mission Viejo, CA, June 7, 2009 – On Independence Day, Saddleback Republican Assembly invites everyone to party like it’s 1773. SRA, which organized Mission Viejo’s April 15 Taxed Enough Already (TEA) Party, is planning a rally at 7:00 p.m. on July 4. The group will sponsor activities throughout the day alongside Mission Viejo’s annual Fourth of July Street Faire, which begins at noon and culminates with a fireworks display at 9:00.

The city’s Faire will be held on a closed-off section of Olympiad Road between Marguerite Parkway and Melinda Road. The Faire is a carnival-style event with food, music, crafts and games.

SRA members and other TEA Party Patriots will have tables outside both entrances to the Faire to offer voter registration and an opportunity to sign letters of protest to state and national officials. SRA’s activities will start at noon and continue throughout the day near both entrances. The TEA Party will begin at 7 p.m. at the west entrance of the Faire, between Marguerite Parkway and the entrance to the lake.

The purpose of the July 4 TEA Party is to build on the national taxpayer protest movement, which is fashioned after the Boston Tea Party of 1773. SRA’s April 15 rally on the corners of La Paz and Marguerite attracted more than 600 participants. SRA also staged a protest on the eve of the May 19 Special Election with a theme of “Just say no to more taxes.”

Updates and other announcements about SRA's July 4th TEA Party will be posted on MissionViejoCA.org and distributed to newspapers, the MissionViejoDispatch.com and OrangeJuiceBlog.com.

For additional information, call Matt Corrigan, SRA president, (949) 830-8088.

Recall Update

Last week, proponents of the MacLean recall said they expect to reach the goal of 9,350 signatures in June. The number represents 15 percent of Mission Viejo’s registered voters. To qualify the recall for the ballot, approximately 9,350 valid signatures must be collected by the Aug. 25 deadline.

The signature drive will continue for several additional weeks to compensate for duplicates and other signatures that the Registrar of Voters deems unqualified. Other disqualifications result from people signing who aren’t registered or they’re not registered at their current address.

Volunteers at storefronts report an interesting phenomenon. They say that MacLean’s supporters and opponents mention the same thing: MacLean didn’t act alone in some of his worst votes. The MUK majority of MacLean, Frank Ury and Trish Kelley all voted in favor of lifetime healthcare benefits after three terms of part-time service. All three supported a plan that would bulldoze the retail center at La Paz and Marguerite and rebuild it with apartments on top. All three stated their approval, either from the dais or in private conversations, for housing on the Casta del Sol Golf Course.

Distinguishing those who support MacLean from those who want to recall him is their choice of remedy. MacLean supporters give “their guy” a pass for everything, including his assault and battery on a co-worker. Recall supporters would like to dump all three majority members, but they’ll settle for removing MacLean as the worst of the lot.

A volunteer emailed, “Residents seem confident that MacLean will be recalled, and they’re not overly concerned about the expense of a special election. Many of them are shocked to learn that city hall spends more than $1 million a week. That puts the expense of an election into perspective when the council majority wastes so much money. Residents want MacLean out of office as soon as possible.”

A few MacLean supporters have stated that he’s done “good things” for the city. To the contrary, he has no record of leadership on positive accomplishments, but that’s not why he’s being recalled. The grounds for recalling him include his anger issues, self-enrichment, disrespect for residents, greed and corrupt priorities, wasteful spending, breaking campaign promises and his attempt to raise taxes. As a statement of how low the bar has been set, no one has criticized MacLean for his lack of positive accomplishments. He could have stuck around if he’d simply done no harm.

School District Update

Capistrano USD: Does anyone remember how long ago former CUSD Supt. James Fleming and former Assistant Supt. Susan McGill were charged with illegal use of taxpayer funds?

The two former CUSD administrators were indicted by a grand jury in May 2007. Both were charged with felonies over "enemies" lists created in 2005 during an attempted recall of all seven school board members.

Charges against Fleming include misappropriation of public funds, use of school funds to urge support or defeat of a ballot measure or candidate, and conspiracy to commit an act injurious to the public. McGill is charged with perjury and conspiracy to commit an act injurious to the public.

Their trial has been delayed to Aug. 31 or later because of a scheduling conflict. This is the seventh delay. Jonathan Volzke of the Capistrano Dispatch writes, “If Just Delayed is Justice Denied … Then somebody is getting ripped off here.” Read the story, including links to the OC Register article, at http://capistranoinsider.typepad.com/beyond_the_blackboard/

On the same page, find Volzke’s other posts about CUSD. He describes a rare situation of general agreement between the union and trustees on Roberta Mahler as the choice of interim district superintendent. He quotes a positive reaction from the teacher’s union leader. The trustees anticipate approving Mahler’s contract (for $975 a day) on June 8.

Saddleback Valley USD: SVUSD trustees will discuss the Reuse Plan for O’Neill Elementary School at the next school board meeting, Tues., June 9.  The general meeting begins at 5:45 p.m. The agenda can be found at http://www.svusd.org/p_subject.asp?sid=13899&sm=a7

A June 6 post on MissionViejoDispatch.com describes potential use for O’Neill following the board’s decision to close it as an elementary school. An application to preserve it as a charter school was also denied. The current plan is to move the District Recreation Division into the facility. If approved, it would offer year-round programs including childcare, social activities, sports and special events.

Read the Dispatch article at http://missionviejodispatch.com/?p=9261

The Buzz

Lower Curtis Park continues to be the city staff’s designated dumpsite. A community activist emailed other watchdogs on June 4, “A resident who lives near Curtis Park says the dumping activity at Lower Curtis has significantly accelerated. With the so-called completion of Crown Valley Porkway in May, where is the dirt now coming from according to city employees? Neighbors are annoyed at the disrespect for public property.”

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An early participant in Lower Curtis shenanigans, City Manager Dennis Wilberg created a make-work project for a city contractor in 2003. Back then, Wilberg was director of public works, and Granich Construction had a standard city contract with an “up to” amount. The contractor was idle, and taxpayer money was available. With no real work at hand, Granich was paid approximately $200,000 for moving dirt around in Lower Curtis. Community activist Bo Klein discovered the stealth project when he was looking for potential dog park sites, and Larry Gilbert and Joe Holtzman played key roles in exposing the project for what it was. Other watchdogs took the matter to the grand jury, which concluded a variety of illegal acts probably occurred. The grand jury didn’t pursue it because the council had approved payment, giving an appearance of approving the work.

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Why is a city contractor now using Lower Curtis as a storage area? The park is zoned for recreation, which doesn’t include a city yard for a contractor’s use. The city staff’s real attitude toward public property becomes apparent when residents remark about problems in their neighborhoods: deteriorating infrastructure, parks turned into dumpsites, poorly maintained slopes and the declining condition of open spaces. By contrast, a city staffer recently directed the planting of 400 trees and other vegetation (during a severe drought) on a strip of Crown Valley Porkway, and it is pursuing a $300,000 plan to exacerbate eyesores on a nature trail.

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A resident of an HOA adjacent to the Casta del Sol Golf Course asked a blog staff member if it’s true that a developer is back in the picture for housing on the golf course. The word is new to bloggers, and city hall has launched an extensive PR campaign to quash any hint of housing while Councilman Lance MacLean is the target of a recall.

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Don’t worry, be happy. The city staff’s spin machine doesn’t permit the publication of anything negative. While businesses are going under everywhere else, they are only opening in Mission Viejo. All other public agencies, organizations and entities are cutting back, but not Mission Viejo, which touts its $28 million in “reserves” (and never mind that the funds are already spent or encumbered, except for approximately $500,000). After the city was built out, the number of city staff members ballooned to an extraordinary level, 152. Rancho Santa Margarita, another contract city similar in nature to Mission Viejo, has fewer than 25 full-time employees.

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In the face of everyone else’s financial decline, Mission Viejo’s city staff is continuing its tradition of lavish parties, primarily for city employees and the extended “family” of council members, commissioners and other associates. The city spin machine pumped bilge about “hundreds” attending a bash last week: “More than 240 people on Wednesday celebrated the 20th anniversary of the City’s Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center with poignant tales, reminiscing and a delectable lunch. … Attendees enjoyed an historical look back at the center’s evolution along with a Cordon Bleu lunch – complete with wild rice, creamed spinach, salad and chocolate eclair.” Photographers apparently had a difficult time taking group pictures that didn’t include staffers, commissioners, city council members and others associated with the city.