City Hall Takes Aim at TEA Party

In May, Saddleback Republican Assembly announced plans to have a TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party near Mission Viejo’s July 4th Street Faire. Organizers say they’ll have a presence with tables and workers throughout the day outside both entrances to the Faire. SRA will present a TEA Party program from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

On June 26, SRA said the 7 p.m. TEA Party location is being moved to the east end of the Faire, near the intersection of Olympiad Road and Melinda Road. The party was originally planned outside the Faire’s west entrance between Marguerite and the entrance to the lake.

On June 22, an SRA official said he received a call from a member of the Mission Viejo Activities Committee. On June 23, he said a representative from the Sheriff’s Dept. (OCSD) called him about the TEA Party, advising that participants should not block sidewalks when they convene for their 7 p.m. rally.

Another SRA member called Mission Viejo Chief of Police Mike Gavin. She said, “I asked him to state his message so we could officially relay it to those attending the TEA Party. He said his only purpose was safety. I said we’d tell TEA Partiers not to block sidewalks, but that’s when I learned city hall’s real intent was to derail the TEA Party.”

Gavin said the city had declared all of Olympiad Road from Melinda Road to Marguerite Parkway was for the Faire’s exclusive use, prohibiting all other activity. However, information coming from the city (including a sign currently on Olympiad Road) states the Faire is between the lake’s driveway and Melinda Road. For five of the last six years, SRA and other groups have put up tables and canopies west of the lake entrance to register voters. No one has previously challenged any group’s First Amendment rights to conduct voter registration or any other political activity on public property near the Faire.

Gavin also said on June 26 that SRA would need a special event permit. The requirement later evolved to a permit for amplified music after he said using a microphone per se doesn’t require a permit. His remarks are contrary to prior OCSD statements that no permit is needed for a political rally on public property for a group with fewer than 1,500 participants. After SRA members made additional calls to Gavin on June 26, he explained that OCSD was placing no requirements on the group, and any requirement for a special event permit for amplified music came only from city hall. He reiterated that his concern was safety.

Why is Gavin relaying a message about a permit from city hall if it doesn’t involve OCSD? If an SRA member hadn’t called Gavin to clarify his message, was the city planning to ambush SRA on July 4 by stating the group’s chosen site wasn’t acceptable and they had not acquired a permit to amplify music?

Although Gavin said SRA could hold its rally along Marguerite Parkway, SRA instead relocated the TEA Party to the east end of the Faire. To move the event from a closed street to a busy thoroughfare would not be in the interest of safety. Within an hour of the phone calls to Gavin, SRA members made two quick trips to city hall to get a permit. The first trip was unproductive when city staff members said they weren’t familiar with any permit form or the need for a permit. As of this writing, the matter of a permit is unresolved because the city employee who handles permits had taken the afternoon off on June 26, and no one else would answer any question or take a message.

City hall has been inconsistent about enforcing its own rules, and it has a reputation for making up rules (and almost anything else) on the fly.

County blogger and longtime watchdog Larry Gilbert responded by email regarding the city staff’s pressure on SRA to apply for a special event permit. He wrote, “Does the Mission Viejo Activities Committee get a waiver for the 4th of July fireworks noise? Do Code Enforcement staff members drive around with decibel meters, and do we have a written policy specifying a maximum limit for noise, or is it simply in the eye of the beholder? What about the summer concerts at the lake? Does the lake board obtain permits? How about the musical performers during Fun With Chalk! What about my next door neighbors? What a bogus excuse in an attempt to stifle the First Amendment! Force them to be consistent.”

Recall Update

As the recall of Councilman Lance MacLean has progressed, his supporters causing a scene have dwindled. Lately, recall workers have reported few incidents except for MacLean acting alone when he was harassing volunteers two weeks ago.

During the past week, volunteers’ sole encounter with a MacLean fanatic occurred in front of a grocery store. A volunteer became concerned about a stocky 50-year-old male who was angry when he saw the recall signs. She said, “He was belligerent and began yelling. He came toward me as if he were going to hit me. A bystander said that MacLean should be recalled, and then he went after the bystander.”

MacLean’s supporters who have displayed their anger are often repeat offenders. Some of them are easily recognizable when they reappear at storefronts. In Aegean Hills, a man who drives a dark-beige Chevy SUV is well known for making threats on behalf of MacLean. In north Mission Viejo, another of MacLean’s bullies drives a cream-colored Chrysler 300. A volunteer said, “We know who they are, and we see them coming. The driver of the Chrysler immediately runs into the store and complains to the manager. The manager doesn’t react because he knows we’re being courteous to everyone.”

Throughout the recall, MacLean and his supporters have consistently been wrong in their assessments. They said a handful of residents backed the recall. In fact, 51 proponents started the action and a great many more have joined in to collect signatures. Recall opponents next said gadflies were driving the recall, but the face of the recall is a wide range of residents, including newcomers. Recall opponents implied the proponents are an angry mob, but signature gatherers are consistently polite and civil.

Activity at some storefronts is winding down. After three months of signature-gathering, volunteers say they have to be careful about overworking a location. Some voters can’t remember if they signed weeks ago, and they’ll sign it again. The result is duplicate signatures, and only one signature will count. Signature gathering will continue for several more weeks while proponents check each signature against the Registrar of Voters’ data. Proponents will make certain they have the required number (approximately 9,300 verified ones) before ending the signature drive.

SRA Readies for July 4 TEA Party
Press Release

Mission Viejo, CA, June 27, 2009 – Saddleback Republican Assembly members are finalizing plans for Mission Viejo’s July 4th TEA Party. The TEA Party program will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. near the intersection of Olympiad Road and Melinda Road.

The group will sponsor other activities beginning at noon outside the gates of Mission Viejo’s annual Fourth of July Street Faire, which culminates with a fireworks display at 9:00 p.m. The city’s Faire will be held on a closed-off section of Olympiad Road between Marguerite Parkway and Melinda Road.

The 7 p.m. TEA Party program was relocated to an area near the east entrance to the Faire (on Olympiad Road at Melinda Road) after city hall indicated it would not allow any activity on public property west of the Faire’s entrance.

Beginning at 7 p.m., emcee Jeff Morrow will introduce speakers, and Diamond Tom will provide live music. TEA Party participants are invited to bring a sign to hold or a flag to wave during the rally.

SRA members and other TEA Party Patriots will have tables outside both entrances to the Faire to offer voter registration and opportunities to sign letters of protest and the petition to recall Mission Viejo Councilman Lance MacLean. SRA welcomes help throughout the day, and participants can get started anytime after 12 noon by coming to SRA’s tables.

Updates and other announcements about the Mission Viejo July 4th TEA Party will be posted on MissionViejoCA.org and distributed to newspapers, the MissionViejoDispatch.com and the county’s premier blog, OrangeJuiceBlog.com.

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

The Buzz

Two weeks into his new assignment, OC Register reporter Niyaz Pirani shows promise in covering his Mission Viejo beat. The June 26 issue of Saddleback Valley News contains no drivel from city hall disguised as news.

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Is the meaning of Independence Day slipping away? Saddleback Republican Assembly is doing its part to stir patriotic spirit with a rally on July Fourth. SRA invites community members to celebrate the day by attending a TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. near the intersection of Olympiad Road and Melinda Road. Participants will carry protest signs, wave flags and listen to live music during a 90-minute program organized by SRA.

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The best news coverage of the Capo school district can be found in the Capistrano Dispatch. The online version, http://CapoDispatch.com , includes up-to-the-minute posts from Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Volzke. Jonathan has done an excellent job of summarizing CUSD’s budget challenges. Read his articles by following the link, “Beyond the Blackboard” or go to http://capistranoinsider.typepad.com/beyond_the_blackboard/ . A lively online discussion includes 82 posts as of June 28. View the exchange of ideas at http://capistranoinsider.typepad.com/beyond_the_blackboard/2009/06/districts-offer-to-teachers-10-percent-cut-but-heres-some-options.html#comments .

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This blog has published numerous warnings from Mission Viejo watchdogs about the city’s declining revenues. Contrary to spin from city hall, the watchdogs were right. Read a discussion of the city’s financial problems with an incisive article and comments at http://missionviejodispatch.com/?p=9835

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Feedback from a Buzz reader about the city budget: “How much money are they going to spend on tennis courts? How far would that go if put to another use, say, a proactive approach to dealing with abandoned properties? Which would be most beneficial to the homeowners, a.k.a. taxpayers, of the city? Gee, I wonder...”

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Dr. Orly Taitz is a Mission Viejo resident who has become the No. 1 “eligibility activist” questioning President Barack Obama’s birthplace. She says he is foreign-born and ineligible to serve as president. OC Weekly published her story in its June 19-25 print version. Read it at http://www.ocweekly.com/2009-06-18/news/orly-taitz/

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“Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” – words written on the Liberty Bell.