Commissioner Dives into Recall
Press Release

Mission Viejo, CA, July 31, 2009 – Community Services Commissioner Leslie Sykes used his official position to interfere with the effort to recall Councilman Lance MacLean. The July 30 confrontation at a popular storefront was captured in a dozen photographs and on two videos when Sykes harassed and attempted to intimidate recall workers. On one of the videos, Sykes can be heard admitting he earlier in the day was yelling at recall workers from his car.

When Sykes walked up to the signature gatherers on Thursday afternoon, he was observed and photographed by an activist. The activist reported that Sykes flashed his city-issued commission credential to the signature gatherers, and he presented himself as a city official opposing the recall. He was wearing a taxpayer-funded golf shirt emblazoned with “City of Mission Viejo Community Services Commission.”

The activist said, “He tried to intimidate the workers. After they ignored him, he stood a few feet away and attempted to block passersby from signing the recall.” A recall proponent who had been summoned to the storefront took photographs and a second video of Sykes interfering with signature gathering.

As a particularly odd technique of blocking, Sykes held up a fan that was printed with information about a city program. As the recall workers asked residents to sign the recall, Sykes tried to engage them by talking about the program. Two residents who were shopping at the store said Sykes tried to engage them by talking about the program when they were near the recall table. The activist who was at the storefront to observe signature gathering spoke with the couple and emailed the following report:

The woman said, “We asked him [Sykes] what he was doing, and he said he didn't know anything about the program he was supposed to be touting. He had a fan with a printed announcement on it or something similar in his hand. When I asked him about the fan, he said it was just a prop that 'she' wanted him to hold when 'she' sent him over to Trader Joe's." The woman indicated that Sykes pointed at city hall when he said ‘she.’ The shoppers said Sykes would mention the program and then mix in pro-MacLean statements.”

A report of the incident was quickly posted on Orange County’s premiere blog. View the article and comments at http://orangejuiceblog.com/2009/07/panic-sets-in-as-the-sun-goes-down-on-mission-viejo-councilman-lance-maclean/#comments

Those commenting on the post concluded the person in city hall who had directed Sykes to confront the recall workers is Councilwoman Trish Kelley. Sykes is Frank Ury’s appointee to the Community Services Commission.

As reported on this blog and OrangeJuiceBlog.com, activists discovered on March 27 that Kelley had called the store manager and told him to make the recall workers leave the storefront. Such an act would have been a violation of the volunteers’ First Amendment rights. A store employee said Kelley told the manager that a pro-MacLean group could show up at the store, and the employee seemed worried about such a scene being disruptive to business.

Proponents of the recall expect the July 30 incident involving Sykes’ attempt to intimidate workers by presenting himself as a city official will first be addressed by the city attorney. The use of city resources to interfere with an election or recall is prohibited by law.