Recall Update

By the time the signature drive ended Sunday evening, more than 22 percent of Mission Viejo’s 62,000 registered voters had signed the petition to recall Councilman Lance MacLean. The 13,915 signatures gathered to recall him totaled 5,341 more than the 8,574 votes MacLean received his 2006 reelection. At the height of his popularity in November 2002 when he was first elected, 15,114 voters supported him.

Volunteers wrapped up the signature drive at 8 p.m. on Sunday and finished verifying and counting the signatures prior to turning them in on Monday morning.

As the recall signature drive was winding down, two statewide petitions surfaced at storefronts. Petitioners who had only the statewide initiatives told recall proponents that they were surprised to hear so many people passing by and claiming to have “signed everything.” Perhaps shoppers were showing signs of petition fatigue, but volunteers say nearly everyone had been good-natured about being asked repeatedly to sign the recall petition.

The last week of the signature drive was unusually quiet. MacLean made no appearances, and his supporters didn’t confront any of the signature gatherers. The flaps at storefronts were between store managers and the solicitors who were focusing on statewide initiatives.

After the signatures were turned in on Monday, a recall volunteer made an observation. He said, “I noticed city hall’s character quality for the month is self-control. The community just took a big step toward removing the council member who is out of control.”