Community Involvement
by Dale Tyler

Over the past few days, I have been putting together the final package to deliver the Recall Lance petitions to the city clerk. As I have examined these documents, I am grateful to the many people who took time out of their busy days to listen to someone who asked them to sign a petition to recall Lance MacLean. Each and every one of you have become part of a process that has been enshrined in the California Constitution since 1911.

The power of recall is one that allows the people, when dissatisfied with the performance of a public official, to remove him or her from office without having to wait for the normal election cycle. In this case, MacLean, along with Kelly and Ury have been spending money in our reserves as quickly as possible to help their political friends. Wasteful spending like the Rose Bowl Float and now deciding to spend up to $7M on a facility used by less than 200 people are examples of why we need to be rid of them and especially Lance MacLean.

I would also like to thank the many community members who volunteered to gather signatures or to help others do so. Some of these people were subjected to abuse and interference from MacLean supporters. Some were intimidated by city staff. Yet, all of them persevered and came back day after day to get the need signatures to recall Lance.

Thanks to everyone for their hard work and dedication.

Here's a picture of the petition sections ready for delivery:

Press Release

Recall committee delivers signatures

Mission Viejo, CA, Aug. 24, 2009 At 8 a.m. on Mon., Aug. 24, community watchdog Dale Tyler made a special delivery to Mission Viejo City Clerk Karen Hamman. Tyler carried a large cardboard box containing the MacLean recall petitions signed by 13,915 Mission Viejo voters. Tyler has served as spokesman for the committee to recall Councilman Lance MacLean from the time signature gathering began on March 18. 

Tyler delivered the signatures a day ahead of the Aug. 25 deadline, saying volunteers believe they have enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. Hamman told Tyler she would take the signatures to the Registrar of Voters in Santa Ana on Tuesday. The Registrar can take up to 60 days to evaluate the signatures. In order to qualify, 9,393 valid ones must be found, 15 percent of approximately 62,000 registered voters in Mission Viejo.

Hamman counted the signatures to verify the number she received. Tyler had pre-counted and organized the petitions to accelerate the process of checking them in. 

Another community volunteer, Connie Lee, accompanied Tyler and observed the process. She said, “An amazing number of people helped get signatures, and it took everyone to do it. If we want improved government, we’ll have to fight for it. Community members are fed up with so-called public service that turns into self-enrichment and backwards priorities.”

This was Mission Viejo’s second signature drive within one year. On Aug. 15, 2008, Tyler launched a petition to put major land-use zone changes into the hands of voters. The effort followed a housing developer’s proposal to build an assisted-living complex on the Casta del Sol Golf Course. The land-use initiative qualified for the June 2010 election.

Resident Comments on AT&T Boxes

Are the proposed AT&T Light Speed boxes in Irvine above or below ground? 

I think it is interesting that Irvine told AT&T a BIG NO, while Bill Curley, our loquacious city attorney in Mission Viejo, caved in. It was also Curley's firm that folded its cards in front of the CPUC concerning the Edison transmission lines in north Mission Viejo.

Irvine also told Edison NO on some aboveground transmission lines while Mission Viejo walked away from supporting NOPE.  It was cheaper to pay off Kelley, Ledesma and MacLean with campaign contributions ($4,500.00) than do the right thing and bury transmission lines that don't even service our city.

Do we have a gutless Mission Viejo city attorney or is he just ineffective and inept?  Maybe it is all of the above!

Joe Holtzman
Mission Viejo

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.”