Will Recall Qualify?

On July 29, county blogger Larry Gilbert speculated on OrangeJuice.com about candidates who might enter the race to replace Councilman Lance MacLean in a recall election. Read Gilbert’s post at http://orangejuiceblog.com/2009/07/who-wilol-replace-lance-maclean-in-the-mission-viejo-recall-election

The Registrar of Voters is in the process of determining if 13,915 signatures on the recall petition contain at least 9,393 valid ones by the RoV’s standards. After mid-July, some residents at storefronts and other collection venues asked why recall proponents were still getting signatures. Two aspects kept volunteers going: 1) In the 2005 attempt by Capo district constituents to recall all seven school board members, the Registrar of Voters threw out approximately one-third of the signatures. 2) Councilwoman Trish Kelley began an anti-recall campaign in July to keep MacLean in office.

Recall proponents weren’t overly concerned that Trish Kelley would deter residents from signing the petition or convince those who had signed to rescind their signatures. Kelley appeared to be distributing erroneous advice about the rescission process.

The suspense for proponents will be the wait while the Registrar of Voter determines whether or not a recall election will take place. As one example of how the RoV disqualified signatures in the 2005 attempted CUSD recall, entire pages of signatures were thrown out because “they were written in the same color ink.” At storefronts, volunteers generally supply pens, as shoppers usually don’t approach grocery stores with a pen in hand. While the RoV in 2005 was adamant about voters writing the same address that appeared on voter records, the RoV in the 2008 CUSD recall of two school board members allegedly accepted a different address if the constituent remained a resident within the district.

If the RoV disqualifies nearly a third of approximately 14,000 signatures in the MacLean recall, it will still qualify. The hard truth is that such excessive disqualification took place in the past. While some observers are predicting the recall will qualify, the outcome is up to those counting the signatures.

City Hall Withholds Records

On Friday, city hall issued its answer. Administrators will release no records regarding the alleged illegal use of city property to interfere in a recall.

An article appeared on this blog’s Aug. 15 edition, summarizing a request for public information and the subsequent stonewalling by city officials: http://missionviejoca.org/News/2009_Q3/2009_08_15/article2/article2.html

The request for public records was made on July 9 following an incident involving City Manager Dennis Wilberg on July 8. Recall workers said Wilberg harassed them in front of the city library. Two female volunteers said they were asking Mission Viejo residents to sign the petition to recall Councilman Lance MacLean.

Throughout the recall signature drive, Wilberg and a few others, including MacLean, have either harassed volunteers or made threats of violence against those gathering signatures.

According to the workers, Wilberg on July 8 sat on a bench within a few feet of them in front of the library. They said he was watching them while he held what appeared to be a BlackBerry phone. The city issued a BlackBerry for his use in official city business.

From the Aug. 15 blog report: “As a city employee, Wilberg is prohibited from involving himself in a recall or an election. Any misuse of the city-provided BlackBerry phone raises further questions about misappropriation of public funds. Recall proponents on July 9 requested public records to document Wilberg's use of the phone and capture any text messages or recordings. Following is the response (or non-response) that proponents have thus far received from the city. If Wilberg has nothing to hide, why would the city staff need more than five weeks to find his phone records?”

Following are the emails from city hall.

From: Robert Schick
To: Lisa
Sent: Friday, August 28, 2009 3:55 PM
Subject: RE: Public Records Request from the City of Mission Viejo

Good afternoon,
 
This email is in response to your Public Records Request received in the City Clerk's office on July 9, 2009, concerning records pertaining to the use of City Manager Dennis Wilberg's cell phone on 7/8/09.  It has been determined that there are no unprivileged public records that are responsive to the request.
 
Please let me know if you have any questions or if I may be of any other assistance.
 
Thank you,
 
Robert Schick
(949) 470-3034

From: Robert Schick
Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 4:57 PM
To: 'Lisa'
Subject: RE: Public Records Request from the City of Mission Viejo
Good afternoon,
 
This email is in response to your Public Records Request received in the City Clerk's office on July 9, 2009, concerning records pertaining to the use of City Manager Dennis Wilberg's cell phone on 7/8/09.  The City is currently reviewing and processing your request.
 
Pursuant to Government Code Section 6253(c), this email is to inform you that the City will respond to your request within fourteen days from the date of this email. A voluminous amount of separate and distinct records need to be searched and examined and multiple City departments may need to be consulted with in order to comply with the demands of your request.
 
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
 
Thank you,
 
Robert Schick
(949) 470-3034

From: Robert Schick
Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 2:07 PM
To: 'Lisa'
Subject: RE: Public Records Request from the City of Mission Viejo
Good afternoon,
 
This email is in response to your Public Records Request received in the City Clerk's office on July 9, 2009, concerning records pertaining to the use of City Manager Dennis Wilberg's cell phone on 7/8/09.  The City is currently reviewing and processing your request.
 
Pursuant to Government Code Section 6253(c), this email is to inform you that the City will respond to your request within fourteen days from the date of this email. A voluminous amount of separate and distinct records need to be searched and examined and multiple City departments may need to be consulted with in order to comply with the demands of your request.
 
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
 
Thank you,
 
Robert Schick
(949) 470-3034

From: Robert Schick
Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 4:46 PM
To: 'Lisa'
Subject: Public Records Request from the City of Mission Viejo
Good afternoon,
 
This email is in response to your Public Records Request received in the City Clerk's office on July 9, 2009, concerning records pertaining to the use of City Manager Dennis Wilberg's cell phone on 7/8/09.  The City is currently reviewing and processing your request.
 
Pursuant to Government Code Section 6253(c), this email is to inform you that the City will respond to your request within fourteen days from the date of this email. A voluminous amount of separate and distinct records need to be searched and examined and multiple City departments may need to be consulted with in order to comply with the demands of your request.
 
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
 
Thank you,
 
Robert Schick
Records Management Coordinator
City of Mission Viejo
200 Civic Center
Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Golf Course Basics

Community activist Brad Morton posted an update on MissionViejoDispatch.com on Mon., Aug. 24, announcing that proponents had turned in nearly 14,000 signatures on the petition to recall Councilman Lance MacLean. Read the report at http://missionviejodispatch.com/?p=10913

Among Dispatch readers to comment online were two Casta del Sol residents who are supporting MacLean. That’s ironic, considering that MacLean made clear he favored homebuilding on the Casta del Sol Golf Course. Why would any Casta resident defend a councilman who spit in the face of those wanting to preserve the golf course? MacLean also accepted a campaign donation from the housing developer’s PR agent.

This blog asked the obvious question months ago: if American Golf sells the golf course to a housing developer, why would anyone think the golf course or any part of it will remain in operation?

Unless a golf-course operator (not a housing developer) buys the property, it might continue to look like a golf course for a while – greens, fairways and a clubhouse – but locked down to prevent trespassing.

The Casta del Sol Golf Course has been for sale for years. Just ask those who play the course about maintenance. The course is not in good condition, and the owner makes little attempt to promote golf or use of the clubhouse. The property has been for sale, is currently for sale and will continue to be for sale. A prospective buyer who makes American Golf an offer should be prepared to pay for it.

The homebuilding slump won’t last forever, and housing developers will be back. The best hope residents have to preserve the Casta golf course is Mission Viejo’s Right-To-Vote initiative, which is scheduled to be on the June 2010 ballot. Proponents of this land-use initiative qualified it by collecting approximately 11,000 signatures to allow residents the final say in major zone changes. If residents pass the initiative, which they likely will do, they will take away the council’s authority to rezone property without a popular vote.

If voters will remove MacLean in a recall election, a new majority could enact the land-use initiative, thereby saving the cost of having it on the 2010 ballot. The golf course would thereby be protected from any future council majority, and Casta residents could get a good night’s sleep.

Fleming Trial To Begin

OC Register reporter Scott Martindale says the trial for former Capo school district administrators will begin Oct. 13. The trial has been rescheduled seven times. Ex-superintendent James Fleming and another former administrator, Susan McGill, were charged in May 2007 with felonies for using district resources for political purposes. The two became involved in the attempted recall of all seven school board trustees in 2005 and created “Enemies Lists” of parents and others who supported the recall.

Martindale’s story in the OC Register can be found at http://www.ocregister.com/articles/jury-capistrano-unified-2536461-fleming-selection

Lawsuits stemming from the creation of the Enemies Lists are still playing out, with litigants forming two separate groups to sue the district, the Registrar of Voters office and/or Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley.

The Buzz, Aug. 29

Mission Viejo resident and former city planning commissioner Jack Anderson’s job at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department was cut Aug. 18 by Sheriff Sandra Hutchens. Anderson attended a political meeting on Aug. 27, and others at the meeting said he seemed to be taking the career change in stride. Perhaps he’ll have time now to consider running for city council or unseating Sheriff Hutchens in 2010.

***

The Casta del Sol Republican Club will host a town hall meeting on Sun., Sept. 27, beginning at 4 p.m. The event will be held outdoors near Casta’s recreation complex, just inside Gate 1. Watch The Buzz for updates. Those residing outside the Casta gates can call (949) 837-1997 and leave a message to get on the guest list. There will be no admission charge to attend the event, and Congressman Gary Miller has accepted the Casta group’s invitation.

***

Look who’s supporting Councilman Lance MacLean in his effort to avoid being recalled. Red County staff members who don’t live in Mission Viejo claim the recall petition won’t have enough signatures to qualify. For anyone who isn’t familiar with Red County, it poses as a Republican outfit. However, it is driven by lobbyists and hacks who are supporting a Democrat, Tom Daly, as a candidate for OC Supervisor Chris Norby’s Fourth District seat. So, those posing as Republicans but supporting Democrats are defending MacLean. MacLean posed as a fiscal conservative in 2002, but he’s voted for every tax-and-spend, social engineering and self-enriching scheme to come before him.

***

Save the date: Dr. Michael Kennedy will be Saddleback Republican Assembly’s guest speaker on Thurs., Sept. 17, at 7 p.m. The group meets at Atria del Sol, in the second-floor community room. Atria del Sol is located on the northeast corner of Marguerite Parkway and Casta Drive. Dr. Kennedy will discuss the national healthcare bill that was passed by Congress and is now headed for the Senate.

***

In 2007, residents were right to pan the idea of an electronic sign on a corner of La Paz and Marguerite. When the council proposed replacing the old-style message board, most residents who spoke out were against an electronic sign. As a laughable claim, Councilman Frank Ury said from the dais that an electronic message board would be so useful it would replace the “City Outlook” magazine. The sign lately is reduced to flashing a message, “follow us on Twitter,” or displaying the city staff’s dead tree logo. Residents were correct that the sign would be garish and nonfunctional, but the council majority wouldn’t listen.