City’s Lawsuit Draws Comments

On Sept. 22, the OC Register published remarks by City Attorney Bill Curley, who tried to explain why he filed a lawsuit prior to getting the council’s approval. Curley filed suit against the Saddleback school district on Sept. 8 before the council voted on it. Contrary to his explanation, such unauthorized action was unwarranted because of the council’s ability to call a special meeting.

Curley said he bypassed the council’s approval because he was trying to beat a statute of limitations under the California Environmental Quality Act. At least he admitted his first mistake.

As background, the city council majority had failed to negotiate with SVUSD or persuade its trustees to keep O’Neill Elementary School open while the option was still viable. The process disintegrated into a lawsuit over the building’s reuse after the elementary school closed.

Residents responded that lawsuits are costly, and neither the school district nor the city will benefit. The council majority ignored early opportunities to save a neighborhood school or respond appropriately at any point in time. Even when parents of O’Neill students came to council meetings to ask for help, the council majority refused to act. Mayor Frank Ury told parents that teachers could donate a portion of their salary to keep O’Neill open.

Call it what it is: failed leadership.

The Sept. 22 Register article quoted Ury when he defended the city attorney’s taking action without council approval: "The city attorney has understood the position of this council," Mayor Frank Ury said, speaking to the filing. " … We put people in place that, in absence of direct instruction of this council, can still make decisions for the rest of us."

Ury made no points with OCR readers. Find the article and comments at http://www.ocregister.com/articles/city-curley-lawsuit-2576833-district-council

In an online discussion among residents, Frank Fossati cut to the chase. He wrote, “If City Attorney Curley was doing a good job for the city of Mission Viejo, he would have had the Statute of Limitations deadline on his call-up list well in advance, and had ample time to follow normal protocol to obtain Mission Viejo City Council approval prior to his filing. The plain and simple facts are that Mr. Curley is not doing a good job for Mission Viejo, and he should be replaced with a more competent person.”