The Buzz

After Councilman Lance MacLean created a phony dog park project to draw dog-park promoters into his anti-recall campaign on Oct. 5, will the sham end during the Nov. 16 council meeting? Residents who live near the targeted site, Oso Viejo Park, had to mobilize their neighborhood, take time off work and make other sacrifices to fight off the unwanted project. They endured insults from MacLean, and they got an attorney to protect their rights. Will one of the three council members who caused the problem (MacLean, Frank Ury and Trish Kelley – MUK) now pretend to be the hero by making a motion to end it? The council majority’s word of the month should be “Busted.”

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One of the dog park supporters indicated on a Web site that MacLean contacted her prior to putting the dog park on the Oct. 5 agenda. Apparently, he told her to gather her group together and plan to support his “effort.” Meanwhile, homeowners who live near Oso Viejo Park were blindsided. Some who made public comments during the meeting said they didn’t know about the plan to put a dog park next to their homes until they read it in the newspaper.

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A color coding system emerged during the Oct. 5, Oct. 21 and Nov. 2 council meetings. Dog park supporters who wanted a dog park in Oso Viejo Park wore blue at the Oct. 5 and Oct. 21 meetings. Neighbors surrounding the Oso Viejo Park wore green at the Oct. 5, Oct. 21 and Nov. 2 meetings. Red-faced supporters of MacLean wore red at the Nov. 2 meeting. Perhaps the city staff can now turn the concept into a government project and order 10,000 taxpayer-provided T-shirts (in various colors and imprinted with the city staff’s dead tree insignia) to demonstrate “the public is engaged” at city hall.

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Is it true that proponents of the MacLean recall want to “cut and slash” city services, programs and facilities, as a MacLean shill said during the Nov. 2 council meeting? Supporters of the recall say absolutely not. Many proponents have publicly advocated goals of balance (including a balanced budget) and focus on basics (e.g., infrastructure and essential services). The objective is to rearrange priorities. MacLean has become a champion of self-service and catering to his special-interest campaign donors who live outside Mission Viejo. Recall proponents say the city should put residents first.

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A central theme of MacLean’s anti-recall campaign is admission of guilt but saying he didn’t act alone. For example, it took three council votes to bestow lifetime medical benefits for three terms of part-time service. MacLean is being recalled because he’s the worst offender, and his mental problems and violent temper are a liability to the city. As a practical matter, gathering valid signatures was a success for one council member, whereas recalling three would require 27,900 signatures with a minimum of 9,300 registered voters signing three times. As another practical aspect, it isn’t easy finding three competent, ethical replacements who are willing to serve. An essential element of improving representation is to stop electing officials by default.