Blogger Interviews Council Candidates

Two candidates are vying to replace Councilman Lance MacLean in the Special Election on Feb. 2. Dale Tyler was first to complete the filing process on Nov. 17, and Dave Leckness returned his papers on the last day to file, Nov. 19.

City watchdog Larry Gilbert writes for the county blog, OrangeJuiceBlog.com, and he interviewed both candidates. Read his Nov. 9 interview with Leckness at http://orangejuiceblog.com/2009/11/interview-of-dave-leckness-mission-viejo-recall-election-candidate The article had drawn 38 comments from readers as of Nov. 28.

In the interview, Gilbert describes Leckness: “His key objective is to ‘promote small business growth’ as they were losing customers. Dave could not point out anything that the city could do to that end.” Leckness admitted he hadn’t signed the recall and didn’t know what it was about. He couldn’t answer questions about current city issues. For example, he said he didn’t have knowledge of the Mission Viejo Right-To-Vote Initiative or the dog park.

On Nov. 28, Gilberg posted his interview with Dale Tyler, which can be found at http://orangejuiceblog.com/2009/11/interview-of-dale-tyler-mission-viejo-recall-candidate/#comments . As one reader commented, the interview is long. It is also thorough.

When asked what he would do if elected, Tyler indicated that he would begin by rescinding the lifetime medical benefits council members had bestowed on themselves and roll back their pay increase. Three council members (MacLean, Ury and Kelley) were the majority members who gave themselves lifetime medical benefits, which they will get if they serve three terms on the council. The timing was noteworthy, as the vote was taken immediately after the November 2008 election. The salary increase came more than a year ago when the council majority members voted to double their stipend. Again, the timing was an issue, with many residents losing their jobs and worrying about the economy.

Savings to taxpayers by rescinding lifetime medical benefits has been estimated at $270,000 per council member. The cost of the special election to remove Councilman Lance MacLean has been estimated at $275,000.