Who Ya Gonna Call?

With investigative reporters dwindling in the media, community members have an increased role in exposing government corruption or living with it. In Mission Viejo, a group of watchdogs founded the Committee for Integrity in Government in the 1990s and met monthly for years. Many stories about city corruption have broken at council meetings when watchdogs spoke into the public microphone. The watchdogs have done a remarkable job, considering they are limited to three minutes during public comments.

As a credit to the watchdogs’ effort, two old council queens (Sherri Butterfield and Susan Withrow) were voted out of office in November 2002. The watchdogs had relentlessly spread the word of corruption in city hall, and voters reacted at the ballot box. As another phenomenon, all five current council members got community support with the help of watchdogs who optimistically believed in them when they first ran.

The watchdogs are still present, attending council meetings and exposing the culprits. The current atmosphere is much like the days of old when Butterfield and Withrow were on the council. The majority members (Lance MacLean, Frank Ury and Trish Kelley – MUK) have taken up the practice of the deposed queens, using the power of their office to take shots at critics in the audience.

A stalwart among city watchdogs is Larry Gilbert, who has probably attended more council meetings than most of the council members. He frequently delivers public comments to expose things council majority members don’t want the public to know. Gilbert writes for the premier county blog, OrangeJuiceBlog.com, about city hall’s dirty little secrets. While Gilbert is respected and applauded by residents for his watchdog work, he’s often blasted by council majority members. From the dais, they call him by name and launch into attacks that become personal and vicious.

The council majority and city staff have aligned with out-of-towners (developers, lobbyists and special interest) to save MacLean from being recalled. With the power of the incumbency, plus extraordinary amounts of money from outsiders who have bought MacLean’s vote, the attack against the recall group is mighty.

If MacLean’s supporters were able to succeed in crushing the grass-roots’ recall effort, residents should expect the council majority’s arrogance to increase exponentially. If outsiders can defeat the recall, Mission Viejo residents will continue to be steamrolled by the current council majority. If watchdogs can be quashed by big money from out of town, who will residents call to protect them from city hall?

Mission Viejo voters will have a voice on February 2, and they should exercise it by supporting the recall. Vote Yes to recall Lance MacLean, and on the same ballot vote for Dale Tyler as the replacement candidate.