Upward Thinking in Economic Downturn
by Carl Schulthess

Mission Viejo Innovation and Entrepreneurial Institute is my concept to match ideas, resources and opportunities.

An alternate name for this organization could be “If you can’t find a job, create one.” The current economic climate in America is at a tipping point, screaming for a creative means to encourage new enterprises to create jobs for the currently unemployed and the new graduates each year. It is likely that some government support could be arranged from agencies like the SBA.

When I was looking for a job in 1990, I involved myself with “Experience Unlimited” at the local EDD. As I participated in the one-week indoctrination, I realized that there was a great cross-section of critical skills in a variety of industries in attendance – enough to build a business from scratch.

I proposed and got permission from the Director to form a group as named above. We met twice (I got a job!) and it fell apart due to no leadership. At the time there were about a dozen participants. The basic premise was to have the group troll through the NASA Tech Briefs and, ultimately, the other National Labs and Universities Technology Transfer literature until one of the participants found a technology that resonated with him based upon his experience. He was to then solicit other participants with complimentary and pertinent skills in the basic areas of engineering, manufacturing, marketing, finance and management to form a cell that would write both an SBIR Proposal and a business plan to permit solicitation of Seed and follow-on financing.

These “Technology Transfer” programs are a goldmine waiting to be tapped. The U.S. government has funded applied research in hundreds of business areas all the way through the pre-production stage WITH patents that are offered with an EXCLUSIVE license to use for the purpose of creating a business around it. In most cases, the inventors-researchers are available to consult as part of the package.

Out of 100,000 or so Mission Viejo residents, there are thousands of skilled, experienced people that are either unemployed, underemployed or retired who have valuable skills that can be invested in non-prime time to create new enterprises. Our residents will also bring a treasure trove of their own business opportunities to the table and permit the Institute to round out a viable business plan with the right talent to attract investors.

The city’s involvement in this activity can be limited to providing a place to call home and broadcasting the opportunity to our citizens. I am sure that the lawyers can figure out an iron-tight disclosure statement to keep the city out of any responsibility for deals that go bad.

This activity will attract investors from within and outside of Mission Viejo, since there is more money than good investments available. We can probably encourage investors to be part of the “Business Creation” Cell right up front to ensure that the plan is done properly and is saleable to other investors. He can be the point man in the task of finding other investors. Mission Viejo possesses human resources that form the single most important asset to a new company that is looking for Investment Capital. I have some contacts in the Angel and Venture community that will be helpful.

In return for the city’s involvement, the process will focus on renting industrial space in MV and hiring MV residents. Beyond this, I can visualize a relationship with all the MV High Schools and Saddleback JC to encourage participation by students as part of a mentoring program. These students would be prime sources for labor as the process of creating a business matures. Educational activities at the center, including Art, Sciences, Engineering, Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design would feed into the experienced labor pool to create a high-octane Business Plan.

Another opportunity is to associate ourselves with one of the new Charter Schools. They seem to be searching for space and a reason to exist. I can visualize connecting with Unisys, which has a large percentage of the building on Jeronimo available. The school space could be rented and the students could be enrolled in Work/Study programs in Business, Science, Engineering and Manufacturing. This model has been used before, particularly in Schenectady NY with General Electric. The schools became relevant and General Electric had a readymade workforce.

Relationships with leading organizations within Mission Viejo like Mission Hospital or Unisys could bring ideas with merit as well as a cadre of Medical and Engineering professionals to participate in new ventures. There are a number of other Mission Viejo businesses that could benefit from cooperation in this “incubator” approach as a low-cost, low-risk method of new product development.

The Innovation AND Entrepreneurial Institute could use city facilities as a meeting place and possibly expand into a more industrial setting such as renting part of the Unisys building for R&D and beginning production as projects obtain funding. Perhaps Unisys would participate by providing mentors in return for rights of first refusal as business takes off in a particular group. This has been a very successful strategy for the 3M Corporation.

Other resources in Mission Viejo are the educators and professionals in our midst. We could tap them as lecturers for a regular lecture series on current topics in science and engineering, much like the Monday night lectures at Cal Tech’s Beckman Auditorium. We could charge for these lectures and work towards bringing in top people from outside MV. These lectures would be ideal to stimulate local students in the sciences and engineering.

This is just the kernel of the idea. It is a blank sheet of paper in an economic environment that screams for innovative ideas with which to form small companies around. The possibilities are endless.

The city of Mission Viejo would earn a reputation as a forward-looking city that invests ALL its resources wisely.

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.

Recall Update

During the week before Christmas, is everyone enjoying the attacks launched by Councilman Lance MacLean against residents supporting the recall? Other communities have carolers on street corners while MacLean is decking Mission Viejo with his black and red anti-recall signs.

Last week, Councilwoman Trish Kelley circulated an email asking people to complain to the District Attorney that they had been lied to when they signed the recall petition. Kelley’s email implies nearly 14,000 residents are so gullible they’ll put their signature on almost anything.

This is Kelley’s second anti-recall blast. In July, she began pleading with those who had signed the petition to rescind their signatures. Of approximately 14,000 who signed it, 16 voters had their names removed. Several others tried to rescind their names, but they apparently hadn’t signed the petition and/or they weren’t registered to vote.

The signature drive ended in August, and many people may have forgotten the information that was presented by recall signature gatherers. Here it is again:

Why recall Councilman Lance MacLean?

• He voted to double his own council salary and receive lifetime health benefits after 3 terms of service.
• Anger issues – assault and battery on a co-worker and constant blowups and hostility on the council.
• He wants more housing (more overcrowding and more traffic) including housing on Casta del Sol Golf Course.
• Cell towers everywhere – in parks and next to homes.
• He opposes our Right-To-Vote Initiative for land use.
• The Crown Valley PORKway mess has gone on more than three years. Why put up with this?
• Wasteful spending: Easelgate, $400,000 for a float; $11.8 million in deficit spending last year.
• The community center expansion ran three times over budget – more than $15 million, and still going.
• Appearance of Brown Act violations. He called residents racists and elitists.
• Tried to increase taxes with Measure K.

When MacLean couldn’t stop the message last summer, he went from storefront to storefront, trying to stop the messengers who were gathering signatures. If voters didn’t already know MacLean’s history (many did, and they signed the petition immediately), they took home a lavender-colored flyer with the above information. They went online, read the police report about MacLean’s assault and battery and saw his voting record. The charges stated in the recall are undeniable.

The Buzz

Street maintenance isn’t just about aesthetics. Hitting a pothole can damage a car’s suspension and steering components as well as tires and rims. While main drags have been the focus of city council discussions about maintenance, neighborhood streets are in far worse condition than arterials. What would it cost to bring all streets in town up to good condition? If the city is truly awash in cash, there’s no reason for deferred maintenance.

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Comment from a Buzz reader: “When I called city hall last week to report my street has wide cracks in the asphalt, a city employee was able to come up with a reason for the damage. The trash trucks caused it! Doesn’t that explain why so many streets are in bad shape? After all, trash trucks drive along each street once a week.”

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Does the explanation about trash trucks align with other logic from city hall? In 2003, then-Public Works Director Dennis Wilberg approved a stealth grading operation in Lower Curtis Park with money that had been budgeted for emergency maintenance. Granich Construction had the contract but no real work because winter rains hadn’t wiped out enough slopes and roads to occupy the contractor. Granich’s grading equipment sat idle in Lower Curtis until an “emergency” developed right where the equipment was parked. The contractor began moving dirt back and forth (and back and forth) until the bill exceeded $200,000. As justification for doing the grading, the city claimed that debris in the soil was so heavy it could cause a nearby waterline to break. A water district employee didn’t start laughing out loud but politely disagreed the waterline was in danger.

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Mission Viejo residents were surveyed last week about the recall of Councilman Lance MacLean. The same survey company may have polled residents in October, and some of those receiving calls presume the survey was funded by outside interests wanting to keep MacLean in office. The phone surveys are obviously expensive, and some folks said the calls were seeking information on how to protect MacLean. As for a survey that cost nothing at all, throughout last summer when Mission Viejo voters were signing the recall petition, the recall supporters said they asked voters how city hall is doing. Voters said they don’t trust the city council majority (Council Members Lance MacLean, Frank Ury and Trish Kelley) and MacLean should be recalled.

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Residents who have spoken with recall replacement candidate Dave Leckness say his reasons for running don’t add up. Leckness has indicated he doesn’t understand why Councilman Lance MacLean is being recalled, as he is doing a good job on the council. Leckness indicated that, if elected, he would be voting the same way MacLean votes. Those speaking with Leckness should ask if he will vote for or against recalling MacLean. If Leckness opposes the recall, why is he running?

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Leckness’ campaign statements indicate a small group of people (the proponents who actually know why MacLean is being recalled) are planning to close the animal shelter. Can Leckness point to a statement ANYONE has made about closing the animal shelter? When such a statement becomes a candidate’s battle cry, shouldn’t it have some reference to reality?