Recall Update

Approximately three weeks remain before the Feb. 2 recall election to remove Councilman Lance MacLean from office. Absentee ballots began arriving in mailboxes on Jan. 5, and feedback indicates that voters are quickly mailing them in. Absentee ballots will be counted first on election night, and the outcome of the election should be known shortly after the polls close at 8:00 p.m.

Residents who are informed about MacLean and his record say they’ve already decided, and they’re casting their votes. Two activists have been polling voters at storefronts. One of them reported, “I’m finding support for the recall is running very high. It’s gratifying to find so many informed voters, and they’re not going to be fooled by MacLean’s TV commercials or a slick mailer paid for by a union or special interest group.”

One of MacLean’s recent campaign blunders was allowing the Apartment Association of Orange County to send Mission Viejo voters a letter endorsing MacLean. Residents who are already concerned about overcrowding and traffic instantly reacted to the thought of MacLean bringing in more apartments. Sites that could become housing developments include the Casta del Sol Golf Course, closed elementary schools and the retail center at La Paz and Marguerite. Council majority members (MacLean, Ury and Kelley -- MUK) have already indicated their support for housing on the golf course and razing the stores at La Paz and Marguerite to rebuild with affordable apartments on top of stores. Residents are alarmed at the prospect of more apartments in Mission Viejo.

After recall proponents staged three rallies on street corners, MacLean took his anti-recall campaign to the streets on Sat., Jan. 9. He and several of his supporters held signs and a banner at La Paz and Marguerite in the early afternoon. Replacement candidate Dave Leckness stood alongside MacLean with a message so confusing that residents were scratching their heads. According to a county blog writer, the banner didn’t make sense: “Vote no on the recall and vote for Dave Leckness to replace MacLean.”

MacLean’s supporters at council meeting asked for city funds “for education” on how to vote in the recall election. The Registrar of Voters provided clear and concise instruction about the two-part ballot: 1) vote yes or no on recalling Councilman Lance MacLean, and 2) vote for Dale Tyler or Dave Leckness as MacLean’s replacement. The MUK council majority on Jan. 4 approved the expense of City Attorney Bill Curley creating a lengthy explanation, which will be available on the city Web site. The information encourages those who vote no on the recall to choose a replacement candidate.

MacLean’s campaign has lately focused on a desperate attempt to undermine the recall proponents, claiming it was “illegal” to have out-of-towners serve as “petition circulators.” It is neither illegal (as per a Supreme Court decision saying such restriction is unconstitutional) nor did any out-of-town signature gatherer serve as a circulator. The circulator of record is the witness who signs the declaration at the bottom of each petition, regardless of who else was present. Recall proponents did not allow out-of-town signature gatherers to serve as circulators on this petition.