Mission Viejo Buzz - 01/09/10

The Buzz

Busted: an apparent fan of recall target Lance MacLean was spotted stealing a “Yes on Recall” sign from private property near Alicia and Jeronimo on Jan. 9. The theft occurred at 11 a.m. in clear view of recall supporters holding a rally on corners near the intersection. One of those at the rally recognized the man as he was stealing the sign. The recall supporter said, “The MacLean fan lives in my neighborhood. He served time in jail for domestic violence and is a threat to his own family. As soon as I saw him take the sign, I called the police and gave them his address.”

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Honk for VioLance: MacLean stood on street corners on Jan. 9, trying to elicit honks and waves from drivers. After he stood at La Paz and Marguerite at noon, he and two others moved to Alicia and Muirlands. An observer who parked in the CVS lot on Muirlands emailed, “I stayed long enough to watch what kind of reaction MacLean was getting. In the first place, it looked pathetic that he couldn’t get a group of people out there to support him. He’s now in the death throes of his council career after having the choice of resigning instead of being recalled. He gave taxpayers a choice of paying $270,000 per council member for lifetime medical benefits or paying $275,000 for a recall election, and I’ll take the latter.”

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As another aspect of MacLean’s anti-recall campaign, his supporters have been forwarding his messages to their email distributions. The messages have immediately been intercepted by recall proponents. One of the recall proponents said, “MacLean’s incompetent team is trying to mastermind an email campaign. Instead of sending blind copies, they reveal their email distribution, and I have responded to the entire group by hitting the “reply all” key. As one of my responses to them, I am sending the UCI police report describing MacLean choking a UCI employee and yelling the f-word at police.”

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Mission Viejo is a safe city primarily because of the nature of its residents. The planned community has attracted homebuyers with its “California Promise” of low-density, single-family homes. Voters who received MacLean’s mailer from the deputies union (Trojan horse graphic) took offense that the police union is the reason Mission Viejo is known as a safe city. A blog reader emailed, “We deserve credit for the safety of our community. I don’t think a motorcycle police officer giving tickets on Marguerite Parkway is a factor, and that’s the primary police presence I see. Our residents are involved in Neighborhood Watch, and we are the ones with an investment in our community. Shame on the union for trying to take credit for what residents do.”

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Read city watchdog Allan Pilger’s letter, http://missionviejodispatch.com/?p=13857 about the irony of the deputies’ union supporting a councilman with a history of violence.

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Reader feedback: “After seeing a few large signs on streets that say “Keep MacLean,” I would like to see signs that say “Keep MacLean out of City Hall.”

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Residents reported that they were unable to receive the telecast of the council meeting on Jan. 4. Some parts of Mission Viejo had been deliberately blocked out as a city hall decision. Apparently, there was concern on the part of the MUK majority and/or city administrators that recall proponents would criticize MacLean during public comments. To the contrary, no such comments were orchestrated by recall supporters. Instead, council majority members outdid themselves with performances rivaling a circus.

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Here’s a description of incidents from the Jan. 4 council meeting, as provided by a blog contributor: “MacLean was presiding as mayor. He asked City Attorney Bill Curley if he could remove audience members at will. Curley (who is paid $400 an hour) wrongly said yes. This is a clear violation of the legal process of warning an audience member and then recessing if anyone is asked to leave the council chamber. MacLean proceeded to have person after person thrown out of the meeting by an OCSD deputy. Too bad residents who were denied TV coverage didn’t see this. A Saddleback Valley News employee was present but chose not to report what happened.”