The Issue Is Lance MacLean
by Joe Holtzman

The issue of the recall is Councilman Lance MacLean – nothing else. Knowing MacLean as I do, I can attest that he has a grand ability to bend the truth.  I want to take a moment to respond to MacLean’s campaign rhetoric versus the facts.

He told Councilman Gail Reavis to "Shut the Hell Up." The truth is certainly more aggressive than Lance and his surrogates have stated in their PR release. Also, I am a good friend of Diane Greenwood. I arrived on the scene just a few minutes after MacLean verbally assaulted her with his nose in her face. The woman was traumatized; she is 5' 4" and 123 pounds, and Lance is over 6' 4" and 230-plus pounds. Those wanting more information can call Mission Viejo resident Bill Barker to confirm this, as he witnessed MacLean's tirade and his nose-to-nose assault on Diane.

So why hasn't Lance addressed the anger management issues he had at UCI? He plea bargained out of criminal charges and now claims it was no big deal. The details on his assault case were reported in OC Weekly. By the way, when the OC Register attempted to get facts on the case, Lance played games with the reporter, falsifying his age and his middle name. I know public institutions don't take precipitous actions, so there may have been other incidents that led up to UCI’s "giving" Lance an "early retirement."

More details: also something no one has addressed was Lance's brutal browbeating of Dr. Frank Lieberman at a council meeting when Dr. Lieberman was discussing some potential changes in the Fun with Chalk event this year. Mind you, Lieberman has put this event on for years and donated the residual funds to various art projects and schools that promote art. Lance's act on this occasion was a total embarrassment, and it is just another indication he has NOT solved his anger management problem.

In addition, on numerous occasions Lance has taken the special interest position that is opposed to the citizens in our community. On the Southern California Edison Viejo System Project, he continually tried to deter action by the city to get Edison to bury the lines. Lance has since ignored the fact that Edison's EMF reading from the Viejo System Project lines far exceeds what they said it would be. This was validated by the Sage and Associates’ readings (commissioned by the City of Mission Viejo) but dismissed  by Lance. Mind you, our children are now exposed to a Class B carcinogen, thanks to Lance's game-playing. Details can be found in the Sage Report and the Bio-Initiative Report.

Another note that no one has addressed was that Lance was on the TCA when all the consultants and bond pushers wanted to "refinance" the toll road. That would have cost millions if he had succeeded. Luckily, County Supervisor Bill Campbell stepped in and stopped that nonsense. Lance summarily dismissed and demeaned the environmentalists on the 241 extension. I attended the meeting at the Del Mar race track when the California Coastal Commission listened to the details. Lance was an outright embarrassment for our city. The California Coastal Commission must have thought so also, as they said a big NO to the TCA and Lance as the TCA representative.

Lance also failed to support his neighborhood school when hearings were being held to see if it should be closed. Wouldn't you think he would come to the meetings and express a concern for the neighborhood and potential property value impact?  Not Lance. Maybe it was because he had previously worn out his welcome at O'Neill Elementary School with some of his "alleged "bullying tactics with administrators and teachers.

I was Chairman of the Friends of Mission Viejo that originally helped get Lance elected.  I had a number of conversations with him during that campaign. I spent time waving his campaign signs with him on the street corners. Typically, Lance told me one thing and then did exactly the opposite after he was elected. Lance started out by wanting to do good, but he very quickly only wanted to do good for himself. As an example, he took money from Edison, walked away from his campaign platform, doubled his salary and gave himself lifetime healthcare benefits.

For anyone who is receiving the campaign emails from MacLean’s supporters, I suggest you send them this article.