City Is at a Turning Point

The city council election on November 2 could preserve – or erode – Mission Viejo’s hometown flavor. With three council seats at stake, voters can choose among candidates who will draw the line on overdevelopment or continue allowing council members to sell their votes to housing developers and other special interests.

The council majority (Trish Kelley, Frank Ury and Dave Leckness) appear to support unlimited housing development and population growth. When Leckness replaced ex-councilman Lance MacLean in the successful Feb. 2 recall election, he said he would “vote the same way MacLean voted.” MacLean supported proposals for high-density housing and championed affordable and other high-density housing projects.

When Mission Viejo residents voted against Measure D in the June 8 Primary, they preserved the status quo whereby a council majority of three can approve new housing projects and rezone parcels to high-density residential. Some voters said they became confused by the anti-D mailers, and others said the proper way to deal with wayward council members is to vote them out of office. Another factor in the June 8 election was the low turnout. Only 35.6 percent of Mission Viejo’s registered voters weighed in on Measure D.

For those who want to preserve Mission Viejo as a low-density, family-oriented community, voting in the November city election is crucial. Kelley has been consistent in her support for housing development. Leckness consistently demonstrates he has no grasp of any city issue. At the time he was a candidate for the Feb. 2 election, an interview (http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2009/11/interview-of-dave-leckness-mission-viejo-recall-election-candidate) revealed he was unaware of the Right-To-Vote Initiative, and he didn’t know why MacLean was being recalled.

In addition to the 10 Mission Viejo residents who have begun the process to become council candidates, Geoffrey Willis months ago said he would run. Willis, an attorney, became a spokesman of the anti-D group. Mailers against Measure D were funded by a real estate Political Action Committee, and the entire operation appeared to be funded by out-of-town money. Measure D supporters believe the money was lined up by a lobbyist, John Lewis, who resides in Orange.

Lewis has been involved in city elections, at least as far back as the council race in 2002 when he threw special-interest money into a campaign backing Trish Kelley, Lance MacLean and John Paul Ledesma. While a grassroots effort was largely responsible for ousting the old regime of Sherri Butterfield and Susan Withrow, Lewis bragged to his buddies at the county level that he had masterminded the upset. Within a year, he failed to collect on his investment when his client for the city’s ambulance contract lost to Medix, a Mission Viejo business. Lewis was also connected to Athens in the recent negotiations for the city’s trash hauler in which the council voted 3-2 to retain Waste Management.

Contributors to this blog will continue to recommend that Mission Viejo voters reject any candidate who receives the backing of special interest, including campaign donations of developer cash.

In addition to the stampede of candidates taking out nomination papers during the first week of the filing period, other candidates are likely to emerge. One candidate speculated several weeks ago that Willis, Kelley and Leckness would run as a slate. Willis hasn’t pulled papers, and those who know him say he might not run after all. In the short time Willis has postured in city politics, he’s left a paper trail of misstatements and false information, indicating he would be at odds with residents who want responsible representation on the council.