Rearranging the Chairs

An article on another blog http://missionviejodispatch.com touches on the makeup of the new council:

“When Rhonda Reardon is sworn in as a new Mission Viejo City Council Member on Dec. 6, a new era of Mission Viejo politics begins. This opinion piece looks back over the past dozen years of the fall of one City Council majority regime, and the rise of another that also defends big, secret government with heavy-handed tactics.”

When Reardon replaces Councilman John Paul Ledesma on Dec. 6, is it a new era if the direction remains the same? The old majority members are changing chairs, not sides. To borrow a line from reform activist Bob Serrao, it’s like rearranging the chairs on the Titanic. Even if Reardon has the principled iron will of Tom McClintock, the majority members won’t follow her.

Here’s a second opinion from Rebecca Burgoyne (California Family Council analyst) about what took place on Nov. 2 throughout California:

“The Election Day tsunami that swept the nation stopped its westward swell at the Sierra Nevada Mountains. … While other parts of the nation experienced electoral upheavals, the status quo carried the day in California, where not a single [state-level officeholder] incumbent was unseated. In a total of 153 district elections – 80 in the Assembly, 20 in the Senate, and 53 for Congress – only one seat changed party hands.”

In Mission Viejo, incumbents Trish Kelley and Dave Leckness easily retained their seats. While Kelley is a Republican and Leckness is a Democrat, neither is fiscally responsible. With Councilman Frank Ury’s vote, they’re on a roll to continue the big, secret government and heavy-handed tactics. The great revolution of deposing Susan Withrow and Sherri Butterfield in 2002 resulted in even worse council members, Trish Kelley and Lance MacLean. After the realization the revolution replaced personalities but not policies, many residents disengaged from the frustration of city politics.

Any implication Leckness will become a swing vote is illogical. Refer to Politics 101: elected officials sell out their constituents, not their financiers. In Dave’s case, his financiers and supporters are in the same camp. On the opposing side, the reform-minded citizens haven’t fared well with most candidates they helped into office. So-called conservative council members sold their votes to Audi, Steadfast, UDR Pacific, Sunrise’s PR agent, trash haulers and so on. City staff, lobbyists, developers and special interest – all the money and power – are on the same side. The reform-minded folks have nothing to offer except their friendship, support, energy, ideas and so on.

During the past decade, only Councilwoman Cathy Schlicht hasn’t sold her votes. While her votes aren’t consistently conservative, she’s not for sale. With the new council, the best hope for reform-minded citizens is gridlock. Given personalities on the new council, what should residents expect from three strong-willed women? Ury will continue insulting, attacking and making fools of those who get in his way. He has intimidated Trish Kelley to the point she won’t oppose him. Leckness predictably takes direction from the city staff.

For the council majority, the word of the month – every month – is hypocrisy. Kelley ran on a promise she’d be fiscally responsible, but she’s worse than the old gals she replaced. She said she’d listen, but she listens only to city staff. Sometimes, she can’t remember long enough to repeat their words from the dais. She has to ask them again to explain their reasons in public so she can cast her vote without having to say anything.

Leckness would be a good guy to go drinking with – he’s easygoing and he likes to have fun. But on the dais, Mr. Fun makes about as much sense as a drinking buddy at 2 a.m. The council is not his thing, and his lack of bearing will be painfully clear if he becomes the next mayor. He ran on a platform of helping businesses in the city, and he’s helping them go out of business. The city staff stridently competes with private-sector services and kills sales with taxpayer-funded giveaways while Mr. Fun looks on.

Among other voids, there’s no reform-minded activist group to resist the “back to basics” politics of power and money. The watchdog group dissolved in 2003 when a few chose to continue supporting wayward council members who sold out. A sub-group first followed Trish Kelley into the mire and then carried Frank Ury around until their legs buckled under his weight. The same sub-group in 2010 adopted an unprincipled kid as their “reform candidate,” and he made fools of them before they could reach the Nov. 2 finish line. After he lied to them during his vetting interview, lied to Saddleback Republican Assembly members when he tried to get their endorsement and lied to the entire GOP Central Committee, his supporters who knew what he had done still had his campaign signs in their yards. Perhaps they didn’t grasp Brian Skalsky’s campaign slogan, “back to basics” as the power and money of politics.

While council members fight among themselves, an unfettered city staff continues its important work of birthday parties and erecting white tents around the community center. Contractors began in October wrapping every tree near city hall with “holiday lights.” A city staff that can’t fix a road or manage a project now owns holidays. A Halloween party, formerly held at the mall, has become an exclusive city government event. Santa Claus, in cities that are sane, arrives at shopping centers, not at city hall.

A moment of truth or hypocrisy will help define the “new era” when council members appoint commissioners. Will lyin’ Brian Skalsky be reappointed as a commissioner? He and his former campaign manager are still posturing on blogs as reform-minded activists, and that’s laughable. If Skalsky can stay on a commission, it will leverage his unending quest for a council seat in 2012 so he can run “with” (against) Cathy Schlicht when only one seat will be in play.

Election Update, Final Count

All ballots cast in Orange County in the Nov. 2 election have been counted. Of the county’s 1,621,934 registered voters, a total of 898,205 voted – a turnout of 55.4 percent. The majority of ballots were vote-by-mail, 28.7 percent, and precinct ballots comprised 26.6 percent. Mission Viejo, with a turnout of 61.4 percent, was in the county’s top tier of cities with highest turnouts.

Following is the final tally for the Mission Viejo City Council, with three seats at stake.

* PATRICIA "TRISH" KELLEY 15,996 18.8%
* DAVID "DAVE" LECKNESS  11,509 13.5%
RHONDA REARDON      11,356 13.3%
RICK SANDZIMIER      8,398 9.9%
BRIAN SKALSKY       7,450 8.8%
NEIL LONSINGER       7,292 8.6%
BILL BARKER        6,008 7.1%
FRED CARR         4,673 5.5%
MARK DOBRILOVIC      3,935 4.6%
LANCE R. MACLEAN      3,766 4.4%
KEN GOLEMO         2,483 2.9%
SAM MAMOLA         2,268 2.7%
* Indicates Incumbent Candidate, if any

The OC Register continued following up on a close race in Laguna Hills, in which three council seats went to Barbara Kogerman (6,109), Melody Carruth (5,758) and Randal Bressette (3,886). Incumbent candidate Craig Scott (3,813) was defeated by 73 votes. A much closer contest took place in Rancho Santa Margarita. Jesse Petrilla (7,396), Steven Baric (6,915) and Gary Thompson (6,843) won, with Thompson receiving 20 more votes than incumbent Neil Blais (6,823).

Unofficial results for Orange County can be found at http://www.ocvote.com/live/gen2010/results.htm In statewide races, information in the link reflects only Orange County’s totals.

Big Cat Sighted in Mission Viejo

On Nov. 19, an article was posted on the city’s web site after landscape workers reported seeing a mountain lion in north Mission Viejo on Nov. 15. A work crew was maintaining a slope in Mission Viejo Environmental Association. MVEA is the city’s largest homeowner association, with 2,982 homes.

According to MVEA, workers saw the cat in the vicinity of Bacalar, which is west of Marguerite Parkway and south of La Barca.

According to an exchange of emails between the homeowner association, the landscape foreman and city officials, the sighting was reported to the OC Sheriff’s Dept. (Mission Viejo Police Services office). The response from the police was that no crime had been committed, and no report or follow-up would occur since it was not an emergency. Director of Public Services Keith Rattay also participated in the email exchange, mentioning that Animal Services would contact the homeowner association.

Residents who read the email exchange thought it was odd, considering taxpayers pay OCSD more than $1 million a month for such things as a safe environment. No one from the city or OCSD followed up by notifying neighbors in the vicinity where the cat was seen. A discussion followed as to whether the cat (three feet in length and two feet tall) was a mountain lion or a bobcat.

A homeowner reacted to the email exchange: “I laughed out loud when I read that OCSD wouldn’t respond because no crime had been committed. OCSD is famous for not wanting to write a report, which they might have to do if they send out an officer. The hilarious statement from Rattay is his mention of Animal Services. Isn’t that the department that was seen dumping cats from the shelter on Jeronimo a couple years ago? Forget public service, let’s build another Rose Parade float and plan the next festival.”

The sighting was reported to the California Department of Fish and Game, which is the agency responsible for managing the state’s wildlife.

ACT for America Meeting

The Mission Viejo Chapter of ACT for America will meet on Mon., Dec. 13, at the Community Center. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the meeting runs from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Orientation for first-time attendees begins at 7:10 p.m.

The featured speaker will be Jim Horn, Retired Foreign Service Officer. His topic will be “Islam and Corruption in the American Government: Why Our Government is Failing to Protect Us from Infiltration and Terrorism.”

Every elected official takes an oath to defend our Constitution from our enemies, both foreign and domestic. But many elected officials seem to be helping Islamists in their Grand Jihad to destroy American from within. What motivates Americans to help people who hate us and our way of life, and who want to subjugate us to Sharia Law?

It’s no secret that agents of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist organizations are waging a Stealth Jihad against America on our own soil. But until now, no one has explained how they have gained influence in such major institutions as law enforcement, the intelligence community, the Armed Forces, both the Democratic and Republican parties and our schools.

For 30 years, James E. (Jim) Horn served abroad as a career diplomat. Jim doesn’t mince words as he discusses Islam and how the CIA, FBI, our clergy and other “leaders” are dealing poorly with Islam. His analysis is insightful and his conclusions are disturbing. Fortunately, he offers actions that we Americans must take to preserve and protect our Constitution, our liberty and our great civilization. Jim will speak for about 50 minutes, followed by 20 minutes for questions and answers.

A $5 donation is appreciated to help cover meeting costs. The Norman P. Murray Community Center is located at 24932 Veterans Way in Mission Viejo (Sycamore B Room).

The Buzz

Diamond Tom is back. The popular Mission Viejo vocalist who had lung surgery earlier this year is regularly performing again. Last week, he sang at Scarantino’s Restaurant in Lake Forest. Diamond Tom has provided music for Mission Viejo’s Tea Parties, and he frequently performs at restaurants, clubs and private events around South County. Follow his schedule at http://www.diamondtom.com/calendar/schedule.lasso

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Which neighborhoods had the highest voter turnout in Mission Viejo on Nov. 2? Palmia’s two precincts ranked first and second, with 86.8 percent in Precinct 47-255 (west half of the gated community) and 84.2 percent in Precinct 47-251 (east half). For years, Palmia has maintained the city’s best voting record.

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For Mission Viejo residents looking for any good news in the election, ex-councilman Lance MacLean was soundly defeated. Would he have been reelected if he hadn’t been recalled in February? With 12 candidates splitting the vote, it would have been difficult to remove incumbents regardless of what they’d done.

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Many community members enjoy the city’s trails and open spaces, and part of the intrigue is wildlife. A resident who hikes as a pastime emailed, “I have never seen a mountain lion anywhere. If residents become spooked about wildlife, keep in mind that the government is going to provide a remedy, and I don’t like the idea of exterminating everything that someone is afraid of.” As Mission Viejo runs out of parcels to build housing, open spaces will become targets. Leave it to city hall to claim that an open space filled with condos and apartments would protect residents from wildlife.

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Forwarded by Kris Hauter, here’s the lowdown on Quantitative Easing: “FINALLY, an easy-to-understand analysis of the QE2 (not the cruise ship) monetary policy by our friends at YouTube. It's worth about 6 minutes of your time!” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTUY16CkS-k&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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Forwarded by D.S.: “Allen West won in Florida. He was endorsed by the local tea party folks. Listen to this one minute comment from him. We need more Americans like Allen West running our country.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYbaln3Uqfc