Wake Up, Mission Viejo

Mission Viejo residents who follow city politics are familiar with incumbent Councilman Frank Ury. He has insulted entire neighborhoods, trampled the rights of citizens and used his council position to malign anyone who disagrees with him. Mission Viejo residents who have had such encounters with Frank Ury aren’t voting for him in the Nov. 6 city election.

Council challenger Wendy Bucknum works as a professional lobbyist for a large property management company. Her “endorsements” are her contacts as a lobbyist. As long as elected officials continue selling their votes to special interest, lobbyists will have jobs. After this blog provided links to Bucknum’s lobbyist history, her employer’s sites were promptly scrubbed.

Mission Viejo residents have one council member consistently representing them: Cathy Schlicht. Developers and out-of-towners consistently have the vote of Frank Ury. The backers of Frank Ury and Wendy Bucknum cannot stand having Schlicht on the council – the lone member who can’t be bullied and can’t be bought. They’re rabid about silencing the voice of the residents on Nov. 6 and ending the 4-1 council votes.

As one example of what’s in store for Mission Viejo, the trough feeders supporting Wendy Bucknum want electronic billboards along Crown Valley Parkway, along the I-5 between Avery and La Paz and on the Kaleidoscope building. Boilerplate letters of support were sent to City Hall by Bucknum’s out-of-town backers and financiers.

In June three council members (Ury, Leckness and Kelley) asked the city staff to pursue ideas regarding electronic billboards. After city residents were alerted to the billboards, Ury had two public meltdowns because citizens raised awareness. He claimed a 5-0 vote in June ended all discussion of billboards, but no such action took place to end the discussion. The council meeting on Oct. 1 revealed that discussions are continuing out of public view between the developer and the city staff.

Ury claims citizens talking about the billboards are “ignorant and misinformed.”

Voters can end the insults on Nov. 6 by voting Ury out of office.