Ury Strikes Out

Mission Viejo Councilman Frank Ury can’t draw a crowd.

Patch.com sponsored a chance for Mission Viejo residents to “meet the mayor,” Frank Ury, on Sat., Feb. 11. Following the event, did Patch delay posting photos for a week because it was such a fiasco? Of the five photos, one was a picture of Ury, and another was a close-up of a pastry. A third was Ury and the Patch employee who wrote the article. The other two photos again show Ury and the Patch employee, plus the crowd Ury attracted: four people. The event had been advertised with a come-on of free food paid for by Patch.

The Feb. 11 audience of four was a better turnout than a charity event featuring Ury as the speaker on Feb. 12. When Ury gave his speech, he neglected to talk about the charity or the reason for supporting it. Given the incredibly low attendance, almost no one knew about Ury’s gaffes, including his mention of the “Army at Camp Pendleton.”

On Feb. 19, some Casta del Sol residents said they didn’t attend an event at their clubhouse because Ury was there. When a Casta resident invited Ury to speak at Casta’s Lincoln Day, what was her point? Ury has made clear for years he favors housing on the Casta golf course. A year ago, he told his planning commission appointee that his two primary goals for the city were to get the old Kmart building demolished (to make way for UDR’s high-density housing project on east Los Alisos) and to build on the Casta golf course. Attendees usually fill the room for Casta’s annual Lincoln Day celebration, and the turnout was noticeably lower this time.

Ury is up for reelection in November. With his record of support for special interest, self-enrichment and developers of high-density housing, residents describe him as the most dangerous person on the council.