Vetting Councilman Ury
by Larry Gilbert

A Public Service announcement for voters in south Orange County.

As the Flash Report mentions Mission Viejo councilman Frank Ury's desire to run for higher office, let me provide some of our own candidate "vetting," resulting in Ury being denied the OC GOP endorsement last fall.

The OC Republican Central Committee interviewed and provided endorsements of candidates which became part of their Get Out The Vote walk piece. Thousands of these Republican Party of Orange County Official Voting Guides were walked by volunteers across the county. The door hanger read: "Official Republican Candidates for Important Local Offices." In Oct. 2010 Frank Ury contributed to a PAC opposing all three GOP endorsed candidates listed in Chairman Scott Baugh's 2010 election walk piece. I showed that Citizens to Protect Mission Viejo PAC #460 report to the Central Committee and Chairman Baugh in my opposing Frank Ury's request for their endorsement in the 2012 election. I also displayed a blown up photo of Frank Ury standing on a major intersection campaigning for a Democrat in opposition to Republican Party endorsed candidates. Sadly, there are those in the good old boys (and ladies) club who allow personal friendships to stand in the way of vetting candidates regardless of any discovery.

I would be remiss not to also mention Superior Court Judge Luis Rodriguez who rejected part of Frank Ury's Ballot argument in opposition to Measure D in March of 2010. Four times, on three different issues, the Judge called Frank's ballot argument "misleading" including line 3 of page 133 where the transcript reads that the statement was "misleading as a matter of law."