Several Juice readers have attacked the activists involved in the MacLean recall arguing that we should have avoided the recall effort and expense by simply waiting until the Nov 2, 2010 election to vote him out of office. They argued that the recall date of Feb 2, 2010 was only a “few months before” the upcoming Nov election.
Do they truly believe that a group of activists came together and flipped a switch on New year’s Eve?
Let me begin with verifiable dates starting with Feb 2, 2009 where Lance was served with recall petition papers at the beginning of a televised city council meeting. Ironically that meeting occurred exactly one year prior to the eventual Feb. 2, 2010 Special Election.
On Feb 19, 2009 the Saddleback Republican Assembly approved a Resolution in support of his recall.
At the March 3rd city council meeting SRA president Matt Corrigan asked Lance to resign.
On March 18th City Clerk Karen Hamman approved the Petition to recall Lance MacLean.
On August 24, 2009 13,915 signatures on petitions were accepted by our City Clerk
One fact I shall not provide is the launch date of the successful recall effort. It was well before Lance was served on Feb 2nd 2009. To “spin” a bogus claim that we could have waited a few months doesn’t pass the smell test.
A group of concerned residents met and agreed that we shall work together in this effort. What we did not anticipate was the AOCSD deputy union spending over $100,000 to save his skin yet we still prevailed saving, at that time, roughly $257,000 in lifetime health care benefit costs according to assistant City Manager Irwin Bornstein’s response to councilman Ledesma.
By Friday we shall learn if Lance returns to the arena. As of now we have 15 potential candidates for 3 seats on the Mission Viejo city council. It will be interesting to check everyone’s 460’s on Tuesday August 2nd to see how much the incumbents have raised in “special interest” contributions this year.
The recall was a very necessary and loud cry of thousands of Mission Viejo voters. It was unbelievable tha
The recall was a very necessary and loud cry of thousands of Mission Viejo voters. It was unbelievable that our honored deputy sheriffs would spend over $100,000 trying to keep him in office. It was a proven fact that he had anger management problems by his early departure from UCI. His swearing at me in closed session was also documented. Sad that people who I thought were friends chose to believe Lance. After his removal, I finally stopped carrying pepper spray to protect myself from him.
The good news is that I found the can, and now can be prepared for him again. Some of us out here who have had to deal with his anger find it necessary to carry a phone, camerao s, recorder and pepper spray. Fortunately now most of that is covered in our cell phones.
It is to be expected that some supporters of the MUK are upset at the cost of the election. It would have been zero if he would have just quit. After he yelled at me, I sent a registered letter to all four council members, the city attorney, and the city manager. Not one of them replied in any way. Again, that was to be expected since most of them had stopped answering my e-mails long before that.
The city has been more pleasant since his removal. Even with Dave siding with Ury and Kelley 99.9% of the time, At least he is not nasty or scary.
The second election people complain about is Measure D. That election with or without D would have been held, and it would have cost the city the same amount. It was a regularly scheduled election for governor, etc. Wonder how much this charter city thing will cost us?
Funny the long explanations and defensive posture when the naysayers are caught wasting taxpayer money. Me thinks though dost protest too much. From what I unerstand, there was another departure which calmed down things at City Hall even more, Madame Mayor.
Geoff.
If I am not mistaken you might have been one of those who questioned not waiting until Nov 2010. The recall effort began 2 years prior to that date.
We waited too long to recall governor Davis. He opened Pandora’s box with union pensions
I am one who questioned the EXPENSE (in the hundreds of thousands) of having a recall election just a few months before target of that recall was up for a vote in a regularly scheduled election. While the recall effort might have started about 20 months before that regularly scheduled November election, signatures were not returned to the City Clerk until 14 months before the election. At that point, those pushing the recall knew EXACTLY when the election was going to take place (just a few months before the regular election). Those pushing the recall had the choice at that point of saying, “yes, let’s complain about City spending money by costing the City a lot of money with a recall election, or we can be consistent with our position and focus on removing Mr. MacLean in November.” Unfortunately, recall supporters intentionally chose to cost the City a significant amount of money unnecessarily.
Geoff.
Sidebar. I did read your 460 at city hall this morning but I understand you have decided not to pull papers to address our ongoing concerns.
Please don’t engage in the spin cycle. You can make a better argument than that. The decision, and original effort to muster the recall troops, was in the summer/fall of 2008, which was the halfway point of Lance’s four year term.
Is there some unwritten rule as to when to recall Vs. when to allow the clock to run out? You continue to beat the drum on election cost while neglecting the $258,000 in potential savings as documented by assistant city manager Irwin Bornstein.
With Lance’s track record we might have experienced another outburst resulting in someone getting hurt and the city being sued but that minor factoid is overlooked in the debate. Perhaps we might enter another $400,000 Rose Parade float which he agendized immediately after an election. Who knows how much additional special interest expenditures we might have endured if he remained on our council. A MV basketball court that he promoted comes to mind. Check it out.
Geoff Willis is new on the scene!! He should do his homework before he comments on items !!
Could it be that Willis’s comments are being significantly influenced by a nearby neighbor–Frank Ury ??
So far most of Geoff’s comment have been rather shallow and sophomoric at best.
Shallow and sophomoric? I’d question your eyesight, but maybe it’s your reading comprehension that should be in doubt. Agree or disagree, Geoff almost always supports his opinions with facts to back them up. That’s far more than I can say for many on here, present company included.
Those have become popular epithets for pretentious people to throw around meaninglessly. If I had a dime for every time I’ve heard Thomas Sowell call President Obama a “glib and sophomoric narcissist,” …. why I’d have at least a dollar.
Vern,
I’ll spot you Maddow and Olbermann and we’ll have enough for a couple of cups of coffee at Starbucks – my treat.
I’ll take you up on that one of these days when I’m down in MV messin’ with your school board.
Of course then there’ll be TWO juice brothers who know your secret identity. You’re living dangerously…
It’s not the Juice brothers I’m worried about – friend or foe, you’re all honorable when it comes to allowing us to post on here, pseudonym or not. But if you bring the union hacks down here when you come, the offer only extends to you.
Oh goodie, just heard that Lance brought his papers back, and Willis pulled. Its getting very interesting
Madame Mayor.
You still have 8 hours tomorrow to pull and file papers. That would really shake up city hall. Thanks for your service.
Folks. Off topic but council member Gail Reavis was the only council member to oppose doubling their monthly stipend. Source MV city council meeting Oct 6, 2008, Agenda Item #20.
I blogged this on Oct 6, 2008 long before the city of Bell ever made the headlines.
Note: Good old Frank Ury and Trish Kelley served on the ad-hoc committee that made the recommendation to double their compensation.
And for some to question why I am so angry about Frank all that needs to be said is that I worked to get him elected as a fiscal conservative and he did a 180 somewhere down the road.
Watch the video where you can hear AND see Gail Reavis state: “for this council to raise their stipend in an election year is obscene”