Community Common Sense - November 2014

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November 2014 – VOL 4, 11

YOUR COMMUNITY WATCHDOG

Community Common Sense

In this Issue... San Juan Capistrano

San Juan Capistrano

Kramer, Taylor and Allevato Approve Massive Development Concerns about Traffic, Water Dismissed

Kramer, Taylor and Allevato Approve Massive Development Page 1

By Kim Lefmer

Residents turned out for the council meeting in record Constitutional Voter numbers last Guide week, to oppose Page 2 the re-zone of the last parcel CCS Endorses Reeve, of agricultural Patterson and Ferguson land in town for for City Council. Here’s high-density Why... development. Residents line up to protest the Page 3 Spieker/Laguna Glen Development Development Letters to the Editor “I love San Juan” t-shirt. supporters arrived Page 4 According to one observer, at 2:30, 1 ½ hours before they were then given “a the scheduled meeting. The Special Favors motivational speech and developer bought them all Questioned talking points” by developer a box lunch and a light blue Page 5 Teacher’s Union Stalls Negotiations, Attempts to Buy Candidates in School Board Race Page 5 Union Contributions a Conflict? Page 6 Mission Viejo Vote to Protect Your Neighborhood Page 1 Constitutional Voter Guide Page 2 Letters to the Editor Page 7

Mission Viejo

Troy Bourne. The “blue shirts” took up the seating in the front of the room. After sitting through a lengthy power point presentation by Bourne, they were the first ones called to the podium to speak by Mayor Sam Allevato. Opponents on the other hand, were forced to wait four hours before being given an opportunity to speak.. Noting the unequal treatment afforded to the developer one opponent asked, “You gave the developer... hours and gave us residents three minutes

Vote to Protect Your Neighborhood!

to speak; who are you representing?” Wearing yellow “NO Rezone/Save San Juan” t-shirts, opponents arrived just prior to the 4 pm meeting and were forced to stand in the back of the room. This prompted one long-time San Juan resident to remark to the council that the blue-shirted supporters he had spoken with did not live in San Juan, yet were taking seats from residents who will be impacted by the development. Story continued on page 4...

Editorial Opinion

By Steve Magdziak

Responsible leadership on the Mission Viejo City Council could resolve problems created by the incumbents seeking re-election: • Traffic congestion and parking issues the current council “cannot” fix. • The threat of more housing development – look at the mess on Oso! • Mission Viejo’s fall to #13 among California’s safest cities. We have solid evidence of the city council’s incompetence and their irresponsible votes – despite their campaign claims of preserving Mission Viejo’s

quality of life. Incumbents Rhonda Reardon and Dave Leckness are sending out slick mailers, paid for by a labor union using the name “Citizens to Protect Mission Viejo”. Why is a union backing self-proclaimed “conservatives” Reardon, Leckness and housing lobbyist Wendy Bucknum? Will you now take action by mailing in your absentee ballot or by going to your polling place on Election Day? Do not vote for Reardon and Leckness or Bucknum! Pro-developer incumbent

Rhonda Reardon also wants to pass a city law to punish minor children for e-cig possession – a $1,000 fine and up to six months IN JAIL with a misdemeanor conviction on their record with the FBI. Passing such a law takes away parents’ rights and can harm your child’s life forever.

computer address bar: http:// tinyurl.com/ qefrg4k). I guess “luxury” means highdensity housing, traffic, overcrowded schools and subsidized housing (paid with your local taxes) for applicants who take all-expense paid vacations to Bali (see: http://tinyurl.com/ q9sanec).

Watch Dave Leckness boast about traffic on Oso Parkway and the “luxury apartments” in this video: (type into your

Lobbyist Wendy Bucknum is bought and paid for by special interests as well Story continued on page 6...

Community Common Sense


Constitutional Voter Guide– Nov. 4 General Election Recommendations are in Bold. No Recommendation = N.R.

Public Office Recommendations Secretary of State: State Treasurer: US Congress 45th District: Dem. Drew Leavens vs. Rep. Mimi Walters (broke anti-tax promise) OC Superior Court Judge, Office No. 14 – Kevin Haskins is the better choice. State Supt. of Public Instruction: Torlakson (union-backed) and Tuck (supports charter schools) South Orange County Community College District Board Member, Trustee Area 4 OC Board of Supervisors, 5th District OC Assessor US Congress 48th District:

US Congress 49th District: CUSD School Board Trustee: SJC/MV: Ellen Addonizio & Julie Collier(these SJC and MV candidates are opposed by the union)

Recommendation Pete Peterson Greg Conlon

NR Write in Lydia Gutierre* Nancy Padberg Robert Ming – excellent record. Claude Parrish Dana Rohrbacher

Darrell Issa

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court – 13 offices (listed in ballot order), vote yes or no: YES NO Goodwin Liu Kathryn Mickle Werdegar Gilbert Nares James A. McIntyre Kathleen E. O’Leary Richard M. Aronson Richard D. Fybel Mariano-Florentino Cuellar Terry B. O’Rourke Alex C. McDonald Thomas E. Hollenhorst William F. Rylaarsdam David A. Thompson Mission Viejo City Council – key race for three seats: Ed Sachs – Strong financial/business management background. Retired CEO at Pioneer Electronics. Greg Raths – Retired Marine Corps Colonel, fiscal conservative. Desi Kiss – Engineer and business owner; reliable fiscal conservative with backbone. San Juan Capistrano City Council – key race for three seats: Kerry Ferguson – Successful business owner (retired), educator. Opposes over-development. Derek Reeve – Only incumbent fiscal conservative, attorney. Opposes over-development. Pam Patterson – constitutional attorney, opposes over-development.

Propositions: They’re not as good as they sound. Bonds increase debt. Most of these Props increase taxes. Prop 1- Water quality, supply and infrastructure; $7.12 billion bond, contains a lot of pork.

YES

         

Prop 46 – Drug testing of doctors. Money grab by trial lawyers, likely increase in insurance rates. Prop 47 – Requires the release of convicted felons, reduces to misdemeanor nonviolent crimes such as Grand Theft, Check Forgery and Drug Possession (including heroin and cocaine). Prop 48 – Tribal state gaming compact, mainly would allow casinos outside reservation land.

Community Common Sense

NO

  

Prop 2- Increases “rainy day” fund; decreases local school district control of reserves. Note: Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association recommends a “Yes” vote. Prop 45 – Requires Insurance Commissioner’s approval of health insurance rate changes.

Orange County Measure E – Skirts real need for county ethics commission; allows Sacramentobased bureaucracy FPPC to enforce local campaign finance regulations. Note: Respected county watchdog Shirley Grindle recommends a “No” vote. Orange County Measure G – Limits OC Supervisors' options in filling vacancies; gives political appointee unfair advantage to run as an incumbent should they run for elected office.

N.R.

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Editorial Opinion

CCS Endorses Reeve, Patterson & Ferguson for City Council. Here’s Why...

All five of these candidates also support continued operation of the failed Ground Water Recovery Plant. Their support is inexplicable when the water plant has never produced what they claimed it would, is damaging our aquifer through overpumping, and is far too expensive to

Letters and Articles for consideration must meet submission guidelines, are subject to editorial adjustment and may be sent to:

Editor: Kim Lefner Mission Viejo Contributing Editor: Steve Magdziak

operate for a town our size. Candidates Derek Reeve, Pam Patterson and Kerry Ferguson are opposed to both developments. They are also opposed to continuing to pour more money into the failed water plant. They are in agreement that given the current mess our town is in, we cannot handle any more traffic, strain on our water resources, or on our wallets. They support either “mothballing” or “regionalizing” the water plant to spread the cost over more cities. The candidates with the biggest war chests, Kramer and Taylor, have hired experienced political consultants who are known to attack, spin and say anything to get their clients elected. Kramer and Taylor cannot run on their actual voting records, so we predict their political consultants will target their opposition with mailers and robo-calls defaming them. Don’t buy it. The political consultants get paid huge sums of money to persuade you to vote for their candidates. We believe that San Juan residents are smart enough to see through the lies, deception and half-truths. For all of these reasons and more, we endorse Derek Reeve, Pam Patterson and Kerry Ferguson for San Juan City Council. We believe they will work to truly protect and preserve the unique historic town that we love, not just use it as a campaign slogan.

Email - eboard@ccsense.com 30240 Rancho Viejo Rd., Suite A, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

Find out more on our website: www.ccsense.com

Show your support for the CCS by supporting our advertisers!

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RECOMMENDED READING ABOUT YOUR MAYOR! from the Orange Juice blog...

“Sam Allevato, a Pal of Dave Ellis and Diane Harkey, Has a Problem”

“Everyone expected the Great Park Audit to snare OC politicos. No one expected San Juan Capistrano’s mayor to be one of them...” To continue reading, type this into your computer address bar:

http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2014/10/sam-allevato-daveellis-and-dianne-harkey-pal-has-a-problem/

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Our town is now faced with two large development proposals; “Spieker/ Laguna Glen” which requires a re-zone from agricultural to high-density at the current Armstrong Nursery’s growing grounds, and the “Urban Village” downtown development project behind the historic Egan House, next to Historic Town Center Park. Urban Village does not conform to the Historic Town Center Master Plan as it mixes residential units with the hotel. Both projects will add traffic to our roads and require water that is in short supply. Candidates Larry Kramer, John Taylor, Stephanie Frisch, Jan Siegel and Rob Williams support these developments in one form or another.

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Much is at stake for our community in this City Council election. In our opinion, our unique historic town is going in the wrong direction. We see it in traffic congestion throughout town, in unnecessarily high water bills and in an overall decrease in our quality of life. Incumbent candidates John Taylor and Larry Kramer have contributed to this over the past four years with their council votes.

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San Juan Capistrano

Community Common Sense

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San Juan Capistrano

San Juan Capistrano

Letter to the Editor

Dirty politics in this town.

Story continued from page 1...

Dirty Politics

All the political signs for Reeve are gone from Camino Capistrano north of the Mission. In their place are signs for Taylor, Frisch,

Kramer, Siegel and Williams. I am spreading the word to friends and neighbors not to vote for the above mentioned. Diane Morgan San Juan Capistrano

San Juan Capistrano

Letter to the Editor Setting the Record Straight

I appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight, given one reporter’s mischaracterization of my legal background. The [OC Register] reporter’s review of my California Bar membership status states: “This member has no public record of discipline.” Perhaps she missed or intentionally ignored the fact that not only is my membership status “in good standing”, my recent admittance to the U.S. Supreme Court Bar requires certification by the California Supreme Court, and that I am an attorney in good standing. I believe this information is most relevant and should have been shared with voters considering who they should elect to their San Juan City Council November 4th. The reporter sent the following email to me after business hours on Friday, October 3rd: “I notice that your license to practice law has been suspended three times, twice for failing to pay bar association fees. Were you actively practicing law when the suspension occurred? Or were you on a break, which is why you hadn’t paid? Basically, I want to give you an opportunity to explain and provide any type of commentary you wish.” The reporter apparently ignored the following response to her inquiry, which I sent to her early Monday, October 6th: “No, I was

not actively practicing; I was a single mother of five and certainly doing my best to make ends meet, which was not easy.” Unfortunately, my response was not reflected in the article. A review of the Bar website shows the years involved, 2005 to 2007, when not only was I a single mother of five young children, I had a very sick little girl in the hospital for most of that time and I was living at the hospital with her. Bar dues and keeping up with continuing education requirements was the farthest thing from my mind, especially since I was not practicing. My sole focus was keeping my daughter alive. Having your bar license suspended for failing to pay your dues on time is like getting your phone turned off because you missed a payment. To describe that as “legal difficulties”, as the reporter did in her article, is close to defamatory. Further, her misrepresentation that I have been suspended four times, when her review of the State Bar website reveals twice - and only for failure to pay dues, is a very large margin of error, even for a reporter. Thanks for letting me set the record straight. Pam Patterson, Esq. San Juan Capistrano

campaign event, Kramer stated his intention to move to Laguna Glen, but said he wanted to hold off paying his $1000 deposit until after the election “to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.” Kramer denied it however, stating that he isn’t ready to move there – yet. This brought more jeers from a skeptical audience.

Opponents say the “Laguna Glen” project, proposed on the property next to the Sports Park where Armstrong Nursery has its growing grounds, will forever change San Juan. It’s too big they say. The total building Several speakers were cheered square footage is approximately for suggesting that, since so many 750,000sf. In comparison, the oppose the development, it should Capistrano Unified School District be put to a vote of the people. But headquarters along the I-5 freeway Councilmen Kramer, Taylor and measures 126,000 square feet. Allevato rejected that idea. “It’s the The project footprint is more than best [project] we’re going to get,” 1.4 million square feet, on 33 acres. Spieker Development / “Laguna Glen” The buildings will At a Glance be a mix of one, SIZE: 750,000 square feet (approx.) total two and threebuilding square footage story buildings 1.4+ million square feet / 33 acres total project with 400+ footprint residential units 400+ residential units and 100+ bed medical and a 100+ bed medical center. center One, two and three-story buildings It will also add 1,759 daily car/ TRAFFIC: Additional 1,759 car trips per day truck trips to San (estimate only) Juan streets. If they exceed the WATER USAGE: Unknown. City recently traffic estimates, enacted Stage 2 water conservation measures which they are not carry fines for residential ratepayers, reduced fines required to fix it; for contractors/developers, if using more than they need only pay allotted amount of water. a fee to the City. APPROVAL: Planning Commission: NO One speaker City Council: Reeve, Byrnes - NO pointed out the Kramer, Taylor, Allevato - YES City’s recent enactment of “Stage 2” water conservation Kramer insisted. measures due to the drought. Despite pleas from residents She wondered how the council imploring the council to protect could consider approval when the San Juan from additional traffic, project will require so much water, strain on scarce water resources both during construction and in and forever changing our small the future. town character, the development was approved by Councilmen Larry In fact, the Planning Commission Kramer, John Taylor and Sam recommended a “no” vote for Allevato, while Derek Reeve and these and other reasons. Roy Byrnes voted against it. Resident Mike Johnson suggested that Councilman Larry Kramer recuse himself from voting due to a potential conflict of interest. Apparently, during a recent

Community Common Sense

Taylor attempted to justify his vote, stating, “Every single issue [in the EIR] says ‘no impact’ and this is borne out by the data.” Story continued on page 6 ... PAGE

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San Juan Capistrano

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Special Favors Questioned By Kim Lefner At the October 21 council meeting, resident Clint Worthington addressed the council about an agenda item which amends the lease of cityowned property to Ortega Equestrian Center owner Kathy Holman. Holman who is reportedly a relative of retired Sheriff Brad Gates. Gates was famously referred to as “the 6th Councilman’ by a former council member, due to his influence on the council majority. Worthington asked the council why Holman is being leased the city property for what amounts to about $246 per year. The lease agreement states that Holman will pay “25% of City sponsored programs” for use of the property. According to the staff report, since 2009 Holman has paid the city a total of $1,232. Worthington then produced an email exchange between Councilman Sam Allevato and Holman dated November 7, 2011, in which Holman asks for a reduction in the high water bills at her equestrian center. The subject line of her email is: “Water bill is killing me”. Allevato responded with an offer to help by suggesting ways to get a special agricultural (reduced) rate set for stables. He also assured her of votes from Larry Kramer and John Taylor if she could get other stable owners to also make the case for obtaining agricultural rates. Here’s the text of the email response from Sam Allevato: “Kathy, The real issue is getting a special rate set for the stables. As you may remember, during the discussion on Agricultural rates, I asked the question lithe stables received a lower rate for their water like the farmers did and the answer was no and that this issue was going to be addressed next time we looked at water rates.

??

Perhaps we could look at this issue sooner than later if all the stables could get together and ask for a special rate based upon it fitting our community character, revenue to the City, similar to the Ag users reasons, etc. Working through the Chamber of Commerce and the new Equestrian Council, this would be a worthwhile endeavor to take on. You know you would have my support, and Larry’s, and John’s, and... Sam“

?

Holman was granted the agricultural rate, which appears to violate the city’s requirement that agricultural rates be billed only for agricultural purposes. It is unknown whether other stable owners also got the reduced rate. Worthington pointed out that billing equestrians at lower rates violates Proposition 218, which states that the city can only bill customers for what it actually costs to deliver the water. “The city cannot bill customers for something we do not derive direct benefit from. Subsidizing businesses by giving them a reduced rate amounts to charging residential customers more for service they are not receiving. That violates the law,” Worthington said. Besides, Worthington pointed out, an equestrian center is not “agricultural use”.

San Juan Capistrano

Teacher’s Union Stalls Negotiations, Attempts to Buy Candidates in School Board Race By Ellen Addonizio and Jim Reardon The Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) started this school year without a teacher’s union contract, and no negotiations are underway. Meanwhile, the union has paid for the election campaigns of three candidates who, if elected, will secure a school board majority favorable to the union. We believe the refusal to negotiate and the election spending are connected. The school board opened negotiations with the union on March 12 of this year. The union formally responded on April 23. Since that time, there has been no negotiation and none is planned. The schools have been operating since July 1 without a contract with the teachers. Salaries and benefits are 90 percent of the cost to operate schools. Three unions and a management association represent CUSD employees. The teacher’s union is by far the largest group, comprised of 2,100 classroom teachers and others. With 63 campuses, CUSD is the largest employer in south Orange County. We believe the teacher’s union does not want a contract before the school board election on November 4, in order to advance a political agenda. Instead of negotiating as they com-

mitted to do in April, the union has stalled and amassed a political war chest of about $150,000 that is being spent to finance three school board candidates. The union, Capistrano Unified Education Association (CUEA), and its affiliated Political Action Committee, CUEA “HOPE”, are spending heavily to support the candidacy of Lynn Hatton in Mission Viejo, along with newcomers Gila Jones in San Juan Capistrano, and Martha McNicholas in Laguna Niguel. Presumably, all this political spending is intended to secure favorable terms at the bargaining table. How else can you explain the silence from the union at a time when teachers are working with no contract? Ellen Addonizio was first elected to serve on the CUSD Board of Trustees in 2006, was re-elected in 2010 and is running for re-election in 2014. She serves Area 6, which covers portions of Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel and San Juan Capistrano. Jim Reardon was elected to the CUSD Board of Trustees in 2012, and serves Area 2 which covers portions of San Juan Capistrano, Mission Viejo, Ladera Ranch and Las Flores.

“This is just more evidence of the favoritism displayed towards those the council majority likes, while sticking the rest of us residents with the tab,” Worthington said.

Community Common Sense

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San Juan Capistrano Story continued from page 4... When the audience expressed their disbelief, he called them “rude”. He acknowledged the traffic issues, stating “Yes, we have traffic problems,” but then inexplicably stated, “I support the project; I think it will be great for our community.” Stating that he served on the Traffic Commission, Kramer too acknowledged, “we have a lot of traffic problems in town,” but claimed that the traffic “won’t be significantly increased” by this development. His statement was met with laughter and jeers from the audience. Councilman Reeve opposed the development, stating, “We’ve talked a lot about ‘public benefit’, but what about public cost? This places an extraordinary burden on our residents and places a strain on our infrastructure, water and traffic.” Councilman Byrnes explained why this issue held special significance for him. “I spent two years of my young life in 1974 developing the General Plan. I insisted at the

time that it include defining us as a small town, with open space and an emphasis on historical preservation,” said Byrnes. “We are now being asked to deviate [from the General Plan], to give up millions in community assets for what; a small amount of money?” Following the vote to approve, resident Barbara Szemenyei said, “After clear reasons against [the development]; Allevato, Kramer, and Taylor completely ignored their duty to us, the people they were elected to protect, and gave Speiker a gift by voting “yes” for the project. The whole meeting was disgraceful and a slap in the face of the people that will be impacted.” Before an ordinance can be enacted, a second reading must take place. This will likely occur at the next council meeting on November 4. Upon final approval, opponents vow to put a referendum on the ballot, allowing residents to vote on the project.

San Juan Capistrano

Union Campaign Contributions a Conflict? Should Council members who accept large campaign contributions from the OC Sheriffs Union recuse themselves from voting to amend or approve the OC Sheriffs Department contract with our City? Resident Ian Smith suggested such at the Oct. 21 Council meeting, pointing out that the Councilmen Allevato, Kramer and Taylor have all accepted large campaign contributions from the Sheriffs union (including $5,000 to oppose the recall of Allevato). Smith suggested that while it may not be (technically) illegal for them to vote on the Sheriffs annual contract amounting to approximately $8 million per year (about

Volunteers are needed to help with the referendum effort. Email: savesanjuan@gmail.com for more info.

37% of the City’s annual budget), accepting campaign contributions from them gives the appearance of conflict of interest. The Sheriffs contract comes up for renewal November 18. A recent agenda item requesting approval for additional enforcement during the I-5/Ortega Interchange construction listed the salaries of Lt. John Meyer at $310,000 per year, and Sheriffs Sergeants at $275,000 per year. “No wonder we’re broke,” said Smith.

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Mission Viejo Story continued from page 1...

as a labor union – the worst of all eight council candidates. She’s a VP of a property management company, PCM. Their business has a monetary interest in adding more housing – and more traffic – to Mission Viejo. A council seat would be a conflict of interest for her. People might be acquainted with her, but they don’t know she’s a lobbyist: (see: http:// tinyurl.com/l6stn2d). On Nov. 4, Reardon, Leckness and Bucknum should not get even one vote from neighborhoods that have already been changed forever with more high-density housing. On Election Day, I will vote for Ed Sachs, Desi Kiss and Greg Raths. They are not pro-developer or prospecial interest. Please know the candidates before you vote: (see: http://tinyurl.com/kdkd2vn). For additional voting information, go to: http:// missionviejocommonsense.com and https://www. facebook.com/missionviejocommonsense Contributing Editor Steve Magdziak is a small business owner and a resident of Mission Viejo.

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Mission Viejo

Letter to the Editor Who Do You Trust?

An alert Mission Viejo resident sent a photo and an email, “Something is up with Kaleidoscope’s west wall.” With residents’ strong reaction against Kaleidoscope’s proposal to have Jumbotron-style billboards two years ago, the city council’s public discussion of the subject stopped. However, residents are observing the appearance of the wall, wondering if Kaleidoscope is optimistically preparing for billboards. The decision on whether to allow billboards isn’t up to residents. All it takes is the approval of three council members. On the current council, only Council Members Rhonda Reardon and Frank Ury have indicated they approve of billboards. Council candidate Wendy Bucknum would be the third “Yes” vote, and the bill-

boards would go up. Are Kaleidoscope’s owners so hopeful of a third vote they can’t wait to start modifying their building? In the Nov. 4 city election, Mission Viejo voters have clear choices. On one side, Rhonda Reardon, Dave Leckness and Wendy Bucknum are running together on special interest and union money. Opposing them, Ed Sachs, Desi Kiss and Greg Raths have aligned to protect the residents, stop high-density housing and prevent such other negative changes as billboards. In the campaign rhetoric, who should voters believe? Reardon and Leckness say Mission Viejo is the No. 1 safest city in California. FBI crime statistics indicate Mission Viejo has slipped to No. 13 (see: http://tinyurl.com/n924vj2).

Mission Viejo

Letter to the Editor

Big Money Enters Mission Viejo Race A surge of union dollars is benefiting city council incumbents Rhonda Reardon and Dave Leckness and candidate Wendy Bucknum. From my perspective, to have labor unions pumping money into a council race defines the candidates. The return address on the union’s mailer, “Citizens to Protect Mission Viejo,” is very deceptive. Mission Viejo resident Greg Woodard calls out the “Citizens” behind the mailer for Reardon, Leckness and Bucknum (see: http://tinyurl.com/kcbqk5s). “The mailer was large, in full color, and on good paper stock, so I wondered how Citizens was paying for this apparently city-

wide mailer. My search at the Secretary of State and County websites came up empty, but I hit pay dirt at the City of Mission Viejo’s website (some are questioning whether Citizens was required to file with the County given that they are supporting a county-wide candidate). On September 30, 2014, Citizens received a $5,000 donation from the Orange County Employees Association, and on October 10, 2014, it received a $13,000 donation from the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association, both public employee unions.” Community Common Sense has been exposing Bucknum’s specialinterest campaign for several months. Bucknum, a lobbyist in the housing industry, is primarily

Regarding the Fire Zone controversy, the city council majority of Reardon, Leckness, Trish Kelley and Ury added 12,000 homes to the high-risk fire area. Reardon now states that homeowners don’t have to disclose they’re in the Fire Zone when they sell their home. Real estate agents know better. Also, insurance agents know it is difficult to get insurance coverage in fire areas. Homeowners who put their home on the market or try to change insurance carriers quickly discover the liabilities of being in a fire area. It is one thing for council members to be wrong, but it is quite another when they continue trying to fool the public even after the truth is obvious. Another source of residents’ distrust is the council majority’s support for apartment-building. Council members could deny it, but they have approved every project that has come before them. Sachs, Kiss and Raths funded by the vendor network of her employer, Professional Community Management. PCM’s former co-president Disbro also donated $1,000 to Bucknum’s campaign. If the name Disbro sounds familiar, read the Orange County Register’s report about PCM’s use of company funds for transvestite prostitutes (see: http://tinyurl.com/lnyu6w9). The salacious scandal was out of the place in such family-oriented communities as Mission Viejo where PCM is trying to do business. City Hall has also entered the campaign battle, taking the side of Bucknum, Reardon and Leckness. As seen in candidate Greg Raths’ photos, a city contractor took down campaign signs for Raths and Kiss but didn’t touch the signs of incumbent Dave Leckness. Go to OCPolitics.com to read the article: http:// tinyurl.com/kyco4uv. Some of the council challengers are spending less than $1,000 for their

Community Common Sense

have indicated they don’t support more high-density housing. Worse than being pro-developer and pro-special interest, Reardon, Leckness and Bucknum are anti-resident. These three candidates have vastly different agendas than the voters who want representation on the council. Bucknum’s agenda is to get elected, and Reardon and Leckness want to be re-elected. If these three win, they will very predictably continue the trend of more apartments, more traffic and declining safety. Some people might remember when cities in north Orange County were desirable places to live, but they no longer are. Residents of those cities either didn’t care about their surroundings or they didn’t care enough to choose trustworthy representatives to preserve what they had. Kirk Kelley Mission Viejo entire campaign. To have City Hall selectively confiscate their signs is devastating to them. To have our tax dollars used to influence the outcome of an election is blatant corruption. In a council forum last week, Bucknum said she wanted to create more vendor contracts for City Hall. Before anyone gets excited about her concept of outsourcing, Community Common Sense has already exposed the vendors on her list, which are connected with her employer’s network. On Bucknum’s campaign finance report look at her employer’s favored contractors mixed in with the apartment builders (see: http:// tinyurl.com/l6stn2d). It’s not “outsourcing,” it’s payback to PCM and others who donated to Bucknum. Donna Snow Mission Viejo PAGE

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2014 CANDIDATES for San Juan Capistrano City Council

Derek REEVE Pam PATTERSON, Esq. Kerry FERGUSON WE’RE AT A CROSSROADS... WHAT KIND OF SAN JUAN DO YOU WANT? More TRAFFIC?

Higher WATER RATES?

More TAXES & FEES?

Do you want more of these negative impacts? Candidates Taylor, Kramer, Frisch, Siegel and Williams support Re-zoning for MASSIVE Development & the FAILED WATER PLANT

WE DON’T!

You have a clear choice on Nov. 4th: Do you want the San Juan you moved here to enjoy?

Vote for Reeve, Patterson & Ferguson Review Derek’s VOTING RECORD at:

SAVE YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE VOTE IN A NEW MAJORITY NOV 4TH

*Paid Political Advertisement by Friends of Derek Reeve for City Council 2014. FPPC #1361315

*Paid Political Advertisement by Friends of Pam Patterson for City Council 2014. FPPC #1369921

www.Reeve4SJC.com

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