Foothills Sentry December 2020

Foothills Sentry Page 4 December 2020 JOHNSON MOTORCARS 31 Years of Specializing in the Service and Repair of Mercedes-Benz Gary Johnson 714-997-2567 982 N. Batavia # B13, Orange, CA 92867 gary@johnsonmotorcars.com Guest Commentary Elections have consequences By Peter Jacklin It would be an understatement to say that 2020 is a year unlike any other. What may have fallen by the wayside during this abso- lutely crazy year is the new politi- cal structure in our beloved city. You may recall that the City of Orange settled a pending lawsuit by switching to by-district coun- cil representation/voting. The city council was expanded to seven seats, with six council members chosen by districts instead of at large. By-district elections were intended to provide more ade- quate representation of the city’s minority population. Have the objectives of by- district elections been met? it appears that the council now has three members with the Latino surnames of Alvarez, Barrios and Gutierrez. Some success here. A broader view suggests that little else has changed for the better. Since the founding of the city, you could vote for who you be- lieved best for mayor and two council seats – three uninhibited votes. Now, you can vote for only mayor and one councilperson – two inhibited votes. This year, some voters had only a may- oral vote. Simply stated, this is subtle voter suppression that has long-term consequences; smaller groups are easier to convince. Mike Alvarez, running in Dis- trict 3, managed to overcome the burden of being termed out to win election over two candidates. Al- varez received $1,000s from in- stitutions, real estate interests and the police and fire associations. He is now on course to serve at least six terms, in total, on the council. Former City Councilman Jon Dumitru wins in District 2, over- coming three challengers, to gar- ner 40% of the vote. Dumitru has no compunction to move around the city until he can find a coun- cil seat to sit upon and less com- punction to campaign. This is his third term on the council. Dumi- tru received most of his funding from out-of-city contributors, real estate interests and the police and fire associations. Two candidates with Latino surnames were beat- en in this race. OUSD trustee Rick Ledesma had significant funding from lo- cal real estate interests, police and fire associations, did not cam- paign and failed to win against Ana Gutierrez. District 1 is the odd duck. This first term for this seat is two years. The winner is Arianna Bar- rios, with 40% of the vote. Dave Vazquez, a current planning com- missioner and a candidate fa- vored by the council, finished a distant second. The mayoral race requires sig- nificantly more funding. Mark Murphy knows how to raise mon- ey from institutions, real estate ti- tans, police and fire associations. In all, Murphy received blocks of $1,000 donations this year from these people to add to the $57,000 in his campaign war chest. Adri- enne Gladson, his opponent, raised her funds in bite-sized chunks from the community and was eclipsed financially and at the ballot box. Murphy has been a constant presence on the city council in one form or another for the past quarter-of-a-century. Voters were asked to pass judgement on the current city council’s approval of the Trails at Santiago Creek project – Measure AA. The council’s decision was rejected by more than 60% of the voters despite a $700,000 cam- paign by the real estate investor owning the property. Of those in the race, Murphy, Alvarez, Dumi- tru and Vazquez favored develop- ment of the Sully-Miller property in one or more of its incarnations during the past 15 years. Let’s hope that the new city council will have more respect for its citi- zens’ opinions. When all is said and done, the newly formed seven-member city council has five old hands who have served over and over again during the last 25 years and carry much of the blame for the condi- tion that the city is in today. An effort to bring Latino representa- tion to the council has come close to ensuring the "old guard" has complete control over the city for years to come. Smaller groups are easier to manipulate; it’s eas- ier to split the vote; district elec- tions are less expensive, the old guard has the money to market its preferred candidates. City voters have far less voting muscle now. Yes, there is more Latino repre- sentation on the council. Are we better off now? Peter Jacklin has lived in Or- ange Park Acres for 50 years. Measure AA plus Dear Editor: I want to thank all of the voters who voted "no" on Measure AA. Living in Mabury Ranch, so close to the Sully-Miller site, we were very concerned when the county discovered illegally dis- posed materials. On an inspec- tion, the county observed roofing tiles, plaster and pool tiles. Some of these materials release crystal- line silica when crushed. Inhala- tion of silica particles can cause pulmonary fibrosis that, over pro- longed periods, increases the risk of lung cancer. Had AA passed, the investment group planned to crush these materials as fill for its development. This is a public health issue. Those illegally disposed materials need to be removed immediately. We urge Orange council members to work with the county to make this happen as soon as possible. L. Fauth Orange Dear Editor: Walking as a volunteer, door- to-door throughout Orange, distributing door hangers for “No on AA,” was a positive learning experience. Mostly, I learned that Orange residents are engaged and care about their community. Many of the people I talked to had already decided that they were voting "no" on AA. They had made their decision by simply following the money. They actually read the fine print on the bottom of the multiple, glossy mailers they were receiving that identified the advertiser as Milan Capital. Residents who were confused by the conflicting information they had been receiving eager to talk about it and learn more. The 40 cents spent per vote by Orange Citizens to Keep Orange Safe was apparently more effective than the reported $30-plus per vote spent by Milan Capital. The City of Orange is a great place to live. It does not matter which part of Orange you live in, there is a sense of community that spreads throughout the city and a desire to take care of each other. Just because the Sully-Miller site was not in their backyards, people understand that protect- ing the city and community plans matters, the Santiago Greenbelt matters, that not all land is wise to build on, and that residents matter more than outside investors and developers. Kudos to all my fellow residents and thank you for voting "no" on AA! Leslie Kay-Getzinger Orange D ear Editor: Along with the rest of Orange, the majority of voters in Mabury Ranch voted “no” on Measure AA. While that was no surprise to those of us who live here, it appar- ently was for Orange City Coun- cil members. Several erroneously announced, at council meetings and on social media, that Mabury Ranch supported the Santiago Creek development, despite the marginal 4-to-3 vote by MRHOA board members that supported it. Going forward, I hope council does its research before making ridiculous claims. We’re also very concerned about the illegal disposal the county discovered on the San- tiago dumpsite. When it comes to cleaning it up, we hope our coun- cil members put citizens first, ahead of property owner Milan Capital, which made sizable con- tributions to their campaigns. Stephanie Lesinski Mabury Ranch Term unlimits Dear Editor: Mike Alvarez just won a third term as a council member in a city that supposedly has a two- term limit. How did that happen? It seems that Alvarez took advan- tage of a loophole that emerged when the city went to districting and failed to transfer in the two- term limit, which is touted on the city website and has been in ef- fect since the 90s. The two-term limit measure had won by a vast majority but is of no apparent im- portance to Mike Alvarez. What is the city council going to do about this? Will it just con- tinue to forge forward in blatant disregard of the term limits voted on by the citizens of Orange, or fix it? It would be refreshing to see some integrity and regard for the wishes of the City of Orange residents come to bear before the next city elections. Jane Canseco Orange A little respect Dear Editor: It struck me that whatever else it stems from, the vandalism, ha- tred and violence seen recently on the news is a manifestation of lack of self respect. When a person loses respect for himself, he then beings to feel that nothing he does seems to matter. From that mindset it is easy to drift into doing destruc- tive actions regardless of conse- quences to self or others as “it doesn’t matter anyway.” If people would simply treat others as they themselves would like to be treated, and try not to do things to others that they would not want done to them, we would have a much more harmonious and happy society. These precepts even apply to elected officials in their applica- tion of power. Cathy Sullivan Orange Comments curtailed Dear Editor: The public has the right to par- ticipate in their government, but the City of Orange has set up ar- bitrary rules that block the free flow of public participation. Those of us who watch city council and planning commission meetings should not be subjected to time restrictions for comment submission far in advance of the meeting, nor should we have our comments slowly read by a third- party monotone intent on running the clock out before the comment is completed. People should be allowed to make their own comments within the three minutes allotted. Other agencies and cities are technologically able to allow for real-time public participation. Why not Orange? At the Nov. 10 city council meeting, council members were missing on the live stream video for over one hour while public comments were being read. Not only does that send a wrong signal, it puts in question quorum requirements. The insensitivity to public participation by council members and the lack of adherence to quorum requirements is disrespectful to the residents of Orange. I urge our city leaders to use the highest bar when it comes to public participation, not the lowest. It’s time to put our residents first. Shelia Thompson Orange VP Women's League to spread seasonal joy Villa Park Women’s League invites the community to visit the inaugural “Community Holiday Forest,” a grove of decorated faux trees set up in the Towne Center by City Hall. Each tree repre- sents an activity group within the League -- Couples’ Gourmet, Petal Pushers or pickleball -- or a community group. The annual home décor contest, with prizes awarded for the best- dressed and most creatively deco- rated homes, will also be held. For information about the forest or a special home to see, contact VPWL Beautification Chair Kim- berlee Martin (949) 228-5461; see vpwl.org for a list of winning homes to view, or membership in- formation.