It's good to know what happened

Eighteen months ago I wrote a column describing documents that showed several city leaders were involved in an aggressive, behind-the-scenes campaign to keep residents from signing petitions seeking a public vote on two Town Center zoning ordinances.

In December 2005 the City Council approved higher density zoning for the downtown area but rescinded the action in February 2006 after residents gathered 9,790 and 9,771 signatures on two petitions in 21 days during the Christmas-New Year holiday period.

The column was based on material supplied by Greg Brown, a principal in Old Town Yorba Linda Partners, which had an exclusive negotiating agreement with the city.

The documents included extensive notes Brown took during closed-door meetings of the Town Center Ad Hoc Committee and letters and e-mails among developers, consultants, lawyers and council members during 2005 and 2006.

Brown later gave the same documents—which also showed city leaders involved in a failed effort to defeat the citizen-sponsored Right-to-Vote on Land Use Amendments initiative either through the courts or at the ballot box—to Councilman John Anderson.

Anderson has now passed on the documents to Jan Horton, who was elected with him in 2006; Hank Wedaa, who returned to the council in 2007; and Allen Castellano and Jim Winder, holdovers from the council that voted for higher Town Center density in 2005.

And based on a 5-0 vote at last week’s council meeting, the Brown documents are likely to become evidence in a long-sought independent investigation into what Anderson says are “unresolved issues” from the Town Center controversy.

While the unanimous action only calls for city staff to develop a “request for a proposal” for the inquiry, council discussion reveals that there are three solid votes from Anderson, Horton and Wedaa to find answers to the question, “How did this happen in our town?”

The three strongest advocates for a local look into the matter are wise to refrain from a witch-hunt and not entirely focus on criminal behavior and possible criminal sanctions.

But an essential element of “moving on” from past controversies is knowledge of what actually happened at the time, so that the same mistakes are not repeated over and over.

My earlier columns on the issue—or others too old to be at ocregister.com/yorbalinda—can be read at jimdrummond.blogspot.com by clicking on October 2006 under archives.

A FINAL NOTE

Mayor Jim Winder’s second public statement regarding the departure of 42-month City Manager Tammy Letourneau confirms Councilman Hank Wedaa was correct when he said Letourneau’s 5-0 dismissal came at her request.

A dismissal without cause entitled Letourneau to walk away with a $209,592 severance, $21,864 higher than her previous year’s pay, thanks to the recent raise voted by Winder, Allen Castellano and Jan Horton but opposed by Wedaa and John Anderson.

The community and transparent government would have been better served if Winder had made his more complete explanation at the March 18 council meeting rather than waiting until April 15.

Behind the fundraising wall

Very few Yorba Lindans donate money to candidates seeking to represent residents on the City Council and fewer still ever attend a fundraising event for a council contender.

In the 10 years I’ve been writing this column, I’ve reviewed hundreds of pages of campaign finance documents, and I’d estimate less than one percent of the city’s population has given money to any candidate in a two-year election cycle.

And while I’m still among the vast majority of non-givers, I attended my first political fundraiser earlier this month at the personal invitation of Councilman Hank Wedaa.

“You don’t need to contribute, and you can bring your notebook and talk to anyone you want,” Wedaa said, waiving the $50 ticket donation price for a casino night at the Yorba Linda Country Club.

Based on the campaigns for some past candidates and ballot measures I’ve studied, I had imagined fundraising involved collecting many-zeroed checks from developers and other building-related interests who wanted to influence or ensure access to council members.

For example, the single-most expensive effort in Yorba Linda history was the $174,000 raised to defeat the citizen-sponsored Right-to-Vote on Land Use Amendments initiative.

Not one Yorba Linda resident or business was listed on the state-required finance forms filed during and after the unsuccessful campaign to defeat Measure B in 2006. All of the money came from outside-the-city sources solicited by the Building Industry Association.

But the Wedaa event involved many Yorba Linda residents playing poker, roulette and 21 in games provided by Planning Commissioner Paul Wohlt, who, with his wife, runs casino-type fundraisers as a part-time retirement job.

I didn’t see any big checks change hands, but I’ll bet spirited live auction bidding and silent auction tables—organized mostly by equestrian enthusiasts and Yorba Linda Residents for Responsible Representation board members—raised much of the cash.

I’ll have to wait to view the next financial filings to establish the exact amount Wedaa accumulated at this election’s first public fundraising event to pay expenses in his ninth race for a council seat.

And, of course, I’ll entertain invitations to fundraisers sponsored by other council, water board or school trustee candidates, as long as I can bring my notebook and maintain my status as a columnist who doesn’t contribute to campaign treasuries.

A FINAL NOTE

The political action committee Yorba Linda Residents for Responsible Representation will announce endorsements for three City Council and two water board positions on the November ballot no later than May 1, according to founding board member Ed Rakochy.

Interviewing candidates seeking the grassroots group’s support are longtime residents Bill Davis, Sharlene Dunn and Tom Lynch, who also recommended YLRRR endorse eventual winners John Anderson and Jan Horton in the 2006 council contest.

The five endorsed candidates will be introduced at a public meeting in May, Rakochy said.

Sign of elections to come

Not all Yorba Lindans vote in municipal elections—the spirited 2006 contest inspired about 57 percent of registered voters to cast ballots—but everyone participates at least vicariously by watching candidates contend for the best sign-posting positions in the city.

The premier location—the pot of gold at the end of a campaigner’s rainbow—is the vacant parcel on the northeast corner of the busy Yorba Linda Boulevard and Imperial Highway intersection, referred to as the “poppy field” during Spring blooming season.

This city-owned land, formerly occupied by a drive-in A & W Root Beer stand and later a mortuary, is the key component for most of the Town Center redevelopment proposals offered during the past decade.

But right now—and for the foreseeable future—the land appears well-suited to introduce potential voters to candidates seeking City Council, water board and school trustee seats.

Last week council members backed off an ordinance drafted by City Attorney Sonia Carvalho that would prohibit political and business signs on city-owned property but allow them on public rights-of-way with certain restrictions.

Carvalho’s plan was to eliminate inconsistencies in the city code dealing with temporary signs. The disparities led to candidates receiving different rulings from various city staff regarding the proper placement of political signs in 2006.

But most council members thought Carvalho’s proposals too broad and asked her to return with a plan to only eliminate the current code’s conflicts.

Some residents have long complained about the rickety postings at the high-visibility Town Center corner, and the few hand-painted, billboard-sized attack signs put up in 2006 and 2007 drew heavier criticism.

But others enjoy the biennial spectacle and see signs as “free speech” and “democracy in action.” Community activist Ed Rakochy, a 2004 council contender, calls the prized site “kooky corner.”

Sadly, too many candidates place too much emphasis on the signs they scatter around town, as if the number and placement of postings will win more votes than some well-researched positions on issues that matter to voters.

During each election cycle the contenders and a few supporters get caught up in accusing opponents of stealing and defacing signs and charging rivals with violating the confusing codes regulating temporary signs.

However, the council shouldn’t support the drastic solution adopted by some neighboring cities, such as Placentia, and ban temporary signs from public property. Yorba Linda has a rich heritage of hard-fought politics and election signs embody a bit of country charm.

A FINAL NOTE

Assemblyman Mike Duvall’s most unpopular decision as Yorba Linda mayor in 2006 was to unilaterally lower the time residents could address the council to three minutes.

His successor as mayor, Allen Castellano, rightly returned the limit to five minutes, but, due to a legal interpretation, the public’s podium time remained the mayor’s prerogative.

However, at John Anderson’s suggestion, the governing body last week gave first reading to an ordinance that would require a three-vote majority for future speaking time changes.

Next council will have a lot to do

Right now maybe a dozen or more Yorba Lindans are thinking seriously about entering the race for three City Council seats on the ballot in the general election this November.

They have plenty of time to make a decision—signups start mid-July—but those who see the need for early planning are considering how to raise the minimum $30,000 necessary to finance a credible campaign in a high-turnout Presidential election year.

But whatever assessment they make of their electoral chances will impact the rest of us, since key issues affecting quality-of-life in the community await the council’s direction after the votes are counted.

Anyone pondering a run for office should be ready to take clear stands on municipal matters and not offer the generic “I’ll do what’s best for all Yorba Lindans” platform, since specifics are required for voters to determine if a candidate knows “what’s best.”

First among the issues to confront the next council is the selection of a city manager. The current council plans to work with an interim manager for the next year, so naming a new top official will take place in 2009.

The opening should draw dozens of quality applicants, unless a split council and divided community make the position less desirable for candidates with vision for a built-out city seeking to preserve the environment people moved here to enjoy.

A second issue is the future of the Black Gold Golf Course, which, says respected city Finance Director Susan Hartman, is not meeting revenue projections. When originally conceived, the upscale amenity was to provide $1 million annually to the city treasury.

Will the course instead become a long-term drain on city resources? Was the trade-off of cluster housing on smaller lots worth the eventual cost for a golfing paradise? Candidates have much research to do before suggesting solutions to this potential financial trap.

And, of course, major decisions regarding Old Town redevelopment lie ahead, with any future action complicated by past councils buying up downtown properties years before they had a renewal plan accepted by the community in place.

The Town Center issue more than any other reminded residents they must remain vigilant to maintain a consistent identity as a low-density city honoring a rural past.

So, a message to anyone planning a run for the city governing body: You have hours of homework ahead as you develop a platform of ideas to take to Yorba Linda voters.

A FINAL NOTE

Mayor Jim Winder’s March 18 council statement led many to believe Tammy Letourneau was fired as city manager. He said council “terminated” Letourneau to achieve “a change in management leadership.”

But veteran Councilman Hank Wedaa says Letourneau “asked to be relieved,” which better explains the 5-0 decision after three members voted her a raise four months ago.

Wedaa thinks she made the request because of three issues: the failed landscape vote, controversy about her salary and a proposed inquiry on a now-dead Town Center plan.