Curtis’ Foes Raise $155,422 for Recall Bid : Politics: Mission Viejo councilman is accused of power-mongering, but he says opponents are led by developers angry over his slow-growth stance.

Leaning heavily on corporate Orange County, recall organizers trying to unseat City Councilman Robert A. Curtis have raised $155,422, according to financial statements filed Thursday.

The largest contributor, the Mission Viejo Co., spent $35,717, while 13 other businesses and political action committees--some as far away as Covina and Los Angeles--contributed $95,750, the statements filed by the Coalition to Recall Councilman Curtis show.

By contrast, Curtis received contributions totaling $9,660, according to his financial report.

“I guess I should feel flattered,” Curtis said. “This dramatically illustrates for the city that the Philip Morris Co. is trying to buy City Hall.” The Mission Viejo Co. is owned by New York-based Philip Morris Cos. Inc.

A Mission Viejo Co. spokeswoman, however, responded that the company has been opposed for years to any attempts to change city boundaries and objects to Curtis’ efforts to annex a parcel of land to the new city.

Recall proponents turned in 12,001 signatures to the city clerk Sept. 28 in a bid to force a recall election. The petitions are being checked to determine whether there are 7,770 valid signatures, the number needed to place on the ballot a recall question on Curtis.

The coalition, which describes itself as a citizens’ group, has accused Curtis of being a divisive force on the City Council and of power-mongering through his efforts last spring to annex Aegean Hills, a section of land near the San Diego Freeway.

But Curtis has countered that the real powers behind the recall drive are developers, particularly the Mission Viejo Co., who are angry with his slow-growth stance.

“I guess their financial statement shows just how badly they want me out,” he said.

Asked whether it is overkill to contribute such a large sum, Mission Viejo Co. spokeswoman Wendy Wetzel said: “We invest millions of dollars in Mission Viejo. It is our business. We have opposed for many years any attempts to change the boundaries of Mission Viejo without a vote from the residents of our planned community.”

Wetzel also confirmed that included in the company’s contribution was $10,000 spent for the services of high-powered political consultant Lynn Wessell of Burbank.

Another big pro-recall contributor was Kathyrn G. Thompson, president of Laguna Audubon II, a development firm that donated $25,000 and that has subcontracted work with the Mission Viejo Co. Contributing $10,000 each were the Frost Group of Laguna Niguel, Baldwin Builders Inc. of Irvine, the William Lyon Co. of Newport Beach and the Alliance for Representative Government of Covina. Another nine contributors gave $5,000.

Curtis predicted that developers will see a backlash from citizens, who will be irritated by the involvement of outside interests in local issues.

“The people of Mission Viejo will highly resent this blatant power play by the building industry,” he said.

However, Helen Monroe, leader of the recall movement, said she found it appropriate to accept money from corporations based outside the county: “Many of these companies build in Mission Viejo. We were delighted to get their support. Obviously, this man has irritated some developers.”

Curtis has also accused the Mission Viejo Co. of coaxing developers to send money to the recall campaign, which company officials deny.

“We have certainly discussed the issue with others,” Wetzel said, “but the individual corporations have made their own decisions.”

Among the spending listed by the pro-recall group are $65,922 paid to employees to circulate petitions, $20,367 spent on mailers and $12,774 paid to a Santa Monica-based law firm.

Monroe said she considers the money well spent.

“I guess it wasn’t overkill, because we reached our goal of 12,000 signatures” on the recall petitions, she said.

Curtis’ contribution list was topped by the J.M. Peters Co. of Newport Beach, which gave $1,500. Four supporters who gave $500 each are Mayor William S. Craycraft, M.V. Imports, Fieldsted and Co. of Irvine and All Area Moving and Storage of Irvine. No other contributor gave more than $250.

An employee in the city clerk’s office said more than two-thirds of the signatures on the petitions have been examined, but she could not estimate when the job would be complete. State law requires verification of the petition signatures within 30 days.