MISSION VIEJO : Councilman Rallies Against Recall Effort

Outspent 15 to 1 by opponents trying to oust him, City Councilman Robert A. Curtis rallied friends and political allies Wednesday for a campaign fund-raiser.

Flanked by Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) and Mayor William S. Craycraft, Curtis told about 50 supporters at the Mission Viejo Swim and Tennis Club that he needs a groundswell of support to defeat the recall in the Feb. 27 election.

“If we don’t physically overwhelm them by our numbers . . . we will lose control of City Hall,” Curtis said.

Led by Mission Viejo Co., development interests poured almost $150,000 into the petition drive sponsored by the Coalition to Recall Councilman Curtis. By contrast, Curtis raised just $9,660.

“We can’t wait to start our fund raising,” he said Wednesday night. “The Mission Viejo Co. will make sure all the money that is needed is going to be pumped into the coalition.” Curtis hopes to collect $15,000 to $25,000 to defend his council seat.

Recall forces were angered last spring by Curtis’ support for a plan to annex nearby Aegean Hills, a 593-acre area of homes near the San Diego Freeway. The annexation bid failed by a 3-2 council vote.

Curtis has accused Mission Viejo Co. of trying to oust him because of his slow-growth stance.

At the fund-raiser, Curtis charged that development interests spearheaded by the company will pump $250,000 into a campaign fund to oust him.

The money will finance a phone bank and bankroll the hiring of precinct walkers to blanket the city, Curtis said.

Wendy Wetzel, a Mission Viejo Co. spokeswoman, declined to comment on Curtis’ charges, saying: “We’re not going to respond every time Bob Curtis opens his mouth.”

Recall leader Helen Monroe confirmed that the coalition will pay for precinct walkers and has discussed using a phone bank.

Although the coalition has said it would not begin campaign activities until January, Monroe conceded that the recall committee is running a survey through political consultant Lynn Wessell.

Monroe said Wessell, a well-known political adviser whose services are being donated by Mission Viejo Co., had surprised the coalition by starting the telephone poll on Wednesday, a week early.

The poll asks Mission Viejo voters how they feel about people on both sides of the recall issue, including Curtis, Craycraft and Monroe.