Impact of Curtis’ Triumph Is Debated

While supporters of City Councilman Robert A. Curtis were celebrating their victory Tuesday over a recall effort heavily financed by the Mission Viejo Co., slow-growth activists and developers countywide focused in on the election, debating whether the outcome would have any significant impact on Orange County development interests.

Slow-growth activists triumphantly predicted a “setback of staggering” proportions for not only the Mission Viejo Co. but developers countywide who contributed nearly all of $500,000 to unseat Curtis.

“I think the victory will go across the state,” Curtis predicted Tuesday night. “This is a microcosm of what is happening throughout California, where local officials are trying to exert control in land decisions.”

Other slow-growth activists agreed that the election would have implications far beyond the borders of Mission Viejo.

“I think you will see a complete change in tactics with respect to this sledgehammer approach that the development community has taken,” said Tom Rogers, a slow-growth activist now embroiled in a lawsuit with the Mission Viejo Co. over a land purchase. “I think they are going to be forced into a more conciliatory attitude. No question about it, they rolled the dice, they lost, and they lost big.”

Yet, many political observers characterized the Mission Viejo recall effort as an isolated incident that would have little, if any, effect on the influence of developers in Orange County.

“I don’t think the position of the development community has been damaged because of this one little shock. The circumstances surrounding this particular case are very unusual,” said Newport Beach-based political consultant Harvey Englander. “The building community as a whole just won’t be that fazed by it.”

Gordon Tippel, a board member of the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California, which contributed $5,000 to the recall effort, agreed that the outcome of the recall election is not reflective of a trend in the industry.

“I’ve been here for 13 years, and this is the first I’ve heard of any developer feeling so strongly that they will take this type of political action,” Tippel said. “I don’t think if you look at other development companies in Orange County that they are going to face this type of action.”