Councilman’s Fund-Raiser Draws Fire

A Mission Viejo city councilman who sent political fund-raising letters to firms with major city contracts is being criticized for the possible abuse of city resources.

Councilman John Paul Ledesma sent out invitations for his $125-a-plate luncheon after asking city staff to provide him with a list of firms that had job contracts with Mission Viejo worth $15,000 or more.

Ledesma acknowledged using the information for his political mailer, but said he did not request it for that purpose.

The councilman said he wanted the information to familiarize himself with contractors that receive substantial city funds. Ledesma said he also used the list to help him review the city’s bidding process.

“The bottom line is this: At some point in time, I wanted to use the addresses, but the primary motivation was to get a little bit more vendor information,” Ledesma said.

Mayor William S. Craycraft said he received a call from a contractor who “was quite disturbed” by Ledesma’s invitation, and called the request “quite peculiar.”

“I was elected in 1987, and not once in those 14 years has there ever been a request such as this,” said Craycraft, who has had a bitter feud with Ledesma on the council.

Councilwoman Susan Withrow also expressed concern over the mailers.

“I can’t believe all the work that went into compiling this list,” said Withrow, who also has sparred with Ledesma. “The more I’ve learned, the madder I get.”

State law prohibits elected officials from using public funds for their own political purposes.

“Public money pays the staff,” said Jim Knox of Common Cause in Sacramento, a government watchdog group. “If they were on the public payroll when they compiled this list, that is a use of public money. The key issue is whether he asked for the information to be compiled for some other reason and then secondarily used it for his campaign, or whether the sole reason the information was compiled was to benefit his campaign.”

Ledesma said his request was for his official council duties, not for his campaign. He said a number of firms have been disqualified from city jobs for improperly filling out bids and he wanted to see if any of the firms with current city contracts had been disqualified in the past.

Three city employees spent eight hours in March compiling the list of firms with major contracts with the city. The list of 103 city contractors included the names of the firms, the dates of their contracts, as well as their addresses and phone numbers.

City Manager Dan Joseph said several firms that received Ledesma’s fund-raiser invitation called City Hall, unsure how to respond to the letter. Ledesma’s fund-raiser, scheduled for this Friday, is being hosted by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista).

“Our public works department has gotten phone calls, some expressing concern and wondering what does this mean,” Joseph said. “They want to know if they should give money or attend.”

Leonard Brongo of Brongo Construction, which has done grading work for the city, said he was called at his San Juan Capistrano office last Friday asking whether he’d be attending Ledesma’s luncheon.

“I thought it was a little odd,” Brongo said. “[The message] went straight to the trash.”

Duane Gonyea of C&D; Electric in Anaheim, another company on the contractor list, said he also received a solicitation from Ledesma--and threw it away after he realized it was a request for a donation.

Ledesma was elected to the City Council in 1998 after a campaign sponsored by a Mission Viejo political watchdog group, Committee for Integrity in Government.

Ledesma has found himself at odds with the council majority--Craycraft, Withrow and Councilwoman Sherri M. Butterfield--numerous times.

In August 1999, three residents filed suit against Craycraft, Withrow and Butterfield for allegedly violating the state’s open meeting law by criticizing two of Ledesma’s proposals in closed session without placing the matters on the agenda.

Ledesma testified against the trio in court.

A year later, Craycraft, Withrow and Butterfield were found guilty, and the city was ordered to pay attorney fees and tape-record all closed session meetings for two years.