Mission Viejo Panel Draws Opposing Views

Re “Councilman’s Softened Attitude Riles His Backers,” March 18:

This article is not true. There are supporters who are unhappy with Lance MacLean, and some may even be on the Committee for Integrity in Government, but the committee has no position, and has made no threats, like those in the article.

I have attended all the meetings since the election and have heard no such sentiment. Sheri Butterfield is quoted in the last sentence of the article, and that is the true purpose of this misleading piece.

She is extremely bitter about her defeat and is conducting a campaign to discredit the watchdog committee. This is the last sting of a dying adder, and you are naive or malicious to participate. Don’t you want honest government?

Michael T. Kennedy

Vice-chair, Planning and

Transportation Commission

Mission Viejo

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Three cheers for Mission Viejo Councilman MacLean for standing up to the so-called Committee for Integrity in Government and voting his own mind.

His independence and honesty have defined “integrity” for his wannabe bosses, who, calling themselves “watchdogs,” really want to be “sheepherders.”

John J. Lippeatt

Mission Viejo

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Re “He Votes His Own Way: How Dare He!,” March 19:

In our city of almost 100,000, a group of no more than few dozen has been able to monopolize the discussion and intimidate almost any voice of dissent. This group flamboyantly proclaims itself to be the Committee for Integrity in Government.

Although it may have started as a genuine watchdog group monitoring potential excesses in our city government, it has evolved into an attack dog, aggressively trying to squelch any disagreement with its right-wing agenda.

Political mistakes of previous council members, such as improper naming of city facilities and trying to close down a money-losing recreational center, albeit trivial, were played as powerful political weapons in the hands of the committee for unseating those who disagreed with their extreme views. However, some members of the committee, and maybe even the newly elected council members, might have taken the voters’ overwhelming disapproval of the previous council’s policies as a vote of confidence in the committee’s agenda. This could not be further from the truth. The politically savvy residents of Mission Viejo have started to see the committee for what it is -- a group led by mostly angry and intolerant individuals who take a special joy in attacking anyone who dares to have the slightest disagreement with their party line.

Hamid Bahadori

Mission Viejo