My Candidate for Mission Viejo City Council - Dave Leckness

UPDATE 2/3/10: The recall passed by only 19 votes and Dave Leckness won the City Council seat.

Next Tuesday (Groundhog's Day) we'll be having a special election in Mission Viejo with only two questions:

1. Should Lance MacLean (the current mayor) be recalled?
2. Who should replace him if he is?

There are a variety of good reasons why MacLean should be removed. I've had very little contact with city politics over the years, but it's become obvious that the council majority that includes MacLean has gotten badly out-of-touch with the voters. They voted themselves lifetime medical coverage if they serve three terms (at an estimated cost of somewhere around $300,000 per person), and in 2008 wasted another $300,000 on a Rose Parade float that served no purpose whatsoever.

MacLean has also had some personal issues with anger management, and if you really want to know all the gory details you can peruse the various posts in the Mission Viejo Dispatch or the Mission Viejo Watchdogs.

I do remember the election in 2002 when MacLean and Trish Kelley were elected and a couple of old guard people who had become dangerously detached from the citizens were booted. On election day I drove past the intersection of La Paz and Muirlands near my home and saw MacLean and Kelley in the ARCO station with campaign signs, waving to the passing commuters. The next morning, after they'd both won, they were back in the ARCO station with signs thanking the voters for electing them. I thought that was a classy thing to do. Too bad they've fallen into the bad habits of their predecessors.

As a result, I'll be voting "Yes" on the recall question.

So, who should replace MacLean? My vote will go to Dave Leckness, a local businessman who I've known for most of the 25 years he's run his Kwik Kopy shop across from Saddleback College.

For years Dave

printed lots of stuff for the bank I worked for, and he also did nearly everything I ever needed for The Crimson River Quartet.

With 25 years of experience as a business owner, employer and taxpayer, he's already done more for the city than most of the local activists combined. He's seen firsthand what it takes to operate in this city, and we need people like that in government.

And, he's a fun guy. Believe it or not, that's pretty much the biggest criticism his detractors have offered. He's a fun guy.

I haven't been in his shop for awhile, but when I used to go in there he'd see me and yell out "Rick Moore is in the house!" Every now and then I'd hear my music playing on his in-store CD player. He enjoys life and has a quirky personality. Given the robots that seem to hold most governmental positions these days, he'd be a refreshing change. I'm going to vote for him.

Dave has a YouTube video which is quintessentially Dave. Here you go: