EDITOR'S NOTE: Updated At 1:37 p.m. to add comments from candidate Kim McCarthy and again at 2:09 p.m. to add comments from candidate Roy Byrnes. Updated at 12:30 a.m. Oct. 17 to add comments from Councilman Sam Allevato.
Five Republicans running for San Juan Capistrano City Council, and not one of them will have the support of their party.
The OC GOP Central Committee met Monday to consider for the final time this election season whether it would want to endorse any San Juan Capistrano council candidates.
In early September, an endorsing committee heard the requests from incumbent Sam Allevato and Planning Commissioner Ginny Kerr but rejected both after critics of the current City Council spoke out in opposition.
Then earlier this month, that same committee considered the requests from candidates Kim McCarthy and Roy Byrnes.
While the committee did agree to recommend the candidates’ endorsement, it was not without fireworks.
From the OC Political blog:
Endorsements Committee Member Mary Young speaks and Candidate Kim McCarthy starts shouting over her, with each demanding that the other show respect. Young states and McCarthy shouts about how hard they work on the Central Committee and as a candidate, respectively. (OC Political wishes we had a camera going.) McCarthy rises out of her seat as the male Endorsements Committee members have facial expressions of concern about a potential physical confrontation.
Still, the committee narrowly approved to recommend Byrnes and McCarthy for endorsement.
Contacted after the Oct. 1 committee meeting, Young told Patch the account is accurate.
Monday night, the Central Committee gathered as a whole to make a final decision, and according to the OC Political blog, Young made the motion not to endorse anyone in San Juan Capistrano. The motion was passed unanimously.
"Being unknown to the republican party, Dr. Byrnes and I never expected to get as far in the endorsement process as we did," McCarthy told Patch. She views the biggest accomplishment is ensuring that Allevato did not get the endorsement.
Byrnes saw it the same way.
"For Sam Allevato, a nine-year entrenched incumbent politician to be rejected by his own Republican party speaks volumes and is an earth-shaking, wake-up call to the voters. Powerful political bosses tried every trick in the book to pull him through but his record was too clear," Byrnes said.
Allevato said McCarthy's failure to clinch an endorsement had much more to do with her than he.
"McCarthy has consistently lied to her friends, and has now be caught in a lie by the OC GOP Central Committee and rebuked for her offensive behavior in front of 30-plus Central Committee members and an audience of elected officials," he said in a note to the media. "And she considers this a victory! She took Byrnes down with her."
McCarthy and Byrnes did pick up a major endorsement from the Orange County Register.
Patch does not endorse candidates.
Vote for Tom, he is a Marine and has no ax to grind. He is also running a quiet but decent campaign. I have never met him but I believe he will serve the City the way he served our country, with honor, dedication and courage
Ask Roy what he told me when I informed him that I was selling my practice to dedicate my time to the City, he told me I was crazy and he was right.
I agree VOTE folks
“We have higher water rates because we have aging infrastructure.” Well, all things are aging. I assume you mean old infrastructure. [Too vague to comment on.] Thanks for the additional information regarding the reason we have “higher water rates” which you characterize as satisfactory. “Complaining about water rates in SJC without looking at what is going on around us, whether next door in South Coast Water District or as far as Yorba Linda, is making judgments, and decisions, in a vaccum [sic], Ted.” I am concerned about our rates not theirs. If I lived in one of these other areas and their rates were as high as ours, I would complain about their rates. “Water rates are high everywhere” Interesting, but not very informative. Are they as high as ours or higher? When I asked for facts, I should have clarified that I was looking for quantitative facts, not the arm waving kind of facts. “It would actually probably put us at a disadvantage, as the new members would have to get up to speed. . .” Well, you tell me this problem began 80 years ago. The current council members have been in office for a long time, and yet, here we are. I fail to see any correlation between being “up to speed” and solving this problem.
The FACT is that you own a plant that has a $3 million a year dept that will have to be paid whether you run it or shut it down. A new council cant change that. If you shut it down you will pay the debt plus the water cost.
I was also glad to hear that I had lost, it took the responsibility of fighting for the city off my shoulders. But I feel honor bound to expose those that I know are not worthy of the office and believe me, it's not torture. It would be torture to watch these people misinform and misdirect the voter of SJC and do nothing. It would be difficult to do that and sleep peacefully at night. If you truly care about my well being, understand why I must do this. and if you want to help end the bitterness and anger, vote for Tom. I don't know him personally but he has no ax to grind and he is a Marine. Perhaps he will serve the City the way he has served our Country, With honor and courage. We could do a lot worse. Thank you for your concern.
1. I don't know if they can reduce my water rates or not. I know they want to and that they will try. As I understand it, the other candidates have essentially pledged to not even try. 2. There are more issues than the high rates for water and I have more confidence in Kim and Roy to address them than the other two candidates. I want to see improvements in the way this city is managed. My decision to vote against the incumbent is informed by Albert Einsten's famous definition of insanity, "trying the same thing over and over and expecting a new result." If the new candidates prove to be more of the same, then we can try again. I favor getting new ideas and people into the game and holding them as accountable as I do the incumbents.
If you just want to vote for Roy and Kim because you trust them, that's fine but those are emotional reasons not based on facts. and you were asking for facts. many people vote that way and it's their privilege. Millions did so 4 years ago with promises of Hope and Change and now they only hope they can change. To paraphrase what you told Jonathan, "since you are satisfied with your candidates this whole conversation must be meaningless to you" so good luck with that.
Interesting that you use the term "artificially high." I don't think the rates are being held artificially high - they really are high. You can look at your water bill for evidence of that fact. Let's assume for a moment that you are right and the current council does indeed desperately want to lower them. First, may I assume that you and they agree that the rates are too high? Otherwise why would one be desperate to lower them? Second, if they are indeed desperate to lower rates, then I have to conclude that in all the years they have been on the council, they have tried and failed. I have found it best in business not to double down on failure. As Jim Collins said in his book "Good to Great," (quoting Admiral Jim Stockdale), "we need to confront the brutal facts (yet never lose faith)." I would commend this book to all who would really like to implement change in San Juan. In fact, I would make it required reading for every city employee. San Juan is a good city. It could be a great city. The seeds of greatness have been planted In San Juan as have the seeds of destruction. How we cultivate these seeds and how we conduct our business will decide which crop we bring in at the harvest.
Trust as I use it is an position taken based on good reasons to believe that what one is trusting is worthy of trust. That is based on the best evidence available. Trust can increase or decrease based on new evidence. So I would dispute your characterization of my trust being an emotional response rather than a reasoned one. Moreover, I don't believe that I ever said I trust anyone in this race. I would prefer to work on the model Ronald Reagan used, "trust but verify." As a said elsewhere, I advocate for new council members and would expect all of us to hold them as accountable as we do the present ones.
"Lon: "Well Ted, I wonder what motivation the sitting Council would have to keep your water rates artificially high? They desperately want lower them but can't squeeze blood out of a turnip." Interesting that you use the term "artificially high." I don't think the rates are being held artificially high - they really are high. You can look at your water bill for evidence of that fact. Let's assume for a moment that you are right and the current council does indeed desperately want to lower them. First, may I assume that you and they agree that the rates are too high? Otherwise why would one be desperate to lower them? Second, if they are indeed desperate to lower rates, then I have to conclude that in all the years they have been on the council, they have tried and failed. I have found it best in business not to double down on failure. As Jim Collins said in his book "Good to Great," (quoting Admiral Jim Stockdale), "we need to confront the brutal facts (yet never lose faith)." I would commend this book to all who would really like to implement change in San Juan. In fact, I would make it required reading for every city employee. San Juan is a good city. It could be a great city. The seeds of greatness have been planted In San Juan as have the seeds of destruction. How we cultivate these seeds and how we conduct our business will decide which crop we bring in at the harvest."
"Lon: "If you just want to vote for Roy and Kim because you trust them, that's fine but those are emotional reasons not based on facts. and you were asking for facts. many people vote that way and it's their privilege." Trust as I use it is an position taken based on good reasons to believe that what one is trusting is worthy of trust. That is based on the best evidence available. Trust can increase or decrease based on new evidence. So I would dispute your characterization of my trust being an emotional response rather than a reasoned one. Moreover, I don't believe that I ever said I trust anyone in this race. I would prefer to work on the model Ronald Reagan used, "trust but verify." As a said elsewhere, I advocate for new council members and would expect all of us to hold them as accountable as we do the present ones."
With all due respect, I don't need anyone to tell me who I should vote for as I am very capable of listening to both sides of the issues before casting my vote. Secondly, for the record I am not trying to demean Mr. Marantz here. I am sure he served his country with "honor, dedication, and courage." However, this does not automatically qualify him or anyone who has served our country for that matter to lead our City. We currently have a Navy captain sitting on the dias, and there is no way I would re-elect him or recommend him to others for re-election. Like you, I don't know Mr. Marantz. So, my question to you is what other criteria are you basing your recommendation on that the citizens of SJC should vote for Mr. Marantz other than that he is a former Marine with no ax to grind, and who is running a quiet campaign? This simply does not make any sense to me at all especially since you have never met the man! Clearly, your statement is a vendetta of some sort that you still carry. Please for your own sake, let it go. I cannot wait until the election (National, State, and Local) is over!
Fact, this Council never pledged to not try to lower your rates, that is nonsense. they have pledged to make the GWRP work because they know that the alternative will hurt all of SJC. This plant has been plagued with many problems and I would be happy to list them for you but both my Council and this Council have made great strides to fix them. Kim and Roy will throw all of that away. This Council is desperate to lower rates because they have to pay them as well and because they love this town, that's all You are right, the rates are not artificially high, they are high. Water rates all over So Cal are high and will get higher yet. That sir, is a FACT. The biggest question will be one of supply. This issue is being manipulated for political reasons. Your candidates have no viable solutions. Those are facts that you can verify.
It just makes sense to me that it would be healthy for the Council to have someone who has not already decided that they will vote with one side or the other. It might bring balance that is sorely needed. I never insisted that you agree. Not going to let it go!!! but again, thanks for caring. BTW, AMEN to your last statement.
You must not have read the majority of the posts because I have been clear why I don't trust or like your candidates but my posting here goes much further. I believe that they are misleading the voters on just about every issue, from traffic to water, etc...if they actually believe the tripe they have been spewing they are in fact dangerous!!! I can only hope that there are some open minded people on this forum that are interested in facts and not in "feelings" about the candidates. If you want to talk about haters, look in one of Kim's mirrors. There is an obvious hate among your people for Sam. If you can't see that you should clean the fog from your glasses. Jess you won't be the first or I am sure the last friend that I have lost for standing up for what I believe in. At the end of the day, it's a lot more important to like yourself because you have to live with yourself a long time. Politics have not changed me, I spoke this way about Swerdlin, Hart and Soto but in those days Kim and the others agreed with me and cheered me on so tell me who has changed here? You seem so upset, you might consider not posting again, I worry about you, take care.
Lon, I am going to assume that by “Tim,” you meant to say “Ted” and will respond to this post. If I am wrong, then “never mind.” I assure you, I have not discounted your posts and I thank you for sharing them. This discussion has been very enlightening. “Fact, this Council never pledged to not try to lower your rates, that is nonsense.” Of course they didn’t pledge that. I was using hyperbole when I said they “essentially pledged to not even try.” By that I meant they failed to do so and, as far as I know, have not stated that it is a priority in their next term. Be assured that I have the best interests of the people of San Juan in mind. I don’t really care who is in office, I care that they run this city in an open, transparent, efficient way with integrity. If the next batch to be seated fails to do that, you can be sure I will oppose them and continue to seek candidates who can. I think I have offered about all I have to say in this discussion. I appreciate your responses and attempts to stay on topic. This will be my final transmission in this thread. Peace. Out.
I sincerely wish you luck, you seem to be a good and decent man.
You keep bringing up Yuma. I imagine their water is cheaper because it's closer to the source (Colorado River) and doesn't have to traverse as many mountain ranges, etc. But interesting thing about Yuma: They have a GWRP, too! Where Does My Water Come From? T he main source of Yuma’s drinking water is surface water from the Colorado River and is delivered to the Treatment Facilities via the canal system. The Main Street Treatment Facility is a conventional water treatment plant. Surface water is treated with coagulant chemicals to help the sediment to collect and drop to the bottom of the sedimentation basins. The water is sent through slow sand filters, and chlorine is added for disinfection. Treated water is then sent out to the distribution system and storage tanks. The Agua Viva Water Treatment Facility presently treats ground water and surface water. The ground water is treated for iron and manganese. Water drawn from a well is ground water. In 2009, the expansion of the Agua Viva Water Treatment Facility to produce 24 million gallons per day of surface water was completed. Treated ground water and surface water are blended together and disinfected prior to distribution in the system. Even Yuma, Clint, sees the wisdom.