My Campaign Strategy and Positions on the Issues

By Michael A. "Mike" Philbrick

I call it unorthodox, some might call it naive but it's not about the MONEY spent, it's about the ISSUES!!

I do not intend to raise any money for my campaign because I have no intention of spending any money on this campaign. Not one thin dime. Not even my own money. I will have no campaign committee. I will have no campaign treasurer. I refuse to be drawn into a spending race to "buy" this seat on the City Council. And they way I look at it, if I won't spend my own money, why should I ask you to spend yours?

I may be a novice, I may be naïve, and I may be an idealist, but I just don't believe that money should have any place in politics, especially at the local level. If other candidates outspend me, as they surely will, and win the election, then so be it. I just do not beleive that folks at this level should be forced to spend money in order to win this office. You can call me delusional, you can call me lunatic fringe, and you can even call me just plain stupid. At least I know I will not be stained, influenced, or afflicted by campaign funding and finance. I will be the one candidate in this race that you can be sure has no hidden agenda, no vested interest, and no links to any special interests. Because of that, I will be able to vote my conscience with nothing more than the betterment of San Juan Capistrano in mind.

Some will probably say I'm not raising money because I can't find anyone to contribute to my campaign. That might actually be true although, I'm sure I could rustle up a few dollars here and there. But there's a deeper, more meaningful reason. I feel it is important to restore integrity to our City Council. Even the slightest appearance of impropriety or conflict of interest is unacceptable. Taking money from various contributors and later voting on projects that directly or indirectly benefit friends or business associates that made those contributions is not a very admirable way to conduct government. I'm not saying that anyone on the Council has done this, but I will say that I would not be surprised if it has happened a time or two.

By not accepting campaign contributions, I will be beholden to no one in this community other than the constituents that elect me and the greater good of the community of San Juan Capistrano.

I will not pay for campaign mailers, and I will not pay for one campaign sign. I refuse to take part in the wasteful and pitiful ritual that does nothing more than pollute the visual landscape of this community with the garish, neon signs that are left up all over town for weeks after the election is over, only to be sent off to the landfill a few days later. The notion that the people who win Council seats in this election should be the people with the most signs or the most campaign money raised is completely absurd to me and I will not cater to that mindset. If I lose because I don't put up a sign, then so be it. I'd rather not win. Instead, my hope is that I might win more than a few votes for not putting up sign. That's the kind of voter I hope to appeal to. Hopefully, there are enough people like that in town, people that value substance over style, to result in an election win that would allow me to be your voice on the City Council.

If you want someone on the Council that will kowtow to the developers and their development plans, do not vote for me.

If you want someone on the Council who will ignore your concerns and fail to resolve relevant issues, do not vote for me.

If you want someone on the Council who resents having to listen to your input and makes up their mind on projects before the public hearings begin, do not vote for me.

I am not that candidate! I am the anti-candidate!

I'm the anti-candidate for a number of reasons. I am not raising campaign funds because I am not spending any money to win this election. You will not see my name on any flyers or on any of those garish, wasteful signs that will soon sprout up to mock the beauty of our town only to be thrown into a landfill in 30 days. I'm the anti-candidate because I'd like to think that I should be elected on the strength of my opinions on the issues rather than on how many signs I put up or how many ads I pay for. This puts me at a distinct disadvantage to the other candidates and if I lose because of it, I'm O.K. with that.

If you want to end the reign of special interests in San Juan Capistrano and you want to have your voice heard and considered in community affairs, then absolutely, you should vote for me.

My goal is to campaign on the issues and my position on those issues. More than that, my campaign will be based on the greater goals of restoring openness, trust, responsiveness, and integrity in the governance of San Juan Capistrano. If through the normal course of business the City comes to the realization that a decision it will make goes against a citizen's (or a group's) voiced concern, I want that citizen to know that the City took time to duly consider the concern, and worked hard to address it. I want that citizen or group to know that their input is valued and integral to the process and often results in improvements that might otherwise might not have occurred. Our community needs to know that if they have a problem or a cause or an issue of any sort, they can come to the Council and the City will deal with them fairly and in good faith.

This, of course puts me at a distinct disadvantage in the election. So here's my campaign strategy:

I plan to rely on you and others like you who share my views and my concerns for this community. So, if you see in me a chance to reestablish your voice in this community spread the word to others and refer them to this website. Together, we can bring about the change in leadership that San Juan Capistrano deserves and so desperately needs.

If you're comfortable with the status quo, then you should probably vote for the two incumbents. But if you've noticed the same complacency, ineffectiveness, and tendencies that I've observed, I think you'll agree its time for a change. And I'm not talking about change for the sake of change. I'm taling about change for the the sake of a better San Juan Capistrano!!

It is time to take back our community and make sure that the peoples' voice is reflected in the actions of our leaders.

Positions

Whispering Hills

The Whispering Hills project is, in my opinion too dense and built in unstable soil conditions. Remedial grading has been employed to address the numerous ancient landslides. Nevertheless, a design plan that was more sensitive to the terrain and less dense would have been more appropriate. The City Council increased the maximum yield on this property from 1 unit/5 acres to 1 unit/acre. That's a fivefold increase! Based on what? What was in that decision for the City? I know it was initially packaged with the high school but after it was separated and it was clear that the school was going ahead with or without the residential development, you have to really pause and ask yourself, what were they thinking when they approved that project? Where was the benefit to the city? This is the quality of planning that results from short-sighted vision and a lack of creativity.

Had I been on the Council at the time, I might have supported some sort of increase in density to perhaps 1 unit per 3 acres or maybe 1 unit per 2.5 acres but no higher. The project made all kinds of sense from the developer's side but no sense at all from the City's side, and yet it was approved. I must admit however, that I'm still laughing at the vision of luxury homes being access primarily from the same road that the trash trucks use. These multi-million dollar homes are over the hill from an active landfill operation and will have high tension power lines gracing their skyline. Tough marketing challenge. Good Luck Mr. Gage!

San Juan Hills High School

Wrong location. Again, here we are going to be putting our children, many of the juniors and seniors being newly licensed drivers, on the same road with trash trucks. The chaos that will ensue should be interesting. I can only hope that it will not end up resulting in tragic accidents.

I recognize fully that the Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) was presented a tremendous challenge. There is no doubt that a high school of our own located in our own community is a great idea and a need that is long over due and finally being realized. However, a great idea on a bad site quickly becomes a bad idea. I know full well and openly acknowledge that there simply aren't a lot of comparable vacant sites (in terms of size) within the city limits. But still, there should have been a more concerted effort to orchestrate a comprehensive alternative site analysis. Even if some sites were located outside the city in county territory, they could have been earmarked for annexation.

Given conditions at the time the decision was made, the only real viable option would have been properties near the intersection of Ortega and Antonio. Properties at, or near, all four corners of this intersection would meet the acreage needs of the district. Access would have been better and even though the site would be on the eastern fringe of the city, it would have been less remote than the current site. The school would have been better position to serve students from the Rancho Mission Viejo development. I recognize that the property is outside the city limits and owned privately but eminent domain could have been used to secure the property and then annexation would have been relatively simple. But that way was hard and complicated. It probably would have taken more time.

The Whispering Hills way was easy. And thanks to Mr. Gage probably cheaper because he provided the grading necessary to make the site suitable. But wait, what if another site, one that was flatter with fewer ancient landslides, was chosen thereby reducing the need for grading to almost nothing. Then it would have been a push for the district and a win for the community. In my opinion, CUSD was manipulated and used as a pawn to secure approval of an unwanted residential project. This was clever on the part of Mr. Gage, but unforgivable on the part of CUSD.

Unfortunately, our children will live with the legacy of this decision. Located across the street from a green waste facility and down the road from a regional landfill that will be active for at least another 20 years or more this school, as high tech and cutting edge as it might be, will be plagued by its unfortunate origins.

I congratulate the stduents on their wish choice of the Stallion mascot nothing could be more appropriate. And the colors? Fantastic! The same colors I would have chosen given the alternatives offered. Unfortunately, I can't escape the notion that the school will inevitably be associated with the dump and they will become known unofficially as the "Fighting Trashmen". Brings a new meaning to "talking trash" doesn't it? Unfortunate, but inevitable given the location chosen by the district.

I am also concerned about toxic materials handled at the dump, vector problems posed by the dump (gulls and rats come to mind), and the proximity of the high tension power lines to the campus. None of these are desirable qualities, and as tempting as the offer from Mr. Gage might have been, these factors should have eliminated the site from consideration.

And what about emergency access? There is only one way in and out of this school. The worst case scenario would be some sort of toxic spill or even just a major traffic collision somewhere between the high school and Ortega Highway. The one single road providing access to and from the school would have to be shut down, perhaps trapping our students on campus for hours with no other way out. If the little one lane road being grading out to Camino Lacouage is intended to serve as the way out in such incidents, I would suggest that it is too little and improperly located, just like the school itself.

Approach to Development

Simple. Make it better than code allows.

Development codes and zoning requirements are cumbersome documents that often contain what I consider to be minimum requirements. Because they are so unwieldy, they are difficult to update and consequently contain out of date standards that need to be upgraded to reflect current practice. Because of this, my focus as a planner, and as your Council member, will be to look beyond the code and focus more on how the projects proposed in San Juan Capistrano can be improved to better serve the community. For the privilege of developing in San Juan Capistrano, applicants need to focus on improved aesthetics, improved functionality, and improved compatibility geared to minimize land use conflicts.

Its time to raise the bar.

Overthrow the Status Quo!

Vote Integrity, Vote Innovation, Vote Insight!

Vote Philbrick for San Juan Capistrano City Council!