Panic sets in as the sun goes down on Mission Viejo councilman Lance MacLean

Les Sykes interferes with signature drive

Les Sykes interfering with democracy!

Earlier this evening I received another complaint regarding harassment of signature gatherers in the ongoing effort to RECALL Mission Viejo City councilman Lance MacLean.

Let’s begin this update by my quoting from this latest communication, which I am told is supported by multiple video’s.

“On Thur. afternoon in front of Trader Joe’s two signature gatherers, ( Mr X & Mrs Y), said an elderly man came by in his car. He was harassing them, yelling at them from his car while they were getting signatures. He returned later and walked up their table wearing his taxpayer-provided shirt with dead tree logo, (the new Mission Viejo logo), and he told them he was a city commissioner. They said he was trying to intimidate them with his remarks as a city official opposing the RECALL.”

This communication continues stating “I received a call about what was going on, and I went to Trader Joe’s. I video’d the man and took additional photographs as he was harassing the workers. Another activist also video’d the man, who can be heard to admit on the video that he was the same person yelling at them from his car. He’s Les Sykes. Ms Z also saw him when she was at Trader Joe’s, and she might have comments about this.
Today I spoke with a couple who said they were shopping at Trader Joe’s and they were annoyed by Les as they were exiting the store. They said he was blathering about some city program.

The woman said, “We asked him what he was doing, and he said he didn’t know anything about the program he was supposed to be touting. He had a fan with a printed announcement on it or something similar in his hand. When I asked him about the fan, he said it was just a prop that ‘she’ wanted him to hold when ‘she’ sent him over to Trader Joe’s.” The woman indicated that Sykes pointed at city hall when he said ‘she.” The shopper said Sykes would mention the program and then mix in pro-MacLean statements.
Note: There are three names as the referenced “she” in the communication but I shall not include them in this post.  Nor will I include the last paragraph of this communication.

However, let me add some text from Les Sykes June 19, 2008 application to serve on one of our city commissions.

“I consider it to be my given duty to uphold the integrity of the city of Mission Viejo for which I have the good fortune to have been a resident for the last 20 years and also previous connections.”
Integrity? Wearing a city commissioner shirt and taking a position on a city RECALL? What instructions on “anti activism” are given to anyone in the city wearing attire adorned with the city logo and name?
I wonder what corrective action will be taken by the city council member who appointed Mr. Sykes! I might also wonder what the city manager has to say about wearing the city issued shirt as Mr. Sykes was engaging in his First Amendment Rights.

Based on activists having a “smoking gun” video, I believe Mr. Sykes crossed the line by wearing that Mission Viejo shirt which should result in his dismissal from any city commission.
If and when anything comes of this latest episode, I shall keep you posted.

About Larry Gilbert