The CotoBuzz Journal, Community Journalism

The CotoBuzz Journal

Community Journalism, Newsletters and Blogs Covering South Orange County, CA

The CotoBuzz Journal is a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and NAHJ

July 2007 Issue

We do not make jokes, we simply watch the LA Times, the Orange County Register and the Coto de Caza Board of directors and report the facts!

Auditioning For a New Board or Getting Ready for the 2008 CZ Elections

June 2, 2007

In the Delegates Corner column of the June 2007 issue of the CZ Newsletter (CotoVoice), a direct reference is made to the Coto Discussion Forum and characterized as a platform for “constant barrage of nastiness directed at public officials in the print and electronic media serves no useful purpose”, echoing previous interpretations of the (Jerry Mezger) meaning of the 2007 CZ elections that the entire community has tuned out and no one reads the blogs. CZ election results and record breaking May 2007 blogzz activity tell a significantly different story, however.

The Delegate Corner’s author continues to opine that “comparative rare constructive suggestions and criticism which may be found in the media…discourage greater participation by qualified people who do not want to expose themselves …..to the overriding wave of nastiness” and urges ”..those who have fostered it to stop their personal attacks and character assassination”. Wondering how the “constant barrage of nasty lawyer letters sent by the CZ board to intimidate and otherwise suppress free speech” compares - Apparently perfectly OK with the Delegate Corner's (CZ Propaganda Corner) author.

It should be noted that to date, no known Coto resident has been denied access to the Coto Discussion Forum, regardless of personal or political views. We continue to fight for direct democracy in the local and national governance, and we should point out that: 1) only one known Coto resident has been banned from the Coto Discussion Forum, for advocating censorship – and than person is a seating CZ board member. 2) All district delegates have been invited to join the Coto Discussion Forum, regardless of their political views. Hence, if anything reported in this forum is not factual we want to know.

So is this Delegate Corner an audition for the new CZ Board, or simply getting ready for the 2008 CZ elections?

As long as Varo & Mezger remain on the Board, the harsh criticism of them will continue. They should have been recalled from office because they are guilty of malfeasance not re-elected to office. Those 10 Delegates who voted for Varo & Mezger supported a culture of corruption. Joe Morabito

Hi Joe:

The District Delegate Corner claiming to be looking for constructive suggestions sounds more like the official Chavez’s reasons why he (Chavez) is shutting down the Venezuelan free press:

For example:

Why is it that the only two defenses for the corrupt delegate system provided by the board are that

1) It takes a pro-active board to prevent electoral fraud and

2) only 20% of the people vote anyway.

Further, the only official functions of the delegates are to

a) Elect board members and

b) Recall board members. The Delegate Corner column then should be renamed as the Official CZ Propaganda Corner.

Why is it that there has been no defense of the corrupt use of cumulative voting? – Refer to the 2007 “sacrificial lamb”

Wondering how the “constant barrage of nasty lawyer letters sent by the CZ board to intimidate and otherwise suppress independent thinking” compares with the “constant barrage of nastiness directed at public officials in the print and electronic media serves no useful purpose" - Apparently perfectly OK with the CZ Propaganda Corner!

What do extortionists, hired hands and provocateurs have in common with neglected children, idiots and nuts?

So what are the positions these “organized” delegates advocate concerning the CHP, City Hood, Accountability and Transparency, Direct Democracy, UPS, Keystone Effect, etc.? Or is it that this CZ Propaganda Corner “working within the system”, thinks there should be a standard: One for those vested in the system, and another one for everyone else? - Buzz

As long as this corrupt Delegate electoral system remains in place, the reality is that we need to know the identity of those 10 Delegates who supported Varo & Mezger. There can be no free pass for Delegates who voted to support the culture of corruption that existed under Varo & Mezger. In the event there is another Delegate based election in 2008 which hopefully will not occur, we need to know who these people are so that we can first replace them as Delegates in order to elect Board Members who are ethical, free of conflicts of interest, pledged to work in accordance with our governing documents, more transparency and the new laws governing HOA’s. I have demanded to know that information because it is clear to me that 10 Delegates do not understand their fiduciary responsibility. If they don’t see the light, then they need to feel the heat of invective. Delegates who vote for corrupt Board Members must understand that the fish rots from the head back. Those Delegates who voted for Varo & Mezger are responsible for the Varo/Mezger malfeasance we have seen for years. As such, those Delegates must also be held accountable. What other choice is there under our current corrupt system? And, those who don’t like the pressure should support direct popular election. Joe Morabito

Hi Joe:

Using your figures as a baseline (10 delegates significantly vested in the community, as the OCR might say), these delegates represent around $1,000.000/year expenditures per delegate. CS resident’s money used for items like the grooming and patrolling of horse trails, subsidies to build a larger “community” (not for direct benefit of CZ dues paying members), legal expenses to suppress free speech, legal expenses to benefit friends and family, vanishing the CHP from Coto and other major activities benefiting those significantly vested in the community – you know, a lot of work, simply not visible to CZ residents, as a board member has stated.

Keep your eyes on the CZ Propaganda Corner and you can get your question answered shortly. Of course we agree with you that the 1 Million Dollar Delegate must be held accountable as well.

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