Ware Update: Dana Point City Council Meeting

Last night myself, Thomas Gordon, James Spady, Pam Andrade, Joe Andrade, Sam Romero and folks from Chicanos Unidos drove down to Dana Point to address the Mayor and City Council and demand that City Attorney Patrick Munoz apologize for calling the Logan Neighborhood “crummy little homes” and for his obscene gesture and profane language directed at those angered by his remarks.  I would have to say that the trip was worthwhile and that last night could not have been a very good one for Mr. Munoz.

Gordon, Pam Andrade, Romero and myself all spoke at the meeting.  We all called on Munoz to apologize, in fact Gordon suggested that Munoz show up at the Logan Neighborhood Association meeting in person tonight to offer that apology.  However I believe it was Romero’s words that stirred the emotions of the council.  Sam, Logan’s unofficial historian, told of the neighborhoods history and struggles and of how his father scraped up money to buy one of those “crummy little homes” back in 1918.  And Romero proudly pointed out that while Santa Ana has a reputation as a crime riddled community, Logan has one of the lowest crime rates in the city.  Romero’s words seemed to really resonate with Mayor Joel Bishop who nodded in agreement several times during Romero’s presentation.  Sam also presented the Mayor with a copy of Mary Garcia’s book on the history of Logan which the Mayor happily accepted and promised to read.

During council comments Councilmember Lara Anderson thanked all of us from Santa Ana for making the trip to Dana Point and then told Mr. Munoz that she did not feel that it was too much to ask of him to apologize to the Logan Neighborhood and the people of Santa Ana for his comments and actions.  Just as he had done while all of us were speaking, Munoz never made any eye contact with Anderson.  Munoz just sat quietly and uncomfortably in his chair looking a little unsettled.  I would urge everyone to email Councilmember Anderson ( landerson@danapoint.org) and thank her for her support.

Munoz actions at the February 4th meeting in Santa Ana have drawn the attention of Dana Point residents and the local media The Dana Point Times.  Many of those residents were in attendance at last nights meeting and they expressed their anger over Munoz comments and Ware Disposal’s actions.  In fact a couple of them told Thomas Gordon and myself that they are regular readers of the Liberal OC and the Orange Juice blogs and they asked if we would try and do more to focus on some of the issues in their community.  They applauded our efforts to shine the light on the inequaties in our community.

Mayor Joel Bishop also told me that he is a regular reader of the Liberal OC and that he has been following the Ware Disposal story closely.  I get the feeling from he and his fellow elected officials that Judy Ware and her operations are not too well thought of in Dana Point.  I guess Judy’s reputation is quite well known countywide and as of yet I have not heard anyone speak positively about her or her company.

I want to thank all those that drove down from Santa Ana to support the folks from Logan and to show Mr. Munoz and Ware Disposal that we will not roll over and let them destroy our community.  But I especially want to thank the Mayor, City Council and residents of Dana Point for their hospitality.  I want to commend Mayor Bishop on running such a professional meeting and for having such a good rapport with all those in attendance.  It was quite different than what we are used to in Santa Ana.  The Mayor and Council treated everyone with respect regardless of whether they were a supporter or a foe.  Kudos to Mayor Bishop and the City Council.

Lastly I want to heap some praise on Councilman Steven Weinberg.  Councilman Weinberg is a breath of fresh air when it comes to government officials.  His no nonsense approach and good natured manner is something that I wish I could clone and bring back to Santa Ana.  The people of Dana Point should be saluted for electing folks like Weinberg.

It remains to be seen if Munoz will apologize.  I would hope that he would take Thomas Gordon up on his offer and show up at the Logan meeting tonight and offer an apology.  It would go a long way towards healing some of the wounds caused by his comments and Judy Ware’s actions.  The olive branch has been extended Mr. Munoz and I would encourage him to accept it.  If Munoz refuses to apologize Gordon and I are committed to making yet another road trip to Dana Point, not to mention Twenty-Nine Palms and Irvine which are other cities that employ Mr. Munoz’s services.