Is the Great Park CEO in Trouble?

March 14, 2014 Uncategorized 4

mike ellzey

Overlooked in the agenda from Tuesday’s Irvine City Council meeting, with the focus on the Cemetery and Memorial for Veterans at the Great Park, was this closed session item:

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE ORANGE COUNTY GREAT PARK

Government Code Section 54957

To learn more about the code, click here. But most of the language here deals with disciplinary actions or termination actions for a public body. Generally speaking, the words “performance review” are never good news for an executive or an employee.

Mike Ellzey holds the job now and comes off very badly in the initial, in mine opinion flawed, Forensic Audit of the Great Park.  If the Great Park Board and the City Council wants to dump Ellzey, there’s a matter of a very large severance payment that will have to be paid.

We’re going to note that in researching this matter, Christina Shea has replaced Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Lalloway as the Great Park Chair last night which has to make developer Five Points thrilled.  As evidenced in her statements regarding the Veteran’s cemetery, she represents the best interest of Emile Haddad and his company over the residents of Irvine. The fact she was the sole “no” vote against the cemetery proves it.  As Ms. Shea has general disdain for anything the progressive majority has done and the organizations who have worked for them, as well as threats of retribution against her political enemies, it wouldn’t surprise me that her elevation to Great Park Chair means retribution against the Great Park CEO.

 

 

4 Comments

  2. Dan, Shea was adamant about controlling what Choi said or did on the dais. More than once she shook her head violently at Choi when she wanted to have him agree with her. It was almost like she was running the show.

    I thought her dissent was attributed to her real estate aspirations. I suspect she would find it difficult to sell multi million dollar homes with a cemetery in the neighborhood.

    I find it troublesome that she would not agree to honor our vets. The Great Park, with its foundation on the land used by the former El Toro Marine base, is intrinsically linked to the veterans of Southern California. Creating a veteran’s cemetery on its grounds would allow veterans to have their final resting place on the very ground where many of them worked and served our country. The creation of a veteran’s cemetery would serve as a reminder to our future generations who enjoy the use of the Great Park of the sacrifices made by their ancestors. The Great Park has been billed as the “first great metropolitan park of the 21st century.” Let us remind Ms. Shea that the first great park of the future should include a tribute to the men and women who made that future possible, would you not agree?

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