Access Path Paved With Money

Anyone wanting a look at the ugly connection between money and politics in Orange County need search no further than a proposed housing development in Trabuco Canyon.

Irvine lobbyist VerLyn N. Jensen urged those who plan to attend a fund-raiser for Supervisor Jim Silva to send Silva donations of “at least $200.” He added that contributors might also want to enclose a note urging Silva to oppose the Saddleback Meadows development.

It certainly sounded like an attempt to influence a supervisor’s vote. Jensen said, “I was just encouraging those people out there to get involved in the system.” He said this is the way the system works in Orange County. While the candor might be refreshing, it can only confirm public cynicism about government. Those who were outraged by the letter are not naive; they happen to believe government should not be for sale.

Silva, who said he had been unaware of Jensen’s letter and that he disapproves of it, should return any contribution containing a plea for a vote on a specific project. Earlier this year, again without Silva’s knowledge, the supervisor received $5,000 in illegal campaign contributions from the other side--officials of the housing project’s developer, Aradi Ltd. Aradi later paid a $14,000 fine. A lobbyist for Aradi is also an investor in a Santa Ana restaurant that hired Supervisor William G. Steiner. As we said last week, Steiner should not vote on Saddleback Meadows, a proposed development of 318 expensive houses.

Access to supervisors should not depend on how much money someone donates to a campaign or on hiring a lobbyist. Let the supervisors rely on county staff’s evaluation of a proposal or open the door to all comers, regardless of donations.