Editor,
So Jon Madison catches hell for embellishing his past, and Michele Hall is accused of being “dishonest” for saying she is a “community volunteer.”
But Rob Zur Schmiede claims on a fake Republican mailer he’s a “Proven business leader” who will “protect our tax dollars,” and the press in town gives him a free pass on all three misrepresentations!
Rob is a 36-year career city-planning technocrat for Anaheim and Long Beach. Caught in his “business leader” fib, he claimed government bureaucrats “work with businesses.” As a junior level consultant eight years ago and government affairs lobbyist now, Rob isn’t “proven” anything in the business world.
At least Madison took liberties with truth about his past, then told voters it is what it is, take it or leave it. Zur Schmiede is calling to be a “proven business leader” right now.
In contrast, Michele Hall spent countless hours serving food at Friendship Shelter, fundraising for Boys & Girls Club, volunteering in public and private schools, rallying people to assist kids with cancer. Still, she was forced to answer irrational poison pin accusations of “subterfuge” for “failure to disclose” her political party volunteer work on the ballot.
That would be funny, since the Registrar of Voters doesn’t allow political party work on a ballot profile, but the ignorance of her accusers was not amusing. The press never got to the truth, which is that Hall listed community volunteer service because that’s closest to her heart.
As for “protecting our tax dollars,” Zur Schmiede recently said, “The thing wrong with the village entrance was lack of public support.” So he supported the $60 million revenue bond for the village entrance in 2013, but not now because the public rejected it? Wow, true leadership!
Zur Schmiede won’t say if he openly opposed extra property tax to buy public parcels of land in residential neighborhoods or if he supported the $5.2 million city paid for the Christmas tree lot.
Rob promises inclusion using grandiose “Big Tent” sloganeering. But Rob and his wife, a former Newport Beach City Attorney, have presided over all design review for years, picking winners and losers under vague standards applied arbitrarily more often than not.
Zur Schmiede is Verna Rollinger on steroids. That’s why he’s Village Laguna’s boy. Why should they mind if denying it helps him get elected?
Christopher Kling, Laguna Beach
The author is the platform committee chairman of the Laguna Beach Republicans.
