The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday turned down the reappointment of two incumbents of the Silverado Modjeska Recreation and Parks District board who forgot to run for re-election, opting instead for fresh appointments to the seats.
And as the Orange County Register earlier reported, the district, which is embroiled in a lawsuit with a local developer, did not notify residents of the upcoming election.
The three incumbents were Tricia Evans, Robert Hunt and Mark Levy. The new appointees were Greg Bates, Ron Shepston and Tom Smisek.
Levy decided not to seek reappointment, but Evans and Hunt asked the Board of Supervisors for their old seats back. Supervisors denied the reappointments despite emails sent by residents to Supervisor Bill Campbell urging their reappointment.
Shepston and Smisek indicated that they are more pro-development than the directors they are replacing. Shepston said he wanted to see ways to “keep people” in the area. Smisek complained that very few businesses remain in the community.
“Those of us who have come forward to become members of this district did so to bring balance to this community,” Smisek said.
Supervisors also reappointed incumbents to other special districts that didn’t see any challengers, including the Capistrano Bay Community Services District, the Three Arch Bay Community Services District and the Sunset Beach Sanitary District.
Campbell suggested from the dais that in the future the Orange County Registrar of Voters should formerly notify the Board of Supervisors a few weeks before an election if small districts such as this one have vacant seats and no one running for them.