Blais Not Interested in Petrilla's Temporary Seat

Neil Blais, one of the founders of Rancho Santa Margarita and an incumbent city councilman who lost his bid for reelection in November, said Thursday that he will not attempt to become the temporary replacement for the council seat currently vacated by Jesse Petrilla.

He didn't completely dismiss the idea of being a permanent replacement for Gary Thompson, who resigned shortly after Blais was interviewed by Patch.

"I'm not going to divulge anything as far as the future because I really need to sit and think about it," Blais said.

Petrilla is in military training with the U.S. Army National Guard in Fort Knox, KY. When it became apparent that Petrilla could not serve the city via teleconferencing, the four remaining councilmen voted 3-1 to appoint a temporary replacement who will vote with the council and participate in budget development.

The deadline for RSM residents who want to apply for the temporary position, which requires a resume and an essay on qualifications and desire to serve, is Friday, noon. The application can be found on the city's website, cityofrsm.org.

Blais, who has focused on his family’s grant-writing business since his loss by 20 votes in November, has been mentioned in the Orange County Register column of Frank Mickadeit as part of RSM cronyism, and that his potential replacement of Petrilla would have political repercussions. 

“If anyone had bothered to call me and ask the question ‘Would I do this,’ the answer is no, but not for the reason people think,” Blais said, referring to the threats in the column that there would be political backlash. “I’ve established business relationships, and if I was to be reappointed to city council, their contracts could not be renewed while I was on the council.

“It would be a 1090 conflict that lays out that if you are a decision-maker in a city and you have a business relationship with an entity that entity cannot have a contract with the city. A lot of engineering firms have relationships with grant-writing firms. It would be unfair to these vendors for them to lose contracts within the city of Rancho Santa Margarita because of their relationship to me and my grant-writing business.”

As for Blais’ inclusion in the media banter of the Register columnist?

“Mickadeit, in his preemptive strike, didn’t have to go there at all,” Blais said, basically because Blais isn't going there.

From his new seat in the audience, Blais said he has observed something unlike anything that has ever taken place before in Rancho government.

“I see them spend more time worrying about political issues than policy issues,” he said. “The two new guys (Petrilla and Steve Baric) spend more time worrying about committee assignments, how things look to the public, and whether it impacts their political future rather than what is right for the residents. The way we used to make decisions is what’s right for the residents.”

After hearing of Thompson's resignation, Blais defended his former colleague and the attacks on him by the Register.

 "I do think it's a shame they're treating someone who did so much for the city so shabbily in the press," Blais said. "All he's done is dedicate his life to enhance the quality of life for the residents. He deserves better."