More information is unfolding regarding Laguna Niguel city council’s odd behavior over the past year.
The city of Laguna Niguel recently hired law firm Best, Best and Kreiger (BB&K) to provide city attorney services, with Ray Gennawey, Stephanie Oddo and Kelly Jennings citing the firm’s ‘experience’ in handling municipal legal issues. In the process of firing a recently hired attorney in February, the 3 council members called former Mayor and Council Member Sandy Rains a ‘bully’. Rains had put city manager Lateourneau up for review and possible dismissal in the Feb 21, 2023 meeting. The decision caused heated encounters on the Dias for months to come.
Free Laguna has uncovered records from a 2008 investigation into Letourneau’s actions in a scandal that almost went to the FBI for investigation. The scandal involved developers worked with Yorba Linda City Hall when Letourneau was city manager there in a ‘quid pro quo’ manner to intimidate citizens opposed to a town center development. It turns out that the law firm that attended developer meetings with Letourneau in that scandal was none other than BB&K.
According to an investigation conducted by the city of Yorba Linda, BB&K worked closely with the Yorba Linda city hall to facilitate hiring “blockers” to prevent the signing of a petition designed to give residents a right to vote on land rezoning prior to development. Yorba Linda City council members were eager to overrule citizens and allowed the city clerk to sue the city to attempt to stop the petition from being put to vote.
