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Politics & Government

Taco Tuesday? Mayor Demands Toll Road Tuesday

Mission Viejo Patch hosted a breakfast with the Mission Viejo Mayor Frank Ury at Paul's Pantry.

Mayor wants to know if we get every Tuesday, why not discount toll roads?

The mayor, who's running for re-election this year, said he's voted against the last two toll road increases and believes people would use the roads more if they got a break in price now and then.

The discussion came during Patch's first event Saturday morning at .

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Ury was born in Long Beach, but graduated from a small, rural high school of 32 students before heading to Notre Dame. He's been married to his wife for 22 years.

His high school was so small his classmates doubled as the football team and the band.

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"I've got pictures of friends wearing their football pads and playing trumpet," he said.

During the breakfast, Ury defended the city's financial standing.

"We have the highest bond rating in Orange County," he said. "We actually have more in the bank than Anaheim. We're in a wonderful ship called Mission Viejo, and all we have to do is keep it off the rocks."

He described himself as pro-business, and said the city as a whole enables local businesses to thrive.

"At the end of the day, the businesses have to thrive for the community to thrive," he said. "I don't think there's any doubt Mission Viejo is more business friendly than Irvine."

There are some problems around town, he admitted. He said he'd like to see the business center around Trader Joe's improved, but doing so will be tricky. That's because the property is owned by nine investors, and they all live out-of-state, he said.

And when it comes to the state legislature, Ury didn't pull any punches.

"There just aren't a lot of triple digit IQs up there" in the legislature, he said, specifically when asked about the state's decision to end redevelopment agencies.

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