As readers may or may not know, the "grass roots" activists seeking to recall Mission Viejo Mayor Pro Tem Lance McLean are now circulating their recall petition. Or at least they have the green light to do so.

If it does qualify, will it really be a grass roots effort? A good question, if I do ask so myself.

The leader of the recall is a fellow named Dale Tyler. This is the same Mr. Tyler who helped lead Mission Veijo's other recent eruption of grass roots activity, a local initiative to trample the property rights of "major" land owners by forcing them submit to an expensive city-wide election for voter approval of any zoning change. These are self-described "conservative" activists, mind you.

While that ballot-box zoning initiative is portrayed as a grass roots efforts, the reality is it qualified thanks to Tyler and Connie Lee (another member of the Recall McLean brigade) spending more than $15,000 of their own money to hire a professional signature gathering firm. Tyler chipped in $5,050, and Lee forked over a whopping $12,240.12.

Boy, the price of grass roots has certainly gone up.

Will Tyler and Lee be equally generous in fertilizing their "grass roots" recall against McLean with cold hard cash? The campaign reports will tell.