Tiffany Ackley has arrived.

Aliso Viejo's mayor took some heat for a moment in last week's City Council meeting. Truth be told, she should be receiving flowers (and a handful of Tylenol).

So by now most of y’all have read about/heard about/watched last week’s Aliso Viejo City Council meeting, during which more than 100 people rose to speak against Mike Munzing’s attempted Pride flag banishment. And, at one point during the comment session, I used approximately 2 1/2 minutes to unleash this …

Thanks to the power of social media, my little moment in the sun received more than 300,000 views on TikTok, which was terrific. If you’re in my shoes, and you’re fighting to gain traction for a political website/anti-MAGA movement, you try and draw eyeballs. It’s not a sexy or particularly fun part of this process, but, well, it is what it is.

Anyhow, toward the end of the posted video, Tiffany Ackley, Aliso Viejo’s mayor, absorbs my final words (“You fucking love it”), then notes to upcoming speakers, “We prefer that you do not use profanity.” And the online reaction to this was, eh, not so wonderful. Folks mocked the pearl clutching, the anxiety, the concern over cursing mixed with the apparent lack of concern over our democracy being corrupted. They wrongly presumed Ackley is part of the problem; that, surely, she’s merely another Orange County Stepford Trumpster trying to stomp out our liberties.

Well, nothing could be a greater departure from reality.

During that looooooong, ornery, contentious meeting, Ackley—a progressive Democrat—did something insanely rare in 2025: She behaved like an adult. There were a handful of occasions when people rose to support Munzing and the Pride flag ban, and attendees (wrongly, rudely) tried booing them down. Ackley—who was battling the flu and feeling like the underside of a dragged muffler—had none of it. She demanded respect for all. Insisted upon it. I would argue that for, oh, 95 percent of the meeting, most inside City Hall had no clue whether Ackley was for the Pride flag’s allowance or against it. She allowed everyone to speak, seemed to listen intently, never smacked anyone down or made folks feel unwelcome. At one point, she observed a speaker turning emotional, paused the proceedings and presented a box of tissues. It was humanity at its finest.

Shit, I’ll be honest: I knew my fucking curse crossed a fucking line. I decided, intentionally, to fucking use it for fucking emphasis, and Ackley was unambiguously correct in urging others to sustain from profanity. Truth be told, I later wrote her an apology. I was wrong.

What I’m trying to say is … Tiffany Ackley is the truth. She’s kind, she’s decent, she has an amazing life saga. And if you require an extra spoonful of proof, check out this Facebook post from 2018. Trust me—read it.

Anyhow, for, oh, five hours last Wednesday, the sicker-than-a-dog Ackley sat and listened and navigated the meeting. Even when at one point Munzing (who, truly, could not be any more revolting) let out a “meow!” to mock her, Ackley barely flinched. She was a pro’s pro. A leader when leadership was required.

Finally, toward the end, Ackley allowed herself—as mayor—to bring some heat. She revved up and revved up and gathered her thoughts and let loose.

It was glorious …

Long story short: If you watched my initial TikTok video and thought Tiffany Ackley was part of the problem, well, I assure you you could not be more wrong.

She is a reluctant politician who stepped forward in desperate times.

She is a public servant letting her actions speak loudly.

She is the truth

And, for my money, she has arrived.