Fortress Costa Mesa
Well, that certainly didn't take long! I had speculated about how long it would take for the new city council majority to show it's intentions. It took one meeting.
At Tuesday night's City Council meeting - after all the well-deserved accolades were heaped upon termed-out councilman Gary Monahan and the tears from his send-off were barely dry - the new council majority wasted no time in showing us just how they plan to operate.
Allan Mansoor and Wendy Leece were sworn in and perched on the dais, then the new majority showed us it will be business as usual by re-electing Mansoor as mayor and his glib buddy, Eric Bever as mayor pro tempore. This was an omen of things to come.
First, on an item plucked from the Consent Calendar, they debated for nearly an hour on whether or not the City of Costa Mesa should partner with the City of Santa Ana on a study funded by the OCTA regarding methods of getting residents to the MetroLink station in Santa Ana. What evolved was a clear case of Santanaphobia. The Mayor and his buddy, Bever, clearly didn't have any interest in being associated with Santa Ana on this issue - and probably not on any issue, for that matter. Their position was fueled by comments from several activists, including one particularly vitriolic guy who writes a local blog and has demonstrated his racial preferences for years. They decided not to move forward with the proposal and, as a result, may miss the opportunity for the utilization of $100,000 in OCTA funds.
It looks to me as though the new majority will continue to spit in the eye of neighboring cities to the detriment of Costa Mesa residents. They obviously intend to continue to operate this city as a stand-alone fiefdom with as little interaction and cooperation with neighboring cities as possible.
This observer came away from viewing this meeting with the impression that, with their "mandate" firmly in hand, the new majority fully intends to run roughshod over the residents of this city. The mayor, in particular, showed even less patience with differing viewpoints than in the past. He showed that he continues to be willing to quash comments by other council members - particularly when he's apparently already made up his mind.
For example, in the case of the request by Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) for permits to film two special events outside on their property this month despite the fact that they had a request for a minor conditional use permit denied by the council in the past, Mansoor very obviously had his mind made up before any kind of discussion took place. With the majority now in place without the bothersome occasional voice of mediation previously provided by Monahan, he will be hard pressed to even go through the formality of debate before calling for a vote. Does the word "dictator" sound familiar?
You will recall that I speculated about how long it would take for this crew to begin stomping on resident's rights. Last night we found out.
So, to the 10,122 voters who cast their ballots for Mansoor, I urge you to watch your back... your rights may be next.
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 12/05/2006 11:48:00 PM
6 Comments:
Since I WAS at last night's council meeting I do not know what you witnessed through television. But your comments suggest you might not have seen the actual meeting. Mansoor as Mayor and Bever as pro tempore was a swift 5-0 vote! Repeat, 5-0. Problem there? As for Mansoor being hard pressed to even call for a debate before a call for the question: you yourself mention an hour long debate on a consent calender item. Was that not long enough of a debate? We in the audience thought it was way too long. And the result of that debate and vote? It called for staff to report back to council what our neighboring cities are doing with this OCTA proposal. How does this lead you to claim that it resulted in CM being a "stand alone fiefdom"? It is actually the opposite, is it not? As far as a phobia as to all things Santa Ana, well I may agree with you partially. Not ALL things but certainly the improvers have made it clear for years that we do not want to become more like Santa Ana, but more upscale and higher quality of life. Many prefer to be more like Newport Beach (Snowden's home) with no illusion to Beverly Hills (Snowden's job)stature. Yesterday afternoon I had to go to Santa Ana civic center. The trip was eye opening. Business signs in a foreign language, bars on windows of homes, grafitti everywhere, pushcart vendors, and loitering low life types. This is what we are trying to avoid. By the way, the $100K was just for a study on how to route people to metrolink. A study only, millions more to implement. Bever had it right, put a bus on the road, see how many people get on it, route it to metrolink, and the study is done.
"6", I saw you there. We saw the same thing. Yes, the vote was a "swift 5-0". Perhaps better described as the "inevitable vote", since Mansoor was going to be elected regardless. Could it be that Foley and Dixon voted to support his re-election - and Bever's too - as an attempt to establish a harmonious beginning? Seems likely. I thought it was an interesting sidebar when Dixon made a substitute motion to nominate Bever for mayor - it received no second.
Yes, an hour was much too long to "debate" the issue of the OCTA funding of the study when it was obvious that Mansoor and Bever had already made up their minds on the subject. Based on the decision, I expect either Foley or Dixon to bring the issue back early in January for a full public hearing.
No one I know wants Costa Mesa to become another Santa Ana. I certainly don't. No one likes to see deterioration, graffiti, etc. Enforcement of our current laws can control that. The CMPD is working hard, as witnessed by the awards at the beginning of the meeting honoring specific officers for their achievements.
It's clear that the new majority couldn't care less about the opinions of Foley and Dixon. You and I will continue to disagree about whether it's good for our city or not. I'm always happy to hear from you, even though we are far apart.
A REMINDER:
No more "Anonymous" posts. I let one slip through earlier, but that's the last one. If you have a comment make up an identity other than "Anonymous" if you want it to have a chance to appear here. If you sent one in recently and it didn't make the cut, this is the reason. My blog, my rules.
Hello there:
I agree with you Pot Stirrer. Foley and Dixon have gotten too tired to be fighting for nothing. They voted "yes" to show some respect to the people who gathered inside the Hall. Unfortunately both, Foley and Dixon, have no power in the City Council today. There is little, if any, they can actually accomplish in the next couple of years. With Leece seating by Mansoor, the real players are three. That's it. Now, a question about "6"; or "666". Isn't this the Number of the Beast according to the Book of Revelation (see Revelation 13:17-18). Since you said you saw him/her, would you tell me who this guy is?
Westside,
Nah, that's our little secret. It adds to the mystique, don't you think?
Thanks for adding your opinion to the mix.
Westside, on election day, I didn't accept the mark of the Beast (like 10,122 other Costa Mesa residents). My guess, it's the guy who sits in the middle of the dais.
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