Looking For The Front Half

Although the City Council meeting Tuesday night showed moments of conciliation, one of the strangest events in all the years of my observations of these meetings occurred during the Council Member Comments section, early in the meeting.

Our young jailer/mayor and Minuteman extraordinaire - in a fit of pettiness beyond any in my memory - decided that his sidekick, Rubber Stamp Wendy Leece, needed to be seated beside City Manager Allan Roeder. So, as the pompous dictator-in-training that he's become, he asked Councilwoman Linda Dixon to swap seats with Leece, thereby placing her between Mansoor and Katrina Foley. That would move all dissenting views to one side where they would be much more easily ignored. Dixon balked, alluding to a previous telephone conversation they'd had, and quoted Leece from an earlier conversation when she apparently said she preferred to be seated in the middle, not wanting to look like an outsider.

Mansoor was ticked off, and the debate went back and forth before he finally decided that Dixon wasn't about to budge. So, in a fit of pique for such an unimportant item, said he would agendize the item for a future meeting! Unbelievable! With all the important issues facing them, this petty tyrant feels it's necessary to agendize the seating chart on the dais. This, of course, will require staff time to place it on the agenda - likely laughing and shaking their heads as they do it.

I guess expecting our leaders to act like adults is hopeless. What a bunch of schmucks.

The guy over at the CM Press is crowing about how effective he was before the council Tuesday night, ranting and raving about his little "passive park" - Paularino Park. He's also attempting to resurrect that red herring of air pollution from the Westside industrialists - something that has been disproved over the years despite his constant drum beat. He listed specific instructions for the city in that regard. It's going to be interesting to see if his disciples on the council will bow, once again, to his wishes and spend valuable city resources for another wild goose chase.

I find myself wondering just why this guy subjects himself to such a horrible existence in Costa Mesa. Wouldn't you think that, if he's so darn unhappy with the life he leads here, that he'd look for greener - or, in his case, whiter - pastures elsewhere? Gosh, I sure would. All these terrible safety issues he talks about all the time - marauding soccer players, foul air, gangs, etc. - would sure make me think about living here much longer. Of course, you will recall he complained about some of his neighbors moving out not too long ago. Can't understand why someone wouldn't want to live near him - cheerful guy that he is.

In case you missed it, late Tuesday night Claudio Gallegos posted his second installment of Confessions of a Westside Improver on the Orange Juice! blog. To read it just click here. The final installment is promised for next Tuesday. Should make for some interesting reading.

Separately, co-owner of the Orange Juice! blog, Art Pedroza, posted an interesting entry here which is certain to tick off the guy at the CM Press. It's worth a look.