Sunday, May 06, 2012

Civility vs. Rudeness On The Dais

KINCAID PLEADS FOR CIVILITY...
During the Public Comments segment at the Costa Mesa City Council meeting on May 1st long-time resident David Kincaid stepped to the speaker's podium and used his allotted three minutes to plea for civility in the discourse of important issues in our city.  He directed his comments to the council and, occasionally, looked over his shoulder at the audience, too.


...AND HE'S RIGHT
Kincaid, of course, was correct.  Since this current City Council took office nearly 18 months ago we've seen civility take a back seat to snide comments and vitriolic rejoinders from some members of the council directed at speakers and their peers on the dais, as well. And, a few speakers have strongly criticized members of the council, both as a group and by name specifically.


BEVER'S "BOWEL MOVEMENTS"
Following Kincaid's plea, some members of the council chimed in and concurred with his observations.  However, it didn't take very long that evening for some of them to fall right back into their old habits of criticizing members of the public who dared to speak out against their actions, sometimes with a coarseness unbecoming officials theoretically providing leadership to our city.  Mayor Eric Bever, for example, chided councilwoman Wendy Leece for demanding accountability for the junket Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer and councilman Steve Mensinger are taking to Las Vegas this month by implying that she wanted a report on their "bowel movements".  That kind of gutter language may be OK when you're tossing back a few cold ones at Gary Monahan's pub or changing clothes in the locker room at the Costa Mesa Country Club, but it's completely inappropriate when spoken from the dais in a public meeting.



YOUNG FOLKS LEARNING BULLYING
I attend most of the meetings and have observed young people - high-schoolers for the most part - who have recently begun attending to either observe as part of a school assignment or to speak before the council to plead their case for a pet project - elimination of Styrofoam carry-out packaging at local restaurants, for example.  I've found myself wondering just what kind of lesson our council is providing for them as they snipe back and forth and take pot-shots at speakers with whom they disagree.  I fear that those eager young people may be learning that bullying and boorish behavior is acceptable - and it's not.


BULLYING IS JUST PLAIN WRONG
Bullying has become a very big issue in schools all around the country lately.  In fact, there is currently an award-winning movie on the subject being shown locally.  What we see from the dais is, in many instances, bullying in its purest form.  Council members take advantage of their position of authority - their bully pulpit, as it were - to chide, vilify and castigate members of the community and other members of the council who express opposing viewpoints.  Not only is this unseemly and rude, but it's just plain wrong.



WE DESERVE AND EXPECT MORE...
Mayor Bever, our part-time, part-time councilman and now the lamest of lame ducks, has shown a reluctance to take part in the governance process of our city in recent months.  He failed to attend several important council meetings and was heard to moan from the dais, "I didn't sign up for this!"  He's also been heard telling one critic addressing a grievance before the council that, "If you don't like it, tough luck!"  And, now that he has a greater obligation to actually attend the meetings, he's becoming a bully.  Residents have every right to expect better behavior from those chosen to lead the city.



BEVER'S BOORISH BEHAVIOR
At the end of that May 1st meeting Bever had so offended Wendy Leece's daughter, Amy Fox, that she stormed up to the dais, ready to confront Bever as he departed.  He went the other direction, but Fox caught up with him and they had a little chat.  He then went directly to Orange County Register reporter Sean Greene - the young fellow who has been doing a terrific job covering the city over the past few months - and got in his face, criticizing him for not contacting Bever on issues.  That's truly ironic because Bever is well-known among members of the media who have covered city issues as being unavailable for comment and not returning telephone calls.  As distasteful as that encounter was, I had to smile knowing that Greene had just attended his final Costa Mesa council meeting.  The next day he departed his job and will begin graduate school at UC Berkeley in the fall.  I'm sure he learned a lot covering our city - probably less about government and more about the behavior of government officials.

 

HOPING FOR BETTER...
Let us hope that Bever and the other members of our City Council will somehow find the maturity to represent the residents of this city with more decorum and civility at future meetings.  No one should have to fear backhanded retaliation when they take the time to study issues and present their views for the council to consider.  And no one should have to fear the wrath of a petulant, infantile, termed-out, gutter-mouthed politician.

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13 Comments:

Blogger kwahlf said...

Thank you, Geoff for a great summary of the rude, inappropriate behavior from Bever & Co. Through it all, Wendy Leece has risen above the dirt and slime these guys sling and spew. She is the only one on the dais who is behaving like an elected representative of her constituents. The other three ( sometimes four) council members belong in detention, until they learn some manners and civility.
Thanks again for a great summary.

5/06/2012 02:54:00 PM  
Anonymous Tom Egan said...

A good post, Pot Stirrer. I'm glad you labeled the black hats' behavior as bullying. It's perfectly apt.

I've often thought back to other councils and how they behaved. Then I try to imagine them acting as the current councilmen do. No can do. They were always respectful, for example.

It cannot be that the current power holders are more ambitious than their predecessors, for they were very accomplished people.

All the weather vanes I can think of point to the same thing: the new, new Republican Party with its authoritarian philosophy.

btw, I didn't just make up this authoritarian idea. If you want an eye-opener, surf over to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-wing_authoritarianism

Here’s an excerpt:
“Right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) is a personality and ideological variable studied in political, social, and personality psychology. It is defined by three attitudinal and behavioral clusters which correlate together:

1. Authoritarian submission — a high degree of submissiveness to the authorities who are perceived to be established and legitimate in the society in which one lives.
2. Authoritarian aggression — a general aggressiveness directed against deviants, outgroups, and other people that are perceived to be targets according to established authorities.
3. Conventionalism — a high degree of adherence to the traditions and social norms that are perceived to be endorsed by society and its established authorities, and a belief that others in one's society should also be required to adhere to these norms.[3]”

5/06/2012 03:26:00 PM  
Blogger Joe said...

Geoff,
Thanks for the post and the many long hours you put in working on the blog.

The death of Huy Pham a little over a year ago focused my attention on what exactly was happening in our city, bringing me out of complacency.

Many of life's issues are gray, not black and white. But I soon realized that many of the answers for problems facing CM ARE in black and white. There are definable good guys and bad guys.

The bad guys helped trigger a city worker's death, and attacked our police, firefighters, and general employees. Their leader, Righeimer, is on record showing great disdain for ALL public employees. They lie to and betray our fellow citizens. They will not stop until they are removed from office.

Then it will be time to be civil again.

5/06/2012 05:01:00 PM  
Anonymous differentview said...

I disagree with the gist of this article. While council does "correct" the false information stated by the usual speakers it is not bullying. They are simply listening and correcting errors. You do want them to listen don't you? They don't agree, but they listen or they would not be able to respond. Foley used to "cross examine" speakers in a very bullying way if you want to see what real bullying is. And since the usual speakers are against council there will most likely be disagreement on most of their statements, conjectures of cronyism, brown act violation conspiracies, etc. The major uncivility comes from the audience. These are Leece backers so of course she doesn't "correct" them and thus they think she is great. She is one of them. So enough of the "coughing", shout outs, and general noise from the audience. I know it must be tough not to since council is in position to get in last word, the result of their being elected to power. Another reason it is so bad is that there is the wedge issue of penisions, budgeting, and outsourcing. When it was illegal immigration we had the same unruly behavior from the la raza types. Now it is the union sympathizers. Voters did not like illegal immigration and we got the council we have now because of it, including Leece who campaigned hard against it along with Mansoor. Now voters will decide if they can afford the pensions, whether outsourcing appeals to them, etc. The bowel movement statement from the Mayor was a little disgusting to me to. I got his point but he could have just let it go or used different words. The staff report already said they would be reporting back on the trip and the council voted 4 zip on the trip. Leece went a little overboard on what information she wanted. Valantine probably went on many planning junkets in his time. How were his reports?

5/06/2012 09:40:00 PM  
Blogger The Pot Stirrer said...

differentview,
"Correcting errors" is hardly the point. To this council, every time a person disagrees with them it's an "error". For example, Eleanor Egan cautioned them repeatedly NOT to approve the contract with Jones Day because it had no cap nor even any mechanism to control the costs. To date we've managed to spend over a half million dollars with no end in sight.

You are entitled to you opinion, which I have published here, typos and all. In my opinion, you opinion is incorrect.

5/06/2012 10:02:00 PM  
Anonymous Barbara said...

I agree with kwahlf, on all counts.
I seldom miss reading your reports, Geoff. I'm so glad you are willing to spend your valuable time and talents informing Costa Mesa residents and out of towners who have a heart for truthfulness. This post was Right ON. I just wish it was in The Register where the rest of Orange County would realize what is really happening to the Republican Party. This bullying tactic started during the last election when Councilwoman Wendy Leece didn't rubber stamp the will of the powerful GOP. Wendy Leece has always done the long hours of homework that it takes to be a well informed Council member, on every issue.She always votes for Costa Mesa's best interest. She warned the 4 men, at an early City Council meeting, that their tactics would cost the City big money, if they didn't slow down.
She's been proven right, again and again.
That's why these men are so nasty.

5/06/2012 10:24:00 PM  
Blogger The Pot Stirrer said...

Barbara,
Thanks... the Register won't publish long rants like mine.

5/07/2012 07:08:00 AM  
Blogger The Pot Stirrer said...

Anonymous "Mirror Mirror",
Don't look for your post here - there are lines we don't cross here and you tried to jump across one of them.

As to your concern for the students that attend council meetings that might read this blog... well, I'm OK with it. Unlike another local blogger, I don't attempt to compare myself to literary greats to hype book sales or to self-massage my ego - I just publish what I think based on what I observe, period.

In theory our elected leaders should be among the best folks in our community. Now, we know that's not always the case, but young folks look to authority figures for guidance and that's the problem here and now as I see it.

5/07/2012 07:13:00 AM  
Anonymous differentview said...

pot stirrer, i accept your post that you disagree w/me, your typo in response also ok w/me!

5/07/2012 08:54:00 AM  
Anonymous Friendly Neighbor said...

Regarding high school students attending city council meetings there was an incident when my son attended one while Mansoor was mayor. My son was with some friends attending the meeting as a requirement for their senior government class. Jim Gilcrist was at the meeting and singled out my son, who is not blond hair and blue-eyed, assumed he was of Hispanic descent and made a very rude and threatening comment to his face in front of his friends. I was not at the meeting but when my son told me (he was pretty shocked and upset) I contacted members of the city council and only councilmember Foley responded. I've never been a fan of Mansoor ever since. This arrogant attitude has been an issue since Mansoor's term, in my opinion, which I find ironic since his background includes a Coastline Community College AA degree and he is the son of immigrants.

5/07/2012 09:20:00 AM  
Anonymous Diane McLucas said...

Geoff West is commenting on the for civility and the end to sniping. Blogger, heal thyself.

5/07/2012 10:57:00 AM  
Blogger The Pot Stirrer said...

Diane,
If you don't like what you read here just stop reading it!

There's a HUGE difference in criticism directed at folks from this blog and those comments fired at critics from the dais. If you don't understand the difference then you are hopeless.

5/07/2012 01:04:00 PM  
Anonymous Mike O'Reilly said...

Alan Mansoor has an AA degree? I'm shocked. Where did he obtain it, the Barbara Coe College of Xenophobia and Racism?

5/07/2012 02:53:00 PM  

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