Surprise, surprise!
OK, I won't keep you waiting any longer. The Planning Commission exercised authority it didn't really have tonight and unanimously recommended Parks and Recreation Commissioner Jeff R. Mathews to replace Jim Fitzpatrick on the Planning Commission. Its recommendation will be forwarded on to the City Council - which actually DOES have the authority - and it will make the selection at a council meeting in August.
The bulk of the Planning Commission meeting agenda was pretty mundane so I chose to stay home and watch the proceedings on television. Well, that seemed like a good idea until we lost the video feed of the meeting, so it ended up being like the old days of listening to the radio! I did, however, dash to City Hall for the appointment item - the final one on the agenda. I joined candidate Marshall Krupp and 5 others in the auditorium.
NOT SURPRISEDThe selection of Mathews - who was number one on every commissioners short list - was no surprise to me. Although there was some conversation about forwarding three names to the council for their consideration, Vice Chairman Sam Clark convinced Chair Colin Mc Carthy and commissioner Rob Dickson to vote to just send Mathews name forward. Commissioner Ed Salcedo voted no, preferring to send three names forward. The others considered on that list were Byron de Arakal and Jonathon Zich. Mathews is a OC GOP stalwart, a member of the central committee and spreads campaign donations around like a farmer sewing seeds in a field. That fragrance in the air was not fertilizer on those seeds, although it did smell like it. No, it was pure partisan politics.
WILL THEY REPLACE MATHEWS?Now the council will make its decision next month. Once that's done - there is no reason to assume that Mathews WILL NOT be chosen - that leaves an opening on the Parks and Recreation Commission. I won't be surprised if one of the remaining candidates from this recruitment are chosen for that opening. However, there are other considerations. The Parks and Recreation Commission only meets every other month. If he is appointed to the Planning Commission in August that leaves only the September and November meetings until Mathews' term will have expired in January, 2013. Assuming an actual recruitment effort is undertaken - usually a month - by the time the candidates are sorted out and qualified for consideration we will probably be in October. I think it's unlikely that an interim commissioner will be appointed under these circumstances. This council has been known to bend the rules, though, so nothing will really surprise me.
CRONY POLITICSSo, crony politics is alive and well in Costa Mesa. More on that in another post soon.
Labels: Byron de Arakal, Colin McCarthy, Costa Mesa Planning Commission, Jeff Mathews, Jim Fitzpatrick, Johathon Zich, Marshall Krupp, Parks and Recreation Commission, Rob Dickson, Sam Clark
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 7/09/2012 09:53:00 PM
9 Comments:
moving up from parks commish to planning commish seems normal. Byron and Jeff were the only 2 with commissioner experience here in CM so the appointment is not that farfetched. Of course this council and ALL previous councils going back in time have a bias towards like minded thinkers rather than political opponents who bad mouth them. This is human nature, nothing more. Jeff is involved and qualified, where's the problem? Is it because Jeff is OCGOP? should that disqualify him and should we only choose from libs? Still, Zich would have been a good choice, very intelligent and no one could argue against Byron as being excellent as well. Only one slot available though. Final appointment not yet made, maybe some surprises down the road.
I wish Jeff Mathews a pleasant journey as he embarks on the final decision to be elected to the Costa Mesa Planning Commission after last night’s decision by the Planning Commission to recommend him as the lead candidate to the City Council. I am not surprised at the decision and had hoped that the Planning Commission was above partisan politics of the City. The message that I heard by the Commission selecting the top three (with Mathews on top) was that being active in the community on past commissions and committees was more important than 40-years of education, experience, skill-set and background in urban and land use planning, community development and revitalization and the other experiences associated with the decision-making processes of the Planning Commission. The partisan decision was clearly a message that if you are not a part of the inner circle of Republicans that are running the City, then you are not part of the club and will not be sought to be a part of the decision-making processes of the City of Costa Mesa. If you go to the OC GOP action Network webpage for Mr. Mathews, he highlights that he is a OC GOP Central Committee Member for the 68th District, a member of the Atlas PAC Board of Directors affiliated with the OC GOP, Vice President of the Costa Mesa Taxpayers Association (McCarthy’s political organization), and Unit Vice President of the Costa Mesa Republican Assembly. And, yes, I have to recognize he has been involved with the Costa Mesa Parks & Recreation Commissioner, Costa Mesa Homeless Task Force, Costa Mesa Historic Preservation Committee, and Costa Mesa 3R Committee. He is also a significant fund raiser for the current movement of Republican candidates and initiative agendas. So the handwriting may be on the wall. Jeff Mathews will most likely by approved as the next Planning Commissioner of the City of Costa Mesa by Righeimer, Bever, Mensinger, and Monahan in the same way that Mensinger, a friend of Righeimer was appointed to the City Council by his inner circle, and Righeimer was appointed to the Planning Commission only a few years after moving into the City, and Righeimer’s former campaign manager was appointed to the Parks and Recreation Committee in 2011, as examples. You see partisan politics and an agenda of OC GOP political power players is alive and well and running the City of Costa Mesa using their inner circle of supporters to maintain their ideology at all levels of Community participation and decision-making. Mr. Mathews, congratulations on being a part of this projected future for Costa Mesa!
Marshall Krupp, Candidate for Costa Mesa City Council
www.costamesaelection2012.com
Welcome to 2012 sane Repubs like Mr. West, Ms. Leffler, and Ms. Genis:
Your beloved party, dedicated to smaller, more efficient government, true fiscal conservatism, and wary of foreign intervention, characterized by great Americans like General Eisenhower and William F. Buckley, has officially fallen into the hands of lunatics like Das Riggmarshal, at least here in Costa Mesa.
I wonder if Mathews will make the Planning Commission join the Newport Mesa Tea Party Patriots like he did the Parks and Recs commission.
http://newportmesateaparty.ning.com/group/costa-mesa-parks-recreation
....I wonder if we can now get the Parks and Recs to leave the Tea Party like everyone else?
The Planning Commission, and all the other city commissions, are nothing but the minor leagues, training the elected (and non-elected) council members yes men. Yay team!
go ahead and wonder Gericault because you will never be part of a decision making team for the city and Krupp just sealed his fate with his post. Bye Marshall, ur 15 mins are up. watch in fascination and make sure to attack the next name that pops up. geis leffler and west may be registered as Republican but act like democrats, speak like democrats, hang out with democrats, and support democrats and attack republicans. Duck?
To normal process - If these men and you were good students of their own party, they would learn from President Lincoln who chose to build his government with his opponents close in the Cabinet. Whether business or politics, great leaders are confident enough to have their thoughts challenged. It is the weak, one-trick ponies who are compelled to surround themselves with "like-minded thinkers." That is why dictatorships ultimately fail - as will this one.
Hey .I'm just a lonely voice in the wilderness.....but the way things are trending,is it really wise to keep kicking out lifelong republicans?
According to the Orange County Register, “Republicans have dramatically lost ground among new California voters, particularly the young, in the past five years. . . Republicans eventually could fall to third place in party preference, behind Democrats and the growing number of voters who choose no party at all. Even in Orange County, the state’s Republican heartland, more people registered as Democrats than as Republicans last year and this year.”
“Among current California voters, 37.7 percent of those who registered before 2000 became Republicans. That dropped to 26.6 percent among voters who registered in the past five years – and just 21.9 percent this year. In Orange County, among current voters, 52.3 percent of those who registered before 2000 were Republicans. That dropped to 39.2 percent in the past five years – and 31.4 percent this year.”
Reality is that of Marshall had been recommended, Staff would have likely taken out a restraining order. Just like what looks like happened to Krupp when Krupp bought a Harley-Davidson. Google it.
Ask Staff about prior dealings with this individual. Scary the Haters will believe anything.
But please Marshall, stay through the election. Please.
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