It's Over... No Change In Costa Mesa Race Tonight
IT'S OVER...
OK, the Fat Lady is standing in the wings, beginning to wail. Here's how it looks tonight for the 2014 Costa Mesa City Council municipal election following the 5:00 p.m. release of numbers. There are NO CHANGES IN THE COSTA MESA ELECTION TODAY. The counter at the top of the page implies that there will be another count on Monday. You can see the entire "Results" page HERE. According to the "What's Left To Count" page, HERE, there remain only 50 votes county-wide left to be tallied and those are Election Day Paper ballots. All that remains now is for the Registrar to certify the election next week. For all practical purposes, this is your final result:
FOLEY IS TOP VOTE-GETTER
Katrina Foley is the top vote-getter in this election. For the second election in a row the top vote-getter was NOT a Riganista. Two years ago it was former council woman Sandra Genis. This time it's Foley, who ended up with 26.5% of the votes. Mayor Jim Righeimer will retain his seat on the dais by finishing second. He will finish 47 voters ahead of Jay Humphrey.
WASTE OF VOTES
The also-rans include Lee Ramos finished 4th. Tony Capitelli finishes far behind Ramos. Al Melone is next. Rita Simpson trailed Melone and Chris Bunyan will finish last.
RECOUNT? DON'T KNOW...
I don't have any idea if Humphrey plans to ask for a recount once Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley certifies the election next week. He will have 5 days to do so, and to put up the cash to begin the recount. As I've mentioned before, historically recounts in Orange County don't change things much. Kelley and his crew do a good job the first time through, as we learned two years ago when John Stephens trailed Gary Monahan by 155 votes.
NO MANDATE!
One thing is clear to me following this election. Jim Righeimer, despite all his pontification and behaving like a dictator, DOES NOT have a mandate from the voters of this city. The resounding defeat of his Charter scheme in two consecutive elections by increasing margins demonstrates that the voters are not buying what he's selling. The defeat of many of his pals in this election further demonstrates the voter's views on him and his behavior. He should not expect the heat to be lifted after this election. Quite the contrary... he should expect even more scrutiny.
COMPROMISE NOT LIKELY
In a recent article Foley promised to seek compromise. Well, check the weather report for Hades... it takes two sides to compromise and the current - and future - majority has shown NO inclination to compromise on anything. No, what we will see is more contentiousness, more bickering, more angry speakers taking the majority to task. And we'll see more unilateral, partisan political maneuvering by Righeimer and his group.
I EXPECT MORE DEPARTURES
What do I expect to see as a result of this election? Well, more defections of public safety folks, for one. I won't be surprised if we see even more police officers depart or retire early. I won't be surprised at all to see several of the so-called "miscellaneous employees" leave after the council gutted their contract and left them back where they were a decade ago. And, I expect recruiting - already very difficult - to become even more so with the specter of two more years of this administration.
A TOUGH JOB GETS TOUGHER
Policing this city is going to become extraordinarily difficult. With the AB 109 releases already infesting our community, group homes growing like mushrooms and bringing with them increases in crimes and Proposition 47 redefining crimes and their punishment all add up to more work for the cops. We're so understaffed that it is almost criminal in and of itself. Jeremiah Dobruck captured part of the problem in an article in the Daily Pilot today, HERE, which discusses the impact of fewer police officers and the DUI arrests. If you read that article you'll likely come away feeling VERY unhappy.
OK, the Fat Lady is standing in the wings, beginning to wail. Here's how it looks tonight for the 2014 Costa Mesa City Council municipal election following the 5:00 p.m. release of numbers. There are NO CHANGES IN THE COSTA MESA ELECTION TODAY. The counter at the top of the page implies that there will be another count on Monday. You can see the entire "Results" page HERE. According to the "What's Left To Count" page, HERE, there remain only 50 votes county-wide left to be tallied and those are Election Day Paper ballots. All that remains now is for the Registrar to certify the election next week. For all practical purposes, this is your final result:Katrina Foley is the top vote-getter in this election. For the second election in a row the top vote-getter was NOT a Riganista. Two years ago it was former council woman Sandra Genis. This time it's Foley, who ended up with 26.5% of the votes. Mayor Jim Righeimer will retain his seat on the dais by finishing second. He will finish 47 voters ahead of Jay Humphrey.
WASTE OF VOTES
The also-rans include Lee Ramos finished 4th. Tony Capitelli finishes far behind Ramos. Al Melone is next. Rita Simpson trailed Melone and Chris Bunyan will finish last.
I don't have any idea if Humphrey plans to ask for a recount once Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley certifies the election next week. He will have 5 days to do so, and to put up the cash to begin the recount. As I've mentioned before, historically recounts in Orange County don't change things much. Kelley and his crew do a good job the first time through, as we learned two years ago when John Stephens trailed Gary Monahan by 155 votes.
One thing is clear to me following this election. Jim Righeimer, despite all his pontification and behaving like a dictator, DOES NOT have a mandate from the voters of this city. The resounding defeat of his Charter scheme in two consecutive elections by increasing margins demonstrates that the voters are not buying what he's selling. The defeat of many of his pals in this election further demonstrates the voter's views on him and his behavior. He should not expect the heat to be lifted after this election. Quite the contrary... he should expect even more scrutiny. COMPROMISE NOT LIKELY
In a recent article Foley promised to seek compromise. Well, check the weather report for Hades... it takes two sides to compromise and the current - and future - majority has shown NO inclination to compromise on anything. No, what we will see is more contentiousness, more bickering, more angry speakers taking the majority to task. And we'll see more unilateral, partisan political maneuvering by Righeimer and his group.I EXPECT MORE DEPARTURES
What do I expect to see as a result of this election? Well, more defections of public safety folks, for one. I won't be surprised if we see even more police officers depart or retire early. I won't be surprised at all to see several of the so-called "miscellaneous employees" leave after the council gutted their contract and left them back where they were a decade ago. And, I expect recruiting - already very difficult - to become even more so with the specter of two more years of this administration.A TOUGH JOB GETS TOUGHER
Policing this city is going to become extraordinarily difficult. With the AB 109 releases already infesting our community, group homes growing like mushrooms and bringing with them increases in crimes and Proposition 47 redefining crimes and their punishment all add up to more work for the cops. We're so understaffed that it is almost criminal in and of itself. Jeremiah Dobruck captured part of the problem in an article in the Daily Pilot today, HERE, which discusses the impact of fewer police officers and the DUI arrests. If you read that article you'll likely come away feeling VERY unhappy.Labels: 2014 Election Results, Al Melone, Chris Bunyan, DUI, Jay Humphrey, Jim Righeimer, Katrina Foley, Lee Ramos, Neal Kelley, Rita Simpson, Sandra Genis, Tony Capitelli
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 11/15/2014 05:47:00 PM
14 Comments:
Not to be too dramatic, I weep for Costa Mesa. I have nothing but admiration for Jay and all the volunteers that gave their all for both candidates. No stone went unturned, no task too big, no frustration that was not over come by hard work. This is the little engine that could and showed what it was made of vs the pious , egotistical Tea Party boys and their less than stellar candidate. Anyone have a hanky?
It is a very sad day for our city.
47 votes stands between good, honest governance
and the circus of the CCM we've endured for four years.
Perhaps now some people will take unity
and vote splitting seriously.
If not now, they never will.
Time for a recall. Pick one of the three stooges and let's do it.
Regarding Dobruck's article, Jim Fisler comments that we should compare stats to surrounding cities.
Is Fisler REALLY that stupid? CMPD had the HIGHEST numbers for DUI arrests/convictions.
Alas, look at the bright side. We will have beautiful medians and a monument at Mesa Verde.
Its okay. It is what it is. Admittedly though, knowing this gang, that alleged mayor will feel heat, and with those two strong, smart gals on the dais, he's going to wish he'd never been elected.
I smell a recount.
A good friend who follows politics closely gave me this advice: Don’t mourn, organize!
Jay ran a good, clean campaign. I am proud he is on our team.
Rig didn't. He ran ads for the mailers that were full of lies and deceit. Some voters fell for it. Not the majority, however. Righeimer would be wise to remember that.
Tamar: right you are!
Arthur Nern has made an interesting observation. Although Righeimer can't be recalled for at least a year, Monahan and Mensinger are eligible now.
A LOT more money was spent by *them*, and a lot less of his supporters voted this time around. There was a lot that was exposed: outside $, committee appointees out for themselves, seemingly reasonable people that simply lost our trust... And more to be uncovered.
Rolling Stones gather no moss. Let it Bleed:
...You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you might find
You get what you need
And I went down to the demonstration
To get my fair share of abuse
Singing, "We're gonna vent our frustration
If we don't we're gonna blow a 50-amp fuse"
You can't always get what you want...
It's deja vu all over again.
So.... out of the 7000+ who voted for Foley, over 2000 of them voted for Righeimer or one of the others allowing for a continuation of the way things are. I can't think of a better example of voter ignorance.
As far as Righeimer not having a voters "mandate".... Ha! He doesn't care about that. He has the other two on the council who will back him on anything that he and his bosses want and Foley might as well not bothered.
Oh well... there'll be a new "Sheriff" in town soon. Best to just steer clear of Newport Blvd after dark so you don't get hit by a drunk driver.
The "BRAND" is so strong that it came in second place, nearly third place and got it's charter voted down again!!!
Maybe we will get lucky and the District Attorney will find something to file corruption charges against him. One can only hope.
I thought it very convenient the Daily Plot did not publish the dui stats until almost two weeks after the election. I spoke on the stats weeks before based on the October 16, 2014 part Ii crimes, maybe 47 people would have rethought their vote...Gotta love the Daily plot.
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