Election Results Now Official

 OFFICIAL RESULTS

THE NUMBERS ARE NOW OFFICIAL
Late today the Orange County Registrar of Voters website was amended to show the following:

NO CHANGES FROM YESTERDAY
Yep... those results we gave you yesterday are now official.  I scrolled down through the important races in our neck of the woods to confirm that none had changed overnight.  You can read all those results again HERE.

KUDOS TO ALL
Congratulations to all of you who worked hard on campaigns this time around.  It was a lot of work, with lots of doors being knocked upon and lots of face-to-face encounters with voters on many issues.

CONGRATS TO SANDY, JOHN AND ALLAN
Congratulations to Sandy Genis for being the top vote-getter in the City Council race, and to John Stephens for trailing her by only a few votes.  Congratulations to Allan Mansoor for regaining a seat on the City Council, defeating Mayor Steve Mensinger by 525 votes.  Adios, Steve.  A little humility is good for everyone.... especially someone with such a big ego.  And, to Lee Ramos and Al Melone - what the heck were you thinking?  Oh, yes... to Dave Ellis... pffffttt!

KUDOS TO COSTA MESA FIRST!
Congratulations to the good folks of Costa Mesa First and all of you who walked precincts to gather signatures and speak to voters in support of Measure Y, the Smart Growth Initiative.  You fended off the misleading counter measure, Measure Z with an overwhelming victory.

AND KUDOS TO THE FAIRVIEW PARK PROTECTORS
Congratulation to the hardworking folks of the Fairview Park Preservation Alliance and all the others who worked tirelessly to gather signatures for Measure AA, and who pounded the pavement to gather votes.  You did an absolutely astounding job, convincing almost 71% of the voters to support that measure.  I'd like to tell you to relax, but I don't think you can... yet.  Thank you for your dedication.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA STRATEGY FAILED - BIG TIME
I cannot decide if the failure of both Measures V and W, the two citizen-generated Medical Marijuana measures placed on the ballot when sufficient signatures were gathered, is good for the city or not.  My first thought is that we're better off without medical marijuana dispensaries - that "medicine is available next door in Santa Ana.  And, since Prop. 64 passed, getting "medicine" on the open market seems to be a moot issue.  I was amused that Measure W ran an expensive campaign, complete with big-time television adds that included Lee Ramos and many others.  I'm also amused that both Gary Monahan and Dana Rohrabacher supported that measure and it lost soundly at the polls.

WHAT DOES MEASURE X REALLY MEAN?
I'm not sure what to think of the passage of Measure X, the so-called counter measure created by the City to fight off the other two Medical Marijuana measures.  This one passed, but has no retail sales element... only manufacturing, distribution, testing, etc. , and restricted only to a very small section of the north part of town.  We're told that wannabe pot mogul Jim Fitzpatrick has been skulking around City Hall, trying to find space in town for his clients.  He'll have plenty of time on his hands now.

ABOUT MEASURE EE - SORRY....
To those of you who voted for Measure EE, the Vote-by-Districts measure that Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer hijacked and turned it into something not a single participant in the outreach meetings preferred - not a single one- I apologize.  They chose a 5-district model, which carved out a Latino district and would have given that demographic a chance at a level playing field.  Righeimer hijacked it and turned it into a 6-district model and included a directly-elected mayor.  Nobody wrote an opposing position for the voters pamphlet.  My fault - I should have done it.  Such is life.  Now we will just have to be sure he doesn't continue to manipulate this process in his favor.

TO THE MESA WATER DISTRICT BOARD... PFFFTTTT!
To those of you who were snookered by the Mesa Water District Board into voting in support of Measure TT, the meaningless advisory measure that posits that it's a good idea to combine Mesa Water and the Costa Mesa Sanitary District, I'm sorry you fell for it.  This measure has no weight of law behind it and, although it "passed", it means nothing at all in the grand scheme of things.  Combining those districts is just a power grab - the Mesa Water District Board is spending your ratepayer dollars like a bunch of drunken sailors and can see the cash in the bank at the CMSD.  Don't let them continue to fool you as this moves forward.

BUSINESS AS USUAL IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Both the Coast Community College District and Newport Mesa Unified School District races were won by incumbents.  Personally, I'm OK with the Coast College District results, but am disappointed that we won't see any new blood on the NMUSD Board.

GOOD MOVE FOR THE CMSD
To those who overwhelmingly returned Jim Ferryman and Art Perry to their seats on the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board - good for you!  Their totals certainly reflect a demand by the electorate to move forward with experienced leadership in that organization and ignore the screeches of loud-mouthed losers like Jim Fitzpatrick - who just couldn't shut up prior to the race and has become a mute since -  and worn-out Gary Monahan.  Good move, folks.

HARD TO GET EXCITED ABOUT THE SACRAMENTO "WINS"
I'd like to be very enthusiastic about the victories for Matt Harper in the 74th State Assembly race and John Moorlach in the 37th State Senate race, but it's hard to get too excited when you realize that the California legislature now has a Democrat Supermajority in both houses - which means that they no longer even have to listen to the Republicans voted into office.  Both of those men will have a very difficult time making any kind of significant impact on the process in Sacramento.

AND THEN THERE'S DANA...
 Dana Rohrabacher, who, once again, soundly defeated a Democrat challenger, Dr. Suzanne Savary.  Since Orange County is no longer a sure thing for Republicans, I suspect this might just be Dana's last gasp.  I expect to see a Democrat challenger with real political chops start to surface after the first of the year, and Dana will have his hands full next time.  Heck, he might become Secretary of State in a few days - who knows?  Arrgghh!

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
So, how do we interpret this election locally.  Well, a strong argument could be made for the view that the voters of this city have had enough of the heavy-handed, single-minded, almost dictatorial regime guided by Jim Righeimer and Mensinger - with Monahan the willing dupe and guaranteed third vote.  The overwhelming passage of Measures Y and AA tell us that the voters just don't trust the old majority to do what is right for the community and took it into their own hands to protect our neighborhoods and Costa Mesa's "Jewel", Fairview Park.  And, they said NO to Medical Marijuana sales in our city in an overwhelming fashion.

A NEW ATMOSPHERE ON THE DAIS
So, next Tuesday evening in City Council Chambers at City Hall the new council members will be sworn-in and new leadership on the dais will be elected.  I, personally, have no idea how those elections will go, but I suspect neither Righeimer nor Mansoor will be guiding the city for the next couple years.  That will be good for the city.  We DO need THEIR voices on important issues - each provides a different perspective - and it will be good for the city to actually have real, meaningful discussions on issues for a change.  Righeimer has pledged a more collegial tone.  I believe him.  Let's get on with it...