Charter Committee Meets Again Tonight

THE LOW CRAWL CONTINUES
The Costa Mesa Charter Committee meets again this evening at 6:00 p.m. in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) next door to the Police Headquarters to continue their long, slow crawl toward the creation of what I consider to be an unnecessary charter.  You can read the agenda HERE.


A LITTLE HISTORY
You may find it interesting to review the minutes of two recent meetings, HERE, to get a feel for the progress this group has been making under the faciliation of Pastor Mike Decker and Estancia High School Principal Kirk Bauremeister.

COUNCIL PENSIONS
On the agenda there is an item, #8B, noted as "Governance/Financial/Personnel" in which a discussion of pensions for council members is anticipated.  You can read the staff report HERE.

MORE ON "PREVAILING WAGES"
And, although this committee finally nailed down their verbiage for a "Prevailing Wage" clause in their proposed charter, included in the staff report, HERE, is correspondence from the State Director of Industrial Relations relating to that issue in Sacramento and San Marcos.

THE TEACHER SPEAKS
And, on the agenda as well, resident and member Hank Panian - highly-respected long time resident, educator and member of the first Charter Committee four decades ago - will make a presentation to the committee on "Property Tax Inequity".

BE THERE OR....
If you care about the work this committee is doing, join the other half-dozen or so of your neighbors and me as we watch this process unfold.  If you care to address the committee you'll be given 2 minutes to do so.

Election Results Official & FMW Files Lawsuit

OFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS
The election results I provided to you in my previous post are now official. The Orange County Registrar of Voters has changed the indication on the web site from "unofficial" to "Official". You can read the results I provided on the 20th or go to the Registrar's site, HERE.



FACILITIES MANAGEMENT WEST LAWSUIT
Facilities Management West filed a lawsuit - a motion to intervene - and a hearing will be held Tuesday morning at 8:30 according to the article by Mona Shadia in the Daily Pilot today, HERE.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL
I'm taking a couple days off to celebrate Thanksgiving so any comments submitted might be a little slow getting posted. Thanks to all of you who have participated here, especially during the past few hectic months of Orange County Fairgrounds drama and the election. We have much fun ahead, so stay tuned. Happy Turkey Day.

Final Vote Counts, Del Mar Fairgrounds & The Mouth

ALL VOTES COUNTED
According to the Orange County Registrar of Voters web site, all the votes have now been counted, but not yet certified. Assuming that the final numbers - there are "0" left to be counted - will be certified, here's how the races of local interest ended up.






As you can see, nothing has changed since the last numbers I gave you. Jim Fisler holds a 66 vote lead over Dan Worthington in one of the Mesa Consolidated Water District races and Mike Scheafer defeated Arlene Schafer by over 400 votes for the final seat on the Costa Mesa Sanitary District.

None of the percentages changed in the Costa Mesa City Council race. Jim Righeimer and Wendy Leece won the two available seats and Chris McEvoy tallied 10,846 votes (26.4%) to finish 3rd. There are more than a few people in the community that think his strong showing should qualify him to replace Katrina Foley if, and when, she resigns next month.

Costa Mesa Measure L, the 2% increase in the Transient Occupancy Tax was passed with 52% of the votes.

Newport Beach Measure V, the controversial charter amendment issue, won handily, with 61.5% of the voters voting Yes.

The races should be certified before the end of the month. I know from conversations with folks in the Registrar's office that their goal is to have them certified before Thanksgiving.

DEL MAR FAIRGROUNDS ALSO UP FOR GRABS
As the sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds continues to be filled with high drama I thought you'd like to know that we are not alone. The Del Mar Fairgrounds is in play - the City of Del Mar is trying to buy it from the State for $120,000 and every bit as much turmoil surrounds this deal as has been the case with the Orange County Fairgrounds. You can read all about it in an article from the North County Times, HERE.

"THE MOUTH" SPOUTS OFF AGAIN
Finally, at the risk of giving you an upset stomach just before Thanksgiving, I must address some misinformation being presented by our municipal horses fanny and racist laureate, The Mouth From Mesa North. In his pathetic blog today he addresses a letter of mine that appeared in the Daily Pilot in print today (online yesterday), making light of the fact that Jim Righeimer's brother-in-law, Mark Bucher, threatened me and members of the Costa Mesa Police Association with legal action if we mentioned three items in connection with his client/brother-in-law. You can read my letter HERE - fortunately, it's the very first one in a long string of letters in the paper so you don't have to go wading very far to read it. The Mouth, who tells us from time to time that he's a lawyer and a whole bunch of other things, pretends to understand this issue, even though he admits to not having seen the letter in question. Of course, ignorance of an issue has never stopped him from blathering on and on about it in the past, so we shouldn't be surprised when he does so now.

BUCHER'S THREAT
The fact is, Bucher threatened me in writing with legal action if I discussed bankruptcy, being drunk in public and foreclosure when writing about his client. I had written about the rumors of Righeimer's bankruptcy a couple years ago, following a long conversation with him. The upshot of that conversation was that I heard Righeimer out, believed what he said and had not written about it since. I had no intention of writing about him or anyone else being drunk in public, nor had I plans to write about any foreclosure that may or may not have occurred.

RIGHEIMER SPOKE ABOUT BANKRUPTCY
However, Righeimer, within a couple days of that letter being delivered, openly spoke about the bankruptcy issue himself. So, I figure all bets are off. If I knew anything factual about that or the other issues I felt completely comfortable about writing about them.

THE MOUTH SPREAD LIES ABOUT MCEVOY
The Mouth, and other Righeimer boosters, then proceeded to spread lies and innuendo about Chris McEvoy involving his driving record in which they consistently lied about the facts. The Mouth never lets truth be an impediment to his goals.

Veterans, Votes and Vacancies

RECOGNIZING THOSE WHO SERVED
I hope you found a way to recognize Veterans Day today. I'm out of town in a place where it's a very big deal and was celebrated appropriately. Thanks to all those who have served our country through the wars and "police actions" that have taken so many lives and affected so many families.

LATEST ELECTION UPDATE
I just checked the numbers at the Registrar of Voters site to see what kind of changes have occurred since the last update yesterday evening. For the most part the percentages have remained the same in most important local races.

SCHEAFER STRETCHES LEAD OVER SCHAFER
In the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Race Mike Scheafer has slightly widened his lead over current President Arlene Schafer.

FISLER'S LEAD SHRINKS
In the tight Mesa Consolidated Water District Race Jim Fisler's lead on Dan Worthington has diminished slightly, so it looks like we're going to have to wait for the proverbial Fat Lady to sing.


REPLACING VACANCIES
I note that the agenda for the next City Council meeting on Tuesday, November 16th, promises some interesting decisions. Perhaps the most interesting is the issue of how to replace Jim Righeimer on the Planning Commission and how to replace Katrina Foley on the City Council if she does, in fact, resign her seat on December 14th to move over to the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. I covered what I thought might be some of the scenarios last weekend - scroll down to that entry if you're interested. You can read the council agenda item HERE.

CREDIT CARDS
I did notice that the last item on the Consent Calendar is an item having to do with the acquisition of Commercial Credit Cards. Now, if Jim Righeimer is intent on pushing the city into bankruptcy I supposed there's some wisdom in racking up lots of credit card debt that wouldn't have to be paid in a bankruptcy. Geez!

Election Update and More Bullying

MORE THAN 50,000 VOTES STILL UNCOUNTED
I took a peek at the most recent election numbers this morning. As of 5 p.m. last night there remained just over 54,000 total votes to be counted.

SCHEAFER LEAD GROWS
In close local races, Mike Scheafer has extended his small lead over Arlene Schafer in the race for the final seat on the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board. Scheafer leads Arlene by 359 votes.

FISLER HAS NARROW LEAD
In a much closer race, Jim Fisler leads Dan Worthington by 69 votes in the race for a seat on the Mesa Consolidated Water District Board. This had been a nip and tuck race since last week, with Fisler leap-frogging Worthington earlier this week.



COUNTING CONTINUES
It's unlikely that all the votes remaining will be counted until later in the month. They must be counted by the end of November. I'll check on them from time to time and report the shifts as they occur.

MENSINGER FLOGS ANOTHER APPLICANT
I had a chance to catch pieces of the Costa Planning Commission meeting last Monday evening. I confess I did not watch all of it being pre-occupied with Monday Night Football. However, I did linger long enough to watch commissioner Steve Mensinger, once again, bully an applicant before the commission. The applicant in question was seeking approval for some minor issues for a common interest development on Hamilton, near Harbor Blvd. She was planning to build 5 units although the property would accommodate six. Each was over 2,000 square feet and were nice units. Mensinger, however, didn't like the "look". He thought they should have been fancier - none of which is within the purview of his job as planning commissioner. He went on and on, berating this poor woman for a project that met almost all of the city's requirements, including building fewer units than she could have. Parking was not a problem, unlike so many projects presented in our city. And yet, on and on Mensinger went, complaining about such minutia as the "plain" paperwork used to present the project - he wanted to see glossy color slides, all of which cost much more money.

BULLY ON THE CITY COUNCIL?
I mention this because Mensinger's name frequently comes up as a possible replacement for Katrina Foley on the City Council. Mensinger is a smart guy, used to running businesses and is impatient with those who either don't respond to his "direction" immediately or present what he views as an inferior plan. He tries to micro-manage many projects that the Planning Commission sees. He's a guy who "gets things done", but he does so in an authoritarian manner, with no apparent interest in building consensus and negotiation. It's one thing to resurrect Estancia High School Football through sheer strength of personality, but it's entirely another when asked to be part of a city council team, working together for the common good of the city. I don't think a guy whose problem-solving technique is bullying is the right fit for our city council... just one guy's opinion.

Final Election Results Still Pending

MORE THAN 63,000 VOTES LEFT TO COUNT
According to the Orange County Registrar of Voters web site, after 5:00 p.m. today there are still slightly more than 63,500 votes to be counted in the November 2nd election.

RACES OF INTEREST AS OF 11/8/10
As of that time, here are some current numbers in some races of interest:

COSTA MESA CITY COUNCIL
Righeimer and Leece far ahead, with relative percentages basically unchanged.
COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT
Mike Scheafer 356 votes ahead of Arlene Schafer. Ooten and Fitzpatrick still lead

MESA CONSOLIDATED WATER DISTRICT
Shawn Dewane a winner. Fisler only 69 votes ahead of Worthington

68th ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
Mansoor well ahead of Nguyen
MEASURE "L"
"Yes" votes still ahead

Sunday's Election Recap...

RIGHEIMER AND LEECE STILL LEAD...
Most of the races of local interest stayed about the same. More votes were counted over the weekend and, except for a couple races, the ratios stayed the same. Jim Righeimer still leads the Costa Mesa Council race with more than 11,800 votes. Wendy Leece a solid second with just over 10,500 and Chris McEvoy is third with nearly 9800 votes. Susan Lester and Chad Petschl trail.

...SO DO FRANCO AND FOLEY
Katrina Foley and Judy Franco still have commanding leads in their School Board races - Franco received nearly 60% of the votes at this point over Loretta Zimmerman and Foley leads incumbent Michael Collier with nearly 55% of the votes cast.

OOTEN AND FITZPATRICK WILL WIN - THE THIRD SEAT IS CLOSE
In the Costa Mesa Sanitary District race, incumbent Bob Ooten is on top by a wide margin, holding over a third of the votes cast, with Jim Fitzpatrick solidly in second place. My friend, Mike Scheafer's lead over current Board President Arlene Schafer slipped Saturday but has bounced back up and he now holds a 346 margin.

DEWANE WINS, FISLER AND WORTHINGTON BATTLE IT OUT
The two races for seats on the Mesa Consolidated Water District Board couldn't be more different. In the Division 5 race, board president Shawn Dewane has 67% of the votes cast over contender accountant Peter Meuter, while in the Division 2 contest appointed incumbent Jim Fisler, trailing by a few votes since the election, has jumped ahead of Dan Worthington and now holds a 54 vote lead. Art Perry trails in that one.

MEASURE "L" LOOKS SOLID
Measure "L" looks like it will, indeed, pass. "Yes" votes have 52.5% of the total.

NEXT UPDATE MONDAY AFTERNOON
The next update will be at 5 p.m. Monday afternoon. We should be getting very close to the final numbers by then.

Let The Healing Begin...

DRUGS ARE GOOD!
Ah, drugs! Although I voted NO on Prop. 19, I do value the occasional influence of drugs in my life. Like today, for example. After dealing with a cold that teased me a week ago by almost disappearing, it returned with a vengeance last Friday and knocked me to my knees a punch-drunk prize fighter for several days. Finally, my doctor prescribed some medication for me and the first couple pills have begun to take their effect.

LET'S SEE WHAT THE GOP DOES WITH THIS OPPORTUNITY
Yesterday, as if the election wasn't enough to make me ill, I spent the entire day trying to avoid coughing up a lung while eagerly watching election results. Nationally, I'm generally happy with how things went. Let's see if my party can do something constructive with this opportunity.

A LITTLE BIT OF EACH
Locally, it's another matter. Costa Mesa will be saddled with carpetbagger Jim Righeimer for four years. On the positive side, we also have a re-born Wendy Leece on the dais for her final term as a council member. I doubt very much that the flogging she received from Righeimer's buddies, Scott Baugh and the other thugs that form the power elite of the Orange County Republican Party, will soon fade from her memory. I suspect the recent shift in her positions on important issues will take on a more pronounced look of independence now. No longer will she have to be looking over her shoulder, wondering what the good old boys in the OC GOP will think about her decisions on the dais. Our city will be better for that independence.

WHAT IS RIGHEIMER'S PLAN?
I wonder just exactly what is Jim Righeimer's "plan" for pension reform in our city. Will he force a crisis so he can demand that the bargaining units must return to the table? Many wise souls are now calling for reconciliation between Righeimer and the public safety unions. Of course, that would be best for the city, but I suspect our friends on the CMPD are still waiting for that other shoe to drop.

MEASURE "L" WILL HELP
I was pleased to see that Measure "L" passed, even though Righeimer and his minions actively campaigned against it. It's that kind of short-sighted, rigid dogma that got us into this fiscal mess in the first place. If the economy stays at it's current level of vitality we could see an additional $750,000 in revenue during the second half of the fiscal year due to that change. That won't "fix" our budget dilemma, but it will help.


FISLER CLOSING ON WORTHINGTON
The most recent election numbers were posted at 5 p.m. today. The next update is scheduled for the same hour tomorrow. I'm not going to post all of them again for you. If you're interested you can view them yourselves HERE. I did notice, though, that a couple of the races are tightening up. Jim Fisler, in the race to retain his appointed seat on the Mesa Consolidated Water District Board, is now within 23 votes of long-time activist and Minuteman experimenter, Dan Worthington. One thinks a recount may be in order for that race.

SCHEAFER HOLDS SLIM MARGIN OVER SCHAFER
And, in the race for a seat on the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board my friend, Mike Scheafer, holds a 231 vote lead over long-time board member, current President of the Board and former mayor, Arlene Schafer. Pretty tight.



COSTA MESA COUNCIL RACE NUMBERS ABOUT THE SAME
The Costa Mesa City Council race remained about the same, with Righeimer still holding about a 1,000 vote lead over Wendy Leece and Chris McEvoy about 700 or so votes behind her.


MC EVOY NOT HAPPY, BUT WILL REMAIN ENGAGED
I spoke with Chris McEvoy tonight. He's disappointed with the outcome, but doesn't see himself as a career politician. He's happy with the campaign he ran. He was not unhappy that Sandra Genis' PAC, Costa Mesa First, decided to give him some support, but he didn't ask for it and he feels beholden to no one. He told me he plans to continue to attend important meetings and to speak out when he has questions or criticisms of issues in the city. That's good news for the rest of you who don't bother to step up and speak up.

WHAT NOW, KATRINA?
The next big question requiring an answer pretty soon is the future of Katrina Foley. Now that she has handily won a seat on the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board, will she abandon her city council seat? Is there a legal requirement for her to do so? If not, and she decides to do both jobs, will she find enough energy left to actually do justice to both positions, plus those other things in her life - her business and her family. Life is seldom simple.

THANKS TO THE VOTERS
Before I close tonight and try to get some sleep to fight off what's left of this cold, I want to thank all of you who voted yesterday for your participation in the process. Way, way too few people eligible to vote do so - yesterday was a case in point. In a city of over 100,000 residents, around 10,000 people gave us Jim Righeimer on the city council.

THANKS FOR THE COMMENTERS HERE
I also want to thank all of you who engaged in the discussion held here over the past few weeks. To say they were spirited doesn't even come close do describing the debates. I'm happy to provide a forum for discussion of important issues and am willing to permit opposing viewpoints - even though I don't like some of them.

TIME TO MOVE FORWARD? PROBABLY...
My friend, Bruce Krochman, suggests that we now move forward and find common ground to resolve the very difficult, important issues facing our city. I agree with him. It will take a lot of listening by both sides and I hope we all are up to it.