Genis After Andranian's Scalp! Bad Move!

GENIS MADE A MISTAKE
As  has been widely reported by Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Sandra Genis and several others for a week, at the previous Costa Mesa City Council meeting last Tuesday she made a mistake when marking her nomination forms in the selection process for the three commissions - Planning, Parks and Recreation and Senior.  She marked her forms backward - lowest number to highest instead of, as the instructions said very clearly, from highest to lowest.

FILLED OUT THE FORMS BACKWARD
When City Clerk Brenda Green subsequently tallied the totals the only one of Genis' that was correct was the one in the middle of each calculation - the third position in the case of the Planning and Parks and Recreations Commissions and the fourth for the Senior Commission.

SEEKING A SOLUTION
Since her mistake Genis has been seeking a solution that would correct her mistake.  Short of firing all the commissioners and re-starting the recruitment process there seems to be no legal way to accomplish this.

SHE WANTS TO TOSS ANDRANIAN AND RE-FILL HIS SPOT
At the City Council meeting on Tuesday, February 21st - next week - New Business #2, HERE, is her request to remove Stephan Andranian from the Planning Commission and launch a recruitment effort to fill the position.

TOO LATE!
This makes absolutely no sense, particularly when you consider that the new Planning Commission has already been sworn-in, held their first meeting and chosen officers - Andranian was selected as Chairman!  

DON'T COMPOUND THE MISTAKE!
Genis made a mistake.  She now has made a second one by trying to "fix" this by asking her fellow council members to join her in removing Andranian for no reason other than her error.  This only exacerbates this situation, creates uncertainty and confusion in the community and casts an even larger shadow over her judgment.

 COUNCIL SHOULD REJECT HER REQUEST
The council should reject her request, allow the Planning Commission to remain as chosen and certified earlier this week.  Genis made a mistake and will have to live with it.  She should not be allowed to make this second one.

WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER COMMISSIONS?
And, by the way, what about her votes for the Parks and Recreation and Senior Commissions?  Certainly her mistake on those nomination forms had an impact on the results.  What about those?  Is she going to request similar action regarding those commissions?  I certainly hope not!

MORE LATER... STAY DRY
More on the balance of the agenda for the council meeting Tuesday later.  Right now we're busy battening down the hatches in anticipation of the coming storm.  Keep your powder dry.

Genis Admits Gaffe - Now What? (AMENDED)

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS OVER...
OK, you thought the drama swirling around the "firing" of all previous commissioners was finally put to bed when the Costa Mesa City Council plowed it's way through a lengthy screening and interview process over two weeks, then worked its way through the new selection process last Tuesday night to complete the filling of the Planning, Parks and Recreation and Senior Commissions, right?  Ha!  Guess again!

NEW COMMISSIONERS START MONDAY, BUT...
Although the new Planning Commission is scheduled to be sworn-in on Monday, February 13, 2017 at a meeting that begins in City Council Chambers at City Hall at 6:00, HERE, all is not well at City Hall.  Despite what you will read below, the meeting is still scheduled.

GENIS ADMITS AN ERROR
On Wednesday, the morning following the selection of commission members, and after realizing that she had misunderstood the instructions in the nomination process, Councilwoman Sandra Genis contacted Mayor Katrina Foley, City Manager Tom Hatch and City Attorney Tom Duarte to advise them that she had marked her nomination forms incorrectly and the result was very different than she had intended.  She was looking for a solution.  As you might expect, the top floor of City Hall was a buzz of activity all day Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, too.

SHE GOT IT BACKWARDS
It seems that Genis - a very smart woman and Stanford graduate - applied her ranking of applicants backward.  Where her first choice should have been marked on her nomination form with the highest number - 5, in the case of the Planning and Parks and Recreation Commissions, 7 for the Senior Commission - she reversed it and marked her choices 1-5 or 1-7.  The result was very significant.

AND THEN THERE'S CARLA NAVARRO WOODS
And, the situation was exacerbated by the placement of candidate Carla Navarro Woods on the Planning Commission Nomination Form.  She had applied for a position on the Parks and Recreation Commission and was interviewed for that position the previous week.  On Tuesday, the day of the selection meeting, On Friday, February 3rd, she emailed City Hall asking to be considered for the Planning Commission, too. (Thanks to both Mayor Katrina Foley and Councilman John Stephens for setting this record straight since original publication.  Lots of misinformation floating around this issue last week.)  It happened so late in the process that her name did not appear in the packets available to the audience that night.  We are told it appeared on the nomination forms the City Council had in front of them.

THE CERTIFIED RESULT
As mentioned in my report of that meeting, the Planning Commission candidates who scored highest in the process as approved by the City Council, were:
Jeffrey Harlan - 36 points (4 year term)
Byron de Arakal - 32 points (4 year term)
Isabell Mayer Kerins - 20 points (2 year term)
Carla Navarro Woods - 18 points (2 year term)
Stephan Andranian - 16 points (2 year term)

HOWEVER...
However, if Genis had voted correctly, Andranian would be out and Teresa Drain would be in.  Here's how those two sets of numbers would have looked.  The top is the nomination forms as presented.  The second one is what it would have looked like with Genis' numbers entered correctly.  Click on the image to enlarge it.  You'll note I had to add Woods to the far right side.

NO SOLUTION YET
So, the City Management has been dealing with this all week and, to the best of my knowledge, has not come up with a legal solution to the issue.  They cannot simply "take a Mulligan" as one correspondent suggested - the results have been certified by the City Council.

THE TWO PROBLEMS...
There are two issues.
1) Sandra Genis misunderstood the instructions, even though they were clearly indicated in the staff report and, at least on the copy of the nomination forms available to the audience, had a clear note that "5 being highest score" in the case of the Planning Commission.

2) The presence of Carla Navarro Woods on the nomination form for the Planning Commission although she applied late.  Some may recall that a similar situation gave us Jim Righeimer a decade ago, when Allan Mansoor rejected his friend and long-time supporter, Paul Bunney, not once but three times when he was nominated for a Planning Commission spot and, instead, made it possible for Righeimer to land a seat instead - even though he had applied after the deadline.  We presumed then, and continue to presume, that it was payback for the political support Righeimer and Dana Rhorabacher gave Mansoor in that election.  So, there actually is a precedent...

FELL ON HER SWORD AND LOOKING FOR A SOLUTION
Last week Genis, on her Facebook page, fell on her sword and admitted her mistake - much to her credit.  And, having spoken with her a couple times since then, I know she's looking for a good solution to the issue, but doesn't have one yet.  Of course, we could just leave things as they are - all the candidates who are on the official roster are solid and will likely make up a very effective Planning Commission.  Or, they could swear-in the winners, then fire them all and re-start the process.  I'm told by sources in the know that this process would likely take us into March, costing us yet another month of Planning Commission work.  It's unclear whether an entirely new recruitment process is required, since there was such a recent, comprehensive effort for this time around.

PARKS & REC. COMMISSION STAYS THE SAME
In case you're wondering, Genis also reversed her numbers on the Parks and Recreation Commission forms, but the successful candidates remain the same.  Here's a comparison of how they looked. 

SENIOR COMMISSION IS AFFECTED, THOUGH

And, she also flipped the choices for the Senior Commission.  Those numbers are shown below.  They would result in Olga Reynolds being replaced by Joeliza Jones, whom she beat out in a tie-breaking vote last Tuesday.

WHAT ABOUT RIGHEIMER AND MANSOORS VOTES?
Want something else to think about?  Take a look at those original charts above.  The votes cast by Righeimer and Mansoor look more than a little strange.  Would they really have so little regard for Jeff Mathews that they marked him "1" - last in their rankings - on both the Planning and Parks and Recreation Commission forms?  Seems unlikely.  It appears that they may have also reversed their numbers.  They voted as a block on each selection, and only voted for three of the seven possible for the Senior Commission - ironic, since it was their pal, Steve Mensinger, who insisted that the Senior Commission have seven members - and he actually wanted to take it up to nine!

INTERESTING TO SPECULATE ABOUT
So, if you presume for a moment that Righeimer and Mansoor did, in fact, make the same mistake that Genis owned-up to, the changes would be significant.  I did the calculation with Genis' correction and the presumed corrections for Righeimer and Mansoor.  In the case of the Planning Commission, it would mean that former Vice Chair Jeff Mathews would return to the dais, Stephan Andranian would be out and Teresa Callo Drain would replace Isabell Mayer Kerins.  Woods would remain.

It appears that Righeimer and Mansoor actually voted the way they intended on the Senior Commission selection, so we presume no further changes would be made.

In the case of the Parks and Recreation Commission, it would mean that former commissioner Jeff Mathews would be on the commission and Kristina Bogner would be out.

WRINGING OF HANDS ALL AROUND
So, dear neighbors, let us all contemplate how The City is going to resolve this mess.  Genis has confessed to making mistakes - shouting it loud and clear via social media.  What will The City do?  Will they just let it ride?  Will they fire the new commissioners and start over?  Can they do something at their Study Session on Tuesday?  No - they cannot vote on issues at Study Sessions.  It is way, way beyond ironic that this selection process - planned to remove politics from the selection of commissioners - has managed to become such a mess and will likely have political ramifications that will linger for all involved.  The best laid plans.....

DO SOMETHING... NOW!
I do know one thing... they MUST come forward with a decision - SOON.  The longer this issue lingers unresolved the deeper the political quicksand becomes.

Next Tuesday's Council Meeting - Another Barn Burner!

BUSY TIME NEXT TUESDAY NIGHT
Just when you thought things might begin to ease off a little bit you get slapped in the face with an agenda for next Tuesday's Costa Mesa City Council meeting and you realize that there's still plenty of interesting stuff going on.

FULL AGENDA(S)
Next Tuesday, February 7, 2017, the Council will meet, first in a packed-agenda Closed Session beginning at 4:00 p.m., and later in another packed-agenda open session beginning in Council Chambers at 6:00 p.m.  You can read the agenda items HERE.

FIVE ITEMS IN CLOSED SESSION
The Closed Session has three litigation items, including the first one which involves sober living organizations, plus two labor negotiation issues.  I'm suspecting these items will take every bit of that two hours allocated for it.

ORDER OF MARCH
Following the call to order, announcements and Public Comments for items NOT on the agenda there will be the first segment of Council Comments - the segment restricts each council member to four (4) minutes.  There is additional time at the end of the meeting if any council member wishes to deliver an extended commentary.

THE WARRANT
The Consent Calendar is shorter than has been the case in the past.  Item #2, Warrant 2570, shows us how nearly $4 million of our tax dollars have been spent.  You can read the entire warrant HERE.  I'll scroll down through it and list a few items that caught my eye:
The first thing was a list of sixteen (16) checks that were reversed - voided because of mistakes.  That's very unusual, but worth noting. 
Others included:
Admin Sure Inc. - $42,215.01 - Wkrs Comp Admin Fee - Jan-Mar 17
Arthur Lawrence - $22,000.00 - Final Stmt (for what?)
National Auto Fleet Group - $125,956.77 - purchase of 3 vehicles
Replacement Benefit Fund - $55,948.32 - 2017 PERS Retirement Plan
Travel Costa Mesa - $151,265.42 - BIA Receipts for November, 2016
Management Partners Inc. - $10,446.25 - Consulting Svcs DS 12/1-12/15
Jones & Mayer - $52,680.24 - Legal Svcs, Yellowstone and Dadey

MEASURE X INVESTIGATIONS
Further on down the agenda Item #6, HERE, is especially interesting.  It's a resolution authorizing the City to access state and local summary criminal history information for licensing purposes and federal level criminal history information.  According to the staff report, as a result of Measure X, which authorizes certain types of Medical Marijuana businesses - but not sales - in a small section in the north part of town, we will be required to have all owners, managers and all employees of such businesses undergo a background check prior to a business being issued a Medical Marijuana Business Permit.  Here we go, with a whole new layer of administrative documentation being required.  Yikes!

EXTENSION OF MARIJUANA BAN
There is only one Public Hearing on the agenda, HERE.  This is an extension of the urgency ordinance adopted on January 3, 2017 and which would expire February 17, 2017 that prohibits ALL marijuana uses that are or will be authorized by Proposition 64.  The staff recommends extending this urgency ordinance for ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days.

APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONERS
Old Business #1, HERE, is the appointments of commissioners to the Senior, Parks and Recreation and Planning Commissions.  The staff report outlines the procedures and has a link to the files on the candidates plus one to the nomination forms to be used.  This will be interesting.

WIND SPEED ORDINANCE
Old Business #2, HERE, is the second reading of Wind Speed Ordinance.  This will take 30 seconds, flat.

ADIOS, COIN!  GOOD RIDDANCE!
New Business #1, HERE, was a surprise to me.  This one recommends dumping Steve Mensinger's bogus COIN Ordinance, sweeping more of the residue of his tenure on the City Council out the door.  If you read the staff report you'll understand why - the State has passed the CRONY law, which requires any city using COIN to follow a similar process for ALL contracts.  This was a bad idea from the start and it will be good to see it go.  As part of this process staff is being directed to develop a policy that endures transparency in the labor negotiation process. 

MERCURIO TAKES THE LOW ROAD
You may find it interesting to know that, when I posted an advance note about this item on Facebook, Julie Mercurio - she who dominates and controls the Costa Mesa Public Square and who was an appointee to the Parks and Recreation Commission last year to give her short candidacy for City Council a boost - posted this comment on that thread: "I truly don't believe all those that voted for Sandy Genis & John Stephens saw this coming.  They voted for a safer community more cops & fireman.  They didn't VOTE for us to be raped behind closed doors...."  We are VERY lucky this woman is no longer a public servant.

AMBULANCE TRANSPORTATION, REDUX
New Business #2, HERE, was another pleasant surprise.  This is the resurrection of the discussion of Ambulance Transportation within the City of Costa Mesa.  The staff report outlines the four steps recommended by Fire Chief Dan Stefano:

1. Receive the updated presentation on the status of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) ambulance transportation for the City of Costa Mesa.

2. Authorize and approve a part-time Emergency Medical Services Coordinator to assist in the coordination of the Fire and Rescue department’s EMS ambulance transportation program, including billing and cost recovery.

3. Approve the scheduling of an April study session to discuss the reassessment of the city’s EMS ambulance service transportation options.

4. Approve the scheduling within a May City Council meeting to review updated recommendations on the city’s EMS ambulance service transportation.

This is GREAT news.  You will note that it calls for a study session on this issue in April - remember when we used to have those before Jim Righeimer took over? - to thoroughly vet this issue in a more casual setting, then agendize it for a May City Council meeting.

STARTING OVER WITH ALL COMMITTEES AND BOARDS
The final item on the agenda is New Business #3, HERE, - another surprise to me.  This one is certain to give loyal volunteers some heartburn.  You can read the staff report, but basically this sweeps ALL committees and boards clean and starts over as of the end of March. 

 MAJOR CHANGES FOR THE PENSION COMMITTEE
It also recommends merging the Pension Oversight Committee into the Finance Advisory Committee.  If the council decides to retain the Pension Oversight Committee the staff report recommends changing the scope of work and responsibilities and changing the name to the Pension Advisory Committee.

MORE CHANGES - ADDS AND DELETES
Also, this item recommends considering formalizing the Military Affairs Team as a Committee; the dissolution of the Fairview Park Citizen's Advisory Committee, the Charter Committee and the 60th Anniversary Committee.  It also asks for the consideration of the creation of a Fairview Park Steering Committee and a Youth Sports Committee.

THE LIST
Here's the list of the current committees.  There is an attachment to the staff report, HERE,  that lists the members and term expirations:

• Access Building
• Fire and Housing Board of Appeal
• Cultural Art Committee
• Finance Advisory Committee
• Historical Preservation Committee
• Housing & Public Service Grants Committee
• Pension Oversight Committee
• Bikeway and Walkability Committee
• Traffic Impact Fee Ad Hoc Committee
• Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee
• Charter Committee

A MAJOR RECRUITMENT PROCESS STARTS NEXT WEEK
I can tell you this will get some spirited conversation.  I don't have the sense that the council is unhappy with any committee or member of a committee.  City Clerk Brenda Green will launch a recruitment effort, special interview meetings may be scheduled as was done with the commissions and new committee members will be appointed at the regular City Council meeting of April 4, 2017.

OPTIONS
Recruitment/Interview options are provided in the staff report.

BRING A PILLOW
Tuesday is going to be one VERY interesting meeting - those attending should plan for a long, but fascinating, evening.