Candidates For Foley's Seat And Others Announced

DEADLINE PASSED
Following the deadline for submissions at 5:00 p.m. this afternoon, the Costa Mesa City Manager's office announced the names of the candidates to replace former council woman Katrina Foley on the City Council. Applicants for vacancies on the Planning Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission were also announced.

COUNCIL CANDIDATES
There are eight (8) candidates for Foley's seat. The names of those individuals are previously announced Planning Commissioners Steve Mensinger and Sam Clark; Parks & Recreation Commissioners Mike Brumbaugh and Jeff Mathews; recent council candidate Chris McEvoy; attorney Timothy W. Sesler; property manager Margaret Shillington and former council member Heather Somers.

PLANNING COMMISSION CANDIDATES
There are sixteen (16) applicants for the Planning Commission. Those individuals are: Former Parks and Recreation Commissioner Byron de Arakal; Parks and Recreations commissioners Mike Brumbaugh and Jeff R. Mathews; businessman and former council candidate Christopher Bunyan; incumbents Sam Clark and Jim Fitzpatrick; contractor Tim Clark; community activist and paralegal Robert L. Dickson, Jr.; land planner Jeffrey T. Harlan; resident Frederick (Rick) Hohenstein; recent council candidate Sue Lester; Real Estate Salesman Brian Pharris; business consultant Edward Salcedo; Jim Righeimer's right-hand campaign aide, Ethan Temianka; project manager Dan Vozenilek and retired engineer Gary Parkin.

PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION CANDIDATES
There are eleven (11) applicants for the Parks and Recreation Commission. Those individuals are: OCC architecture professor Dean L. Abernathy; incumbents Mike Brumbaugh and Terry Shaw; land planner Jeffrey T. Harlan; resident Frederick (Rick) Hohenstein; CPA Gary R. Peacock; Real Estate Salesman Brian Pharris; landscape architect R. Travis Rice; Jim Righeimer's right-hand campaign aide, Ethan Temianka; retired engineer Gary Parkin and project manager Dan Vozenilek;

APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING
Applications are available on the City website, HERE, for your viewing pleasure. It looks to me as though there is an excellent selection from which to choose for all open, and/or potentially open, positions. Council members may choose to interview applicants between now and the first meeting in January - or not.

DECISIONS TO BE MADE ON JANUARY 4TH
The City Council will choose a replacement for Foley at their first meeting in January, on the 4th. They will also choose a replacement for Jim Righeimer on the Planning Commission and may choose others as well, depending on who is chosen to replace Foley. Same with the Parks and Recreation Commission. By the end of the night on the 4th we should have an idea of just who is going to be guiding our city for the next couple years.

City Solicits Candidates for Council, Commission Slots

CLOCK IS TICKING ON APPLICATION PROCESS
Late this evening the City of Costa Mesa announced the solicitation of candidates for open positions on the three main governmental bodies - City Council, Planning Commission and Parks & Recreation Commission.


FOLEY - WILL SHE OR WON'T SHE?
The vacancy on the council will occur on December 14th, when councilwoman Katrina Foley resigns to take the seat on the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board she won in the recent election, unseating incumbent Michael Collier. Foley has played coy recently and got into a heated discussion with Mayor Allan Mansoor at his last council meeting on Tuesday when he pushed her for a firm statement of her intentions. She sparred with him, but didn't give in. It has been widely assumed that the law on this issue will force her to abandon one seat or the other, but she implied that might not be the case. We don't know if she was being stubborn just to yank Mansoor's chain one final time, or if she is still undecided about her decision. Regardless, she will still be on the council on December 7th when Jim Righeimer is seated and Wendy Leece is reaffirmed and will participate in the selection of a new mayor and mayor pro tem.

MENSINGER OR ?...
Some folks around town assume that Righeimer crony and personal pal, planning commissioner Steve Mensinger, has the inside track on this seat. Others prominently mentioned are planning commissioners Colin McCarthy and Jim Fitzpatrick. Many people in the community think Foley's vacancy should be filled by Chris McEvoy, who finished a close 3rd in the recent election. Their reasoning is that the electorate has made its views known by casting nearly 11,000 votes - more than 26% - for McEvoy and, while not a "mandate", it is a clear statement by the people of this community and should be honored.

CANDIDATES - SEND LETTERS BY DEADLINE
Candidates for Foley's vacancy on the City Council should send a letter of interest, and a resume if available, by the deadline. (See Below)

3 SEATS ON PLANNING AND PARKS COMMISSIONS
There are at least 3 seats available on the Planning Commission and Parks & Recreation Commission. Interested parties are encouraged to complete an application, and include a resume if possible, for the council's consideration. The application form can be found at the City website, HERE.


WHERE TO SEND YOUR APPLICATIONS
All applications and correspondence should be sent to: Costa Mesa City Council, P.O. Box 1200, Costa Mesa, California 92628-1200 or bring it to City Hall, 77 Fair Drive, City Manager's Office by 5:00 p.m. Friday, December 17, 2010. Applicants are advised that their applications must be disclosed to the public upon request. For additional information contact the City Manager's office at 714-754-5328.

FINAL ELECTION RESULTS PENDING
A check of the Orange County Registrar of Voters site after 5:00 p.m. tonight shows there are still more than 400 votes to be counted county-wide. The numbers will be updated again at 5:00 tomorrow. Until all votes are counted and certified by the Registrar the results shown on the site are unofficial. No significant changes have occurred in local races in the past 24 hours. I'll post the final, official results when they are available.