Mansoor and Leece Jump the Gun - Name Choices

PREDICTABLE NEWS
This morning, in their online version, HERE, the Daily Pilot reports that Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Allan Mansoor and his campaign barnacle two years ago, council woman Wendy Leece, have announced their choices for the three contested seats in the November election.

NO SURPRISES
To no one's surprise, they didn't choose Katrina Foley as one of their favorites. They did choose Mayor Eric Bever, former Mayor Gary Monahan and the carpet-bagger, Jim Righeimer.

JUMPING THE GUN
Of even greater interest is the fact that they chose to make this announcement before the filing period has officially closed. Because Linda Dixon chose to "leave her seat open" ( a very unfortunate bit of headline writing on the part of the Daily Pilot), the filing deadline was extended until Wednesday at 5 p.m. It is still quite possible for other interested parties to pull papers, acquire the required signatures, fill out the forms and return them.

SUPPORTING HIS BUDDY
It was a given that Mansoor and Leece support Bever for re-election. Mansoor stepped aside so Bever could become mayor during this re-election year, providing him with a more visible platform from which to display his limited stand-up routine.

NO ROOM AT THE TROUGH FOR MONAHAN
I'm also not surprised that they will support Monahan's quest for yet another turn at the trough. In the last couple years of his last and hopefully final term he shifted gears and joined Mansoor and Bever to form an unsavory majority. Gary has demonstrated more than once that he's in it for himself first, most recently when he proposed that the city directly elect the position of mayor. We assume he saw himself akin to Idi Amin Dada - Mayor For Life. Re-electing Monahan would not be in the best interests of the people of Costa Mesa although it would certainly enhance his pension and benefit package. You will recall that he's the only council member to ever qualify for a pension.

THE CARPETBAGGING OPPORTUNIST
And then there's Riggy... This one was a slam dunk for Mansoor and Leece. Two years ago Congressman Dana Rhorabacher and OC GOP honcho Scott Baugh provided tons of support for Mansoor's candidacy and he dragged Leece along for the ride. She ran virtually no stand-alone campaign of her own. Mansoor began the payback process when he appointed Righeimer - who had lived in Costa Mesa only a few months - to the Planning Commission, rejecting long-time "improver" foot soldier Paul Bunney three times. Supporting Righeimer - Rhorabacher's re-election campaign chairman, by the way - for a council seat is just more payback for the support that got them into office.

EMINENT DOMAIN GUARANTEED
Electing Bever, Monahan and Righeimer to the council along with incumbents Mansoor and Leece would be disastrous for our city. There would be no divergent viewpoints on the dais - no way to keep them honest. I firmly believe that, before Mansoor and Leece's terms expire in 2010, we would see eminent domain imposed to grease the skids of redevelopment on the Westside, despite the fact that Mansoor has adamantly proclaimed he was against it many times. No, an absolute majority of "improvers" would turn our city into one governed by a virtual junta and guided, at least in part, by the ravings of a White Supremacist cave-dweller from the north part of town.

FIRST CANDIDATE FORUM NEXT WEEK
On that happy note, I will remind you that the first of what is expected to be several candidate forums is scheduled to occur next week. Mesa Verde Community, Inc., the Mesa Verde Homeowner's Association, will again host what has historically been the first and best of the forums on Thursday, August 21st at the Neighborhood Community Center at Lions Park near the library. The event begins at 6:00 with a brief "meet and greet" opportunity, with the formal program beginning at 7:00. This will be your first chance to meet with the candidates and to see them as they present their platforms for your consideration. Unlike Mansoor and Leece, I'm eager to hear what ALL the candidates have to say before anointing any of them. As they say, be there or be square.

Riggy And Bunyan Make It Nine!

NINE FANNIES FOR THREE SEATS
In this wonderful game of musical chairs we play every two years, Planning Commissioner Jim Righeimer and businessman Chris Bunyan today tossed their hats into the Costa Mesa City Council race this fall, to make it a nice, uneven 9 candidates for the three seats available. This might change if some folks who pulled papers earlier fail to return them by Friday. And, of course, there's still time for more candidates to surface. Until then, we now have three times the number of fannies than seats available.

FOUR VETERANS ( INCLUDING THREE MAYORS)
The way it stands right now, incumbent council members Katrina Foley, Linda Dixon and Eric Bever have pulled papers, along with former three-term council member Gary Monahan, who will look like an incumbent to many voters because of his previous long, long, long tenure on the council. That gives us three current or former mayors in the mix.

FOUR NEWBIES PLUS BUNYAN AND RIGGY
Additionally, newcomers Lisa Reedy, William Sneen and Nicholas Moss will be joined by 2006 also-ran Chris Bunyan and Righeimer (if you can actually count him as a "newcomer" with a straight face) in the race for a seat at the big table in November.

WILL RIGGY SPOOK THE NEWBIES?
It's assumed that the new candidates understood that Foley, Dixon, Bever and Monahan were running, but I find myself wondering if Righeimer's presence will cause any of the newcomers to reconsider their candidacy. His high-level connections in the Orange County GOP will certainly make him anything but a run-of-the-mill newcomer. He's a seasoned politician, has access to lots of potential big donors and is a pretty smart guy. I suspect there's no chance of him entering the race unless he seriously thinks he can win one of the seats available. A loss in this race might make his viability for future higher office suspect.

ANY VOTES LEFT?
With Riggy in the mix now, along with Foley, Dixon, Bever and Monahan, it seems to me that there simply are not going to be many votes left for the new folks. All of these experienced campaigners have solid name recognition, a record of accomplishment (whether you agree with it or not) have access to big campaign bucks and know how to run a campaign. Of these five, Bever is probably the least proficient campaigner... After spending around $50,000, he edged out Bruce Garlich by a mere 44 votes when they ran in 2004.

INCUMBENT MAYOR OUT - AGAIN?
In fact, this may be another of those campaigns where the incumbent mayor gets knocked off - just as Allan Mansoor did to Linda Dixon not too long ago. So formidable is this field that it's entirely possible that Bever could be left without a place to sit when the music stops in November.

FRIDAY'S THE DAY - OR NOT
So, friends, Friday we will know if all these fine folks will actually stay in the race. If any of the incumbents fail to return their papers by that date the filing period extends into next week for any non-incumbent candidates to make their decisions. Then the door slams shut and the games begin.

FIRST FORUM IN TWO WEEKS
The first candidate forum will occur around the 20th of August. I've heard conflicting dates, so I'll get back to you on the actual time and date - which is when all the fun begins.

RUNNIN' AND JUMPIN'

ON THE BACK STRETCH
Here we are, half-way through the Costa Mesa City Council filing period, and so far only four candidates have pulled papers at City Hall. Four others have been issued an information packet - without the essential petition - but we don't know if those folks are serious or are just pedestrians passing through.

COZY FIELD SO FAR
To date we have four former or current council members theoretically planning to run, including three former or current mayors. As of this afternoon Linda Dixon, Katrina Foley, Eric Bever and Gary Monahan have all pulled the necessary paperwork, but none had yet returned them.

FILING DEADLINE IN TWO WEEKS
Unless one of the incumbents - Dixon, Foley or Bever - drops out, the filing deadline is August 8th, two weeks from today. The mind reels as I contemplate a campaign with only four candidates for the three seats available. Perhaps some of the names I mentioned earlier view this particular race too tough to tackle, but I hope we do see some new names on the ballot this year.

FIRST CANDIDATE FORUM SCHEDULED
I've been advised that the first candidate forum, hosted by Mesa Verde, Inc., will probably be held on August 20, 2008 at the Downtown Neighborhood Community Center, near the library. Festivities will commence at 6:30 with refreshments being served in a "meet and greet" atmosphere, with the formal program beginning at 7. As I've said before, this forum is usually the best organized and best attended. Candidates are fresh and most of the questions are new.

***

SHARON DAY - OLYMPIAN!
As some may know, Costa Mesan Sharon Day - a student/athlete at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo - has made the United States Olympic Team in the high jump and will compete in Beijing when the Olympics begin on August 8, 2008. There is an effort in Costa Mesa to raise funds to help send her family - her parents, Eugene and Yolanda and sister, Jasmin - to China to watch Sharon compete. This is being facilitated by the Palm Harvest Church and the pertinent information may be found at it's website, www.palmharvest.org. As you will see when you visit the site, they are still well short of their goal, so I encourage any of you interested in participating to visit the website and click on Sharon's image in the upper right corner for details.

MORE LOCAL LINKS
Sharon was recruited to Cal Poly by my friend, Costa Mesan Sheldon Blockburger, a former standout at Newport Harbor and a world-class decathlete while at Louisiana State University and subsequently. As an Assistant Track Coach at Cal Poly, Sheldon saw Sharon's potential. In fact, when he left for a similar job at the University of Arizona in Tucson he recruited Sharon's sister, Jasmine, because she showed similar potential.

DIG DEEP - SEND THE DAY FAMILY TO CHINA
Please look deep into your hearts and support the Day family as they attempt to make it to China to cheer Costa Mesa's Sharon Day on to victory.

Only Two Running, So Far

TWO HORSES IN THE STARTING GATE - SO FAR
The last word I had from the City Clerk last week is that, so far, only two candidates had actually pulled the necessary papers to run for City Council in Costa Mesa this year - Councilwoman Katrina Foley and former councilman, mayor and current Costa Mesa Sanitary Board member Gary Monahan.

FOLEY - BACK INTO THE BATTLES
Foley was the highest vote-getter in her run for city council four years ago and, although usually on the short end of many issues because she and Linda Dixon must frequently butt heads with the Mansoor/Bever/Leece majority, Foley continues to force important issues into the arena of public debate.

MONAHAN - FOR HIMSELF FIRST
Monahan - a three-term council member before being termed out in 2006 - will attempt to again elbow his way back to the municipal trough. You may recall that he is the only council member to ever qualify for a municipal pension. Right now that amount would be minimal, but another couple terms would go a long way to make his declining years as a pub owner and father of six more comfortable.

LET US COUNT THE WAYS
When considering candidates this year Monahan makes it pretty easy. All you have to do is remember that he thinks of himself first. Those of you paying attention will recall that a year ago he stood before the council and lobbied hard for the issue of a directly-elected mayor to be placed on the ballot. He was joined by then-mayor Allan Mansoor, who refused to even consider term limits for the position. Wisely, that scheme died on the vine. I think both Mansoor and Monahan envisioned themselves as "mayor for life". You may also remember that he campaigned for his current seat on the Sanitary District board as a guy who saw the need for reforms and would immediately move to make them if elected. Well, he did. He immediately moved to give himself and the other board members a pay raise and you, the rate payers, a rate increase. As I said, Monahan thinks of himself first...

BEVER AND DIXON?
The next few weeks should show us more candidates for the three positions on the city council this year. It is assumed that Eric Bever will run again - more's the pity for the city. His inept attempts at combining the job of mayor with that of a stand-up comic is getting pretty old. Linda Dixon is playing her cards very close to her vest. She may have had enough of having her position on the dais marginalized by the majority that has done everything possible except locking Dixon and Foley out of the chambers to ignore their presence and votes.

FISLER HAS TIME TO CAMPAIGN AGAIN
Rumors persist about Jim (I'm a realtor here in town) Fisler, current Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, occasional commenter here on this blog and part of the self-anointed "improver" group is going to run again. We have to assume he will make that decision within the next couple week. With the real estate market doing as poorly as it has been lately, Fisler will have plenty of time for municipal duties.

BUNYAN, AGAIN?
Former candidate Chris Bunyan has immersed himself in civic activities since he last ran and is presently immersed in saving Banning Ranch. In fact, he's footing the bill for a workshop on that subject from 6:30 - 8:30, Monday, July 21st at the Neighborhood Community Center near Lions Park for that purpose. He's been an off-again, on-again potential candidate. The last word I had from him was that he was not going to run... we'll see...

WHAT ABOUT RIGGY?
And then there's Riggy, the carpetbagging Planning Commissioner and Orange County GOP good old boy Jim Righeimer... we don't know if he's going to toss his hat into the ring this time around. If he does, that would make the election very interesting. He would undoubtedly get a lot of support - that means bucks - from the OC GOP. Riggy has said he's not running. If he did, he'd have to give up his weekly column on the Daily Pilot - a forum he's used to attempt to present "conservative views" to us all - when he's not pillorying applicants before the Planning Commission, that is. (Sorry, a smaller photo wouldn't accommodate his ego.)

NEWBIES?
I find myself wondering if we're going to see any new faces this time around. I hope so, although I'm not sure what a ballot with a dozen candidates will accomplish except to confuse the electorate.

THE FLAG GOES UP IN AUGUST
By the middle of August we'll know for sure who wants to compete for the opportunity to shape the city for the next four years. Then the fun begins... Stay tuned...

Civility, Where Art Thou?

Have you noticed just how acrimonious our City Council meetings have become lately? The end of the last one, of course, was fraught with tension and rancor because it involved Councilwoman Linda Dixon being forcibly unseated by majority vote of the council, which conferred upon our young jailer/mayor the right to arrange the seats in any manner he chooses. In fact, it's likely that the council policy the City Attorney was instructed to prepare will permit him, and future mayors, to arbitrarily shuffle the deck any time he or she chooses. Pretty silly stuff, if you ask me.

Silly as it might have been, though, it caused an amplification of the stress long visible to those of us paying attention to such things. Clearly, much of this city remains divided into two factions - those who agree with the mayor and his majority and those who prefer a more mature, moderate, reasonable, steady approach to governance.

Prior to vote being taken to bounce Dixon from her chair, former mayor Sandra Genis attempted to provide some history and education for the council. She read excerpts from The Federalist Papers, quotes from The Bible and even tried some good old common sense. None of that worked. Dixon read the email that apparently launched this whole thing - a message from Leece to the City Manager, Allan Roeder, requesting the seat swap. She then let the mayor know in no uncertain terms how disappointed she was to have not been given the courtesy of being included in the decision - or even consulted. His pitiful attempt at an apology was disingenuous at best.

This kind of rancor has spilled over into the communications tacked onto the end of articles, commentaries and editorials in the Daily Pilot, too. Ever since that fine newspaper provided the capability to post comments we've seen a deterioration of civility in many comment threads. Most usually start out with the first few commentors addressing the issue at hand. However, almost invariably, many of the subsequent comments are critical of earlier comments and commentors instead of simply voicing a divergent view of the subject. Most of the nastiest are posted by anonymous cowards using fictitious pen names, spouting rhetoric they would likely never use in civil conversation. I mentioned this phenomenon in an earlier post and it's getting worse. I admit to being sucked into this literary quicksand, but have never posted comments anonymously - which still doesn't make it right. When your integrity is challenged it's normal to strike back - like any shouting match. However, it seldom accomplishes anything except giving the combatants a sore throat to go along with their sore heads.

So, from this point forward I'm going to do my best to keep my comments on those venues at a higher level - maybe others will do the same, although I don't have much hope for a couple of them. If I back-slide I know there will be some of you out there to remind me.

Here on my blog, though, I'm going to continue to present my views as I choose. That will likely involve ridiculing some of our local officials frequently - because they deserve it. I will also continue to chide one particular blogger - because I disagree with his philosophy and his ego makes him such a great target. I suspect he feels the same about me. That's just the way it is.

As we turn the corner on the last week of March and head, appropriately, to April Fool's Day, I look forward to continuing to participate in an exchange of ideas and opinions with those of you who choose to join me. Every comment received here is much appreciated and will be published, unless it is submitted as "anonymous" or it doesn't pass the "cuss-o-meter" filter. Fortunately, there have been very few of those.

Thanks for playing in my sandbox.