Election Numbers and Budget

LATEST ELECTION RESULTS
Here's the latest results from the counting of votes in the Primary Election last week. My understanding is that there are still around 60,000 ballots yet to be counted. As you will notice, none of the items of local interest will likely be changed following those votes being counted.

MANSOOR TOPS 20,000 VOTES, LOSES PERCENTAGESMATHEWS MAKES THE CUT - LEECE OUTMEASURE C APPROACHES 88%

BUDGET STAFF REPORT AVAILABLE NOW
The staff report for the budget discussion at the City Council meeting Tuesday is now available for review. There is no new information - the city is in deep guano and the staff cuts proposed only get us half way. You can read the staff report HERE.

TOUGH CHOICES AHEAD
Tomorrow's meeting will be painful. We are down to deciding which employees must go - a choice that would cause King Solomon to flinch. This is the final scheduled council meeting of the fiscal year, so the budget must be approved at this meeting. I only hope the City Council has done it's homework a little more thoroughly than it did for the study session. And, I hope they come ready to give a fair hearing to the requests by the staff that consideration be given to placing the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) and the Business License fees on the November ballot.

Pre-Midnight Local Election Returns

MIDNIGHT RESULTS
As the clock sneaks toward midnight, here are some results of interest from the election tonight. I'll update them with another post tomorrow.



MEASURE "C" BY A LANDSLIDE
I go to bed fully expecting to find Measure C a winner by an 80+% margin.

MANSOOR "SQUEAKS IT OUT"
Allan Mansoor with 75% of the vote. Will face Phu Nguyen in November.
TRAN VS. SANCHEZ IN NOVEMBER
Looks like Van Tran will take on Loretta Sanchez in November
WENDY MIGHT MAKE THE CUT
Neck and neck with Supervisor Janet Nguyen for a spot on the 68th Assembly District Republican Party Central Committee.

Thankful For Final Election Numbers

THE NUMBERS ARE CRUNCHED***(see below)
Well, Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelly is as good as his word. He managed to get the count completed before the deadline of December 2nd. A pre-Thanksgiving check of the results show that no ballots remain to be counted. We assumed this was the case when we received the most recent announcement of the City Council agenda for the meeting on December 2nd - it showed that early in the schedule there will be new council members seated and a new Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore will be elected. We assume the election will be certified before that date. I don't know how Kelly feels about finishing this task before Thanksgiving, but I suspect he's been thinking a lot about "turkeys" these past few weeks.

The following are the results from races of interest here in the land of Newport-Mesa. Not much changed since the early ballot counting.

MONEY TALKS IN COSTA MESA
In the case of Costa Mesa, re-tread Gary Monahan led the field with nearly 18,000 votes - he finished 1,924 votes ahead of Katrina Foley, who garnered almost 16,000 votes. Foley finished 1,055 votes ahead of Eric Bever, who ended up with slightly fewer than 15,000 votes. Bever finished 1,857 votes ahead of the OC GOP's fair-haired boy, Jim Righeimer. I don't know if it's significant - or if Riggy should read something into it - but he finished with an even 13,000 votes. Guess this has not been a lucky year for Riggy.

Lisa Reedy finished with just over 7,300 votes and Chris McEvoy received 6,828, even though both ran very thin campaigns. Bill Sneen ended up with just over 4,000 votes and Chris Bunyan was slightly more than 1,000 votes behind Sneen. Youngster Nick Moss finished with fewer than 2,000 votes.


I'll let you do the analysis of the remaining races.

COSTA MESA CITY COUNCIL

NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL
46TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

48TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

35TH STATE SENATE DISTRICT

68TH STATE ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

70TH STATE ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE RACES ***COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT
(late entry - I overlooked them)

As you can see, the incumbents - Ferryman and Perry - held onto their seats, so to speak. Border guardian Dan Worthington came up a couple hundred votes short and Jim (I'm a Realtor here in town) Fisler finished a very distant fourth and last.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM A BUBBLING CAULDRON

A LITTLE PAUSE IN THE ACTION...

TAKING A BREAK
The old cauldron is going on a little much needed post-election hiatus, to clear some cobwebs and gather firewood so we can keep it bubbling during the next few months. Any comments submitted here will eventually get posted, but not with the promptness you expect... Be patient.

THANKS TO MY FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS
Before I bank the fire and put the cauldron on simmer I want to take a moment to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. We live in an almost perfect place, surrounded by many, many wonderful neighbors and other friends in a city full of willing volunteers that work hard to make it an even better place. For all of them I am very thankful.THANKS TO THE CITY STAFF
Thanks, also, to the City of Costa Mesa staff. That hard working bunch of real professionals do their jobs with skill and integrity, regardless the roadblocks a few boneheaded council members (and council members elect) throw up in front of them. Their efforts, especially in the face of the adversity that faces us all these days, is much appreciated. I'm thankful to them for their efforts on our behalf.

SPECIAL THANKS TO CANDIDATES


A special thanks to those nine intrepid people who ran for City Council seats this year. As I've said before, this was a very unique group and I'm grateful to each of them for taking the time to try to make a difference in our city. To those who didn't win a seat this time around, I hope they will continue to stay involved.

REMEMBERING MY FRIEND
As some of you know, 5 years ago I was finishing the first week of what turned out to be a six week vigil at the bedside of my best friend for 57 years - since we were both 5 years old. I've written about his accident on a lonely desert road several times in the past, but will mention it again tonight. My friend, Larry Moore, was a retired LAPD officer, who spent half of his career as a motorcycle officer, so for him to crash his own personal motorcycle was completely unexpected.


LUCK AND SKILL SAVED HIS LIFE
Fortuitous arrival of tourists who were lost and their quick action flagging down a railroad work crew, who called the right people and had him flown to Las Vegas to the best trauma unit in the western United States, resulted in my friend receiving the best possible care and treatment of his injuries - all of which were substantial.

MAKING THE TOUGHEST CALL
At the end a blood clot that couldn't be treated finally broke loose and took his life. As I stood in the doorway of the hospital room watching his attending physician direct a team of specialists as they tried to bring him back again and again, memories of our lives together flashed before my eyes. Finally, when it was clear that we couldn't bring him back, I had to make the call to have them stop trying - the saddest, most difficult thing I've ever had to do.

THIS IS THE TIME TO SAY "THANKS"
So, my Thanksgiving wish to each of you is to use the spirit of this holiday to rekindle relationships that may have gone stale. Tell those you love just how you feel. Give thanks for each of them.

***
CURRENT ELECTION RESULTS
The most recent election results are posted below... nothing changed except the total votes counted. The relative positions of the candidates remain the same. According to the Registrar of Voters site, there remain just over 55,000 votes county-wide to be tallied, most of which are provisional ballots. You can view those numbers HERE. You may also view the individual races, including the Costa Mesa results HERE.

YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN NOW
It's likely that the vote count will be completed before the end of the month, so you're on your own keeping up with it now.
HAVE A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING... THAT'S AN ORDER!

Monahan Jumps The Gun - Butts In on Budget

BUTT OUT, GARY!
Will someone please explain to Gary Monahan that he's NOT on the City Council yet! I know that some of the chairs in Conference Room 1A at City Hall probably have his butt print indelibly embossed in their cushions from this previous 12 years on the council, but he has not OFFICIALLY won his seat back yet. Until that time, he's just another private citizen, governed by the same rules as the rest of us schmucks.

RULES DON'T APPLY TO HIM?
I refer to his participation in the City Council Study Session Wednesday, during which the staff presentation on probable budget trimming was discussed. Instead of participating in the normal public comments time Monahan took a seat at the big table and participated just as though he was already an elected official instead of having his comments restricted to the paltry few minutes alloted to the rest of us.

PAYBACK FOR SUPPORTING FOLEY?
As discussed in the Daily Pilot article on the meeting, HERE, Monahan joined Allan Mansoor in trying to figure out how they can cut city staff, public safety salaries and benefits and install a hiring freeze. To me, this sounds like pure political payback for the endorsement the police and fire unions gave to Katrina Foley during this last election cycle.

I TOLD YOU THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN
I've read the staff report in which the City Manager and Finance Director presented reasonable alternatives for the council to consider. However, it continues to be obvious that the new majority that will take over once the election is certified early next month is poised to ignore the best professional advice the staff provides to them and run roughshod over the city.

WHY SCARE THE STAFF?
Can someone please explain to me how, in these dire financial times, it makes any sense to threaten the city staff with salary and benefit cuts and potential layoffs when the real professionals of this city doesn't think that's necessary? This is a perfect example of what happens when you elect intellectual lightweights to positions of authority.

JUST THE BEGINNING...
As I've cautioned you before, once Monahan is sworn in he will undoubtedly try to take charge again and will almost certainly push for the position of directly elected mayor to be placed before the voters.

DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON THEM!
Don't turn you back on these people! If you don't watch them like a hawk they will bend or break the rules to accomplish their goals. With a Super majority, nothing is safe.

***

CURRENT ELECTION RESULTS
Speaking of Monahan, the most recent election results as of 5:00 p.m. Thursday shows no change in the relative positions of the candidates. Monahan still leads, with Katrina Foley behind him by 1558 votes. Foley leads Eric Bever by 954 votes and Jim Righeimer trails Bever by 1654 votes.

WHITTLING AWAY AT THE BALLOTS
According the the Registrar of Voters web site, slightly more than 63,000 votes remain to be counted county-wide and most of those are - nearly 57,000 - are provisional ballots.





Here are the most current results available:

Of Heroes And Others

GEORGE GRUPE TO SPEAK OF OUR HEROES
I noticed a little blurb in the Daily Pilot today announcing the presentation to be given by my friend, George Grupe, at the Costa Mesa Historical Society on Sunday in honor of Veterans Day.

HISTORIAN PAR EXCELLENCE
Grupe, a local historian and patriot, seems always to have any number of books, historical documents, newspaper clippings and similar paraphernalia tucked under his arm, ready to inform any of his many friends should he happen to encounter them on his daily errands.

MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS
His presentation on Sunday will focus on Orange County Medal of Honor winners, something he's spoken with me about many times. Those who care about the history of our country, and the history of our heroes in particular, are in for a real treat if you make it to Grupe's presentation on Sunday.

SUNDAY AT 2:30
According the the Daily Pilot article, Grupe's presentation will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 16th at the Costa Mesa Historical Society building, 1870 Anaheim Avenue - next to the main library adjacent to Lions Park.

***

VOTE COUNT CONTINUES - POSITIONS REMAIN THE SAME
The most recent Costa Mesa City Council election results posted yesterday at 5:00 p.m. show that all candidates are holding their previous positions. Gary Monahan holds a firm lead over Katrina Foley, who continues to hold a lead of more than 900 votes over Eric Bever. Jim Righeimer continues to trail Bever for the third seat by nearly 1600 votes.

LIKE WATCHING SAP RUN
According to the Registrar of Voters site, county-wide there still remains more than 100,000 votes to be tallied, including all 60,450 provisional ballots. I guess they will continue chipping away at those ballots for the next few weeks. According to folks at the Registrar's office, it may take the full time prescribed by statute, which would take us to December 2, 2008. For those of us watching this process it's akin to watching sap run.

CANDIDATE LINKS DELETED
By the way, I've deleted the links to the Costa Mesa City Council candidate's web sites from my list of important links on this site. The race is over, those that chose to thank their volunteers had done so and it looks like we know how this campaign will end.

Election Numbers, City Financial Woes and a New Blog In Town

LATEST ELECTION RESULTS
Checking the most recent Costa Mesa election results, as of 5:00 pm this evening shows no change in positioning by the nine candidates. All of the positions since the polls closed last Tuesday evening remain the same. Three-term councilman Gary Monahan retains a nearly 1500 vote lead over Katrina Foley. She, in turn, holds a lead of almost 800 votes over Eric Bever. Bever still leads Jim Righeimer by slightly more than 1500 votes for the final seat.


REEDY AND MC EVOY SURPRISE...
One of the really fascinating aspects of this election is the number of votes captured by Lisa Reedy and Chris McEvoy. Both ran bare bones campaigns and yet Reedy received 6,457 votes and McEvoy received 5,973.

SO DO SNEEN AND BUNYAN...
Also surprising is the expectedly poor showings by Bill Sneen and Chris Bunyan...


MORE VOTES REMAIN TO BE COUNTED
According to the Orange County Registrar of Voters site, county-wide there remains over 116,000 votes still to be counted. I guess they will be chipping away at that total the rest of this week.


***

FACING THE HARSH FINANCIAL TRUTH
The Costa Mesa City Council, at their Study Session on Wednesday, November 12, 2008, will hear recommendations from the city staff on ways to save $8,396,233 in this year's budget through extensive spending reductions. The following is one paragraph from the staff report on this subject currently posted on the city web site. The emphasis is mine.

"The City has undertaken a series of cost-cutting measures to reduce spending in light of the significant reduction in revenues in the current operating and capital improvement budget and growing budget imbalance. This imbalance in the budget has increased the City's budget deficit to approximately $10.5 million or 8.67% of the City General Fund operating budget. As has been highlighted in prior budget deliberations, this budget imbalance has been growing over the past four years but is exacerbated in the current year due to a decline in General Fund revenues attributable to the economic conditions and rising costs."

PROBLEMS NO SURPRISE
Certainly, the fact that our city is facing problems with it's budget will come as no surprise. It was acknowledged earlier this summer that the current economics - the decline in sales tax revenues and possible loss of property tax revenues - would almost certainly require some adjustments.

COUNCIL IGNORES STAFF - AGAIN
As stated in the report, the budget deficit is nothing new - it's been growing for four years. However, those few of us who actually pay attention to these things recall that the staff has recommended additional funding sources - including an increase in the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) - which were brushed aside by the current council. The staff has their finger on the pulse on our city finances and provided their best professional guidance to the council, which chose to ignore it.

COSTLY HABIT
This has become a very bad habit by this council. Maybe it's the "improver" arrogance at work, but they seem to feel that simply being elected automatically makes them experts on every subject that faces our city. Well, it didn't, which they demonstrate time after time after time. All the members of the current and future council are culpable - Gary Monahan was part of the council for half of those four years.

***

NEW BLOG IN TOWN!
In case you're interested, there's a new blog in town. Community activist and frequent participant on this blog and others, including the Daily Pilot blog, Bruce Krochman, has decided to dip his toe into the icy waters of Costa Mesa blogdom. His new blog, Civil Thinking, is in it's infancy, but I expect good things from it.

BRUCE ON THE CASE
Krochman has demonstrated that he gives important issues focused attention and makes excellent points. I'm sure his blog will become yet another important voice in our community. I've provided a link to his blog on the right side of this page. Welcome aboard, Bruce.

Marching Orders Delivered!

LISTEN UP!
Attention, you "improver" council members and members-elect! (You can listen, too, Katrina)

"THE MOUTH" SPEAKS!
The keeper of all knowledge, your guiding light of the so-called "improver movement", The Mouth From Mesa North, has issued his marching orders for you in his blog entry over at the CM Press. Normally, I don't link to his drivel, but it's important for you to have a song book for your next term of office so you don't stray from the path he has laid out for you. Here's the link.

PAY ATTENTION!
Your leader, The Mouth, has presented his game plan - 15 items for you to follow, whether you like it or not. I recommend that you pay close attention because there will be consequences if you don't. More on that later...

AN ARCHITECT HE AIN'T
At #5 on the list is his architectural preference for new homes on the Westside Bluffs - something he calls "industrial modern" - and he provides a photograph just in case those of you that are just a little slow can have a nice picture to help you understand. I'm sure he will provide a coloring book if you need it. Of course, his example is located out in the wilds somewhere, with the closest neighbor about a quarter mile away. I look at that piece of corrugated metal, slab-sided, tin roofed junk and try to figure out why anyone would even consider putting something like that on Costa Mesa's Westside. I guess architecture is just another of the many careers at which he didn't excel - like acting.

LATINO EXPULSION BLUEPRINT
I find number's 3, 8 and12 to be interesting. These items - "Increase ICE in Costa Mesa and remove even more illegal alien criminals", "Thin out dense slum 'blocks' by removing individual slum buildings and replacing them with parking lots or pocket parks." and "Stop spending citizen money on programs that attract and maintain illegal aliens in Costa Mesa."- are clearly directed at the Latino population of our city. No surprise here - he's anti-anything but white, so this fits his ongoing program of expulsion of Latinos from our city.

NO AUTHORITY
Number 9 in a real hoot. He says he wants you to "Ensure that whatever happens on Banning Ranch doesn't harm Costa Mesa." Now, how - exactly - would he have you do that? The City of Costa Mesa has no authority over Banning Ranch, thanks to that wonderful one-foot lasso of land that Newport Beach threw around it decades ago. Banning Ranch is private property, presently located in the County of Orange and within the sphere of influence of the City of Newport Beach. We get no vote on what happens there, one way or the other. Of course, you could vote to build a wall on our contiguous property lines there, but that would fly in the face of yet another of his instructions - number 6.

GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!
Number 6 instructs you to "Increase cooperation with Newport Beach on as many fronts as possible." I guess Banning Ranch wouldn't be one of those fronts, just as the annexation issues are not one of those fronts, either. And, history shows us that the new council isn't eager to achieve harmony with our neighbors. Quite the contrary, at least three of the members that will be on the dais following the election have demonstrated hostility toward our neighbors.

STAGGERING AROUND TRIANGLE SQUARE
Number 13, "Work to make the downtown area around Triangle Square a pedestrian friendly destination." This just makes me just shake my head. How about using whatever influence the council has to make Triangle Square the vibrant retail center once envisioned, for goodness sakes! Right now the only businesses that are holding on are gin mills. Maybe The Mouth has a vision of a place that's friendly for the drunks that stagger out of those places in the wee hours of the morning.

WHAT?
Number 14 is another curious one. He directs you to "Work more with individual neighborhoods on neighborhood specific programs to improve those neighborhoods." What the heck does that mean? Does that mean we all get together for a group hug? Some might say that it means, for example, working with the folks in Mesa North to find a way to encourage a certain resident to move to Idaho - I'll buy the ticket.

REGRESSION LESSON
There are many more, but I'll leave you with his instruction Number 11, " Consider changing our city's motto back to "Hub of the Harbor". What a crock! This one is the perfect example of what this guy wants for our community - to turn back the clock a half-century.

SHAPE UP! TOE THAT LINE!
So, council members, you've got your instructions, so get with it. Yes sir, you'd better follow his "guidance" because you know what happens if you don't. I'll remind you with two words - Chris Steel.



***

THE LATEST ELECTION NUMBERS
On a happier note, the following is the chart showing the most recent election numbers. Not much has changed except Katrina Foley widened her lead on Eric Bever. Every candidate picked up a few votes in the past 24 hours, but not enough to change their relative positions.


WHO WILL LEAD?
I guess now we just wait for the election to be certified - maybe as early as the meeting of December 2nd, and to watch to see who is elected Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem. I'll go out on a limb here and bet that Katrina Foley will not be nominated for either position - what do you think?

BUBBLE, BUBBLE...
I'm turning the Cauldron down to simmer for the weekend, so comments might be slow to get posted. Be patient...

24 HOURS LATER...

UPDATED NUMBERS - NO POSITION CHANGES
The following chart shows the Costa Mesa City Council race numbers as of 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. Although a few more votes had been tallied, nothing changed as far as the positions in which the nine candidates finished the race.

LOOKING FOR A SILVER LINING
Today, still sleep-deprived after staying up until 3 a.m. to post the previous entry, I'm trying to come to grips with what the result of this election means. I suppose there must be something positive in a previously termed-out, 12 year councilman returning again to the municipal trough. I guess there must be something positive about a first term councilman and current mayor being returned to the dais even though he demonstrated unwarranted arrogance during the campaign and became virtually invisible during the last month. I'm trying, but I'm having a hard time with those two "winners".

FOLEY'S COMING BACK!
I'm very happy that Katrina Foley will be returning to the City Council. She's been the smartest, best-prepared member over the past four years and that won't change as a result of this election. Now we'll find out if she is the most patient person up there.

A BLEAK FUTURE FOR FOLEY ON THE DAIS
One thing is certain - if Foley thought she had a tough time the past four years, she ain't seen nothin' yet, as the saying goes. She will now be part of a city council that is comprised of four so-called "improvers" and herself. That means the "improvers" hold what is known as a "Super Majority" - four-fifths of the votes. With those votes there is virtually nothing they can't do if they want to...

SOME FINAL POSITIONS SURPRISED ME
I was surprised by several of the vote tallies. I expected Nick Moss - a really nice young guy - to finish last, and he did. I did not expect Bill Sneen and Chris Bunyan to finish 7th and 8th, though. Both ran what appeared to be strong campaigns, while Lisa Reedy and Chris McEvoy - who ran bare-bones campaigns - finished ahead of them at 5th and 6th. Politics! I'll never figure it out...

WHAT HAPPENED TO RIGGY?
For me, perhaps the biggest surprise was the weak showing made by Jim Righeimer, who finished a very distant fourth in the voting behind Eric Bever despite, from all reports, raising and spending more money than any other candidate. In the last month of the race his smiling face spilled out of my mailbox at a rate that was probably double any other candidate - it seemed that every other piece of literature had his face on it.

"THE MOUTH" HAS ALL THE ANSWERS
That yapping hyena, The Mouth From Mesa North, has it all figured out, though. In his blog entry this morning - I'll paraphrase for brevity - he implies that Righeimer didn't win a seat for several reasons. He thinks the Obamanization of this election (my word, not his) helped Foley score votes to Riggy's detriment. He said Riggy lacked "the common touch" - which sounded very much like saying he didn't spend enough time kissing "improver" butts.

TOO WILLING TO GET ALONG?
Astonishingly, he also feels Riggy didn't win because "he was too willing to get along with the other side and would compromise too easily on important improvement issues." That's right - he thinks Riggy lost because he seemed willing to work with a broad cross-section of residents instead of simply following the "improver" party line. That statement by The Mouth defines precisely what is wrong with a city council dominated by narrow-minded "improvers". It makes me want to puke!!

WRONG SEX?
And, finally, The Mouth thinks Riggy should have a sex change operation. Yep, he thinks Riggy would have done better if he'd been a woman. I guess we'll have to advise Riggy that, if he's not willing to go "all the way" with a sex change, maybe he could become a "transgender" person next time around to satisfy The Mouth.

"THE MOUTH" WRAPS IT UP
So, there you have it on the whole Riggy issue - The Mouth has defined it very nicely. (URP!)

MARKING TIME FOR MONAHAN'S NEXT MOVE
That's all for tonight. I'll write some more about other candidates at a later date. Right now I'm thinking about setting up a pool to guess how long it takes the top vote-getter, Gary Monahan, to dredge up the subject of a directly-elected mayor again. He's back at the trough again and will be looking for a lifetime appointment so he won't have to worry about how much suds he sloshes at Skosh's every night.