Next-To-Last Count Tonight

TOMORROW SHOULD BE THE DAY...
It's very likely that the count tonight as provided by the Registrar Of Voters is the next-to-last count of this election.  County-wide there remain only 100 ballots to be tallied.  Today Sandra Genis gained another 42 votes, which leaves her at 15,978, and 1,779 votes ahead of Steve Mensinger.  The more they count the further she moves ahead of him.  Mensinger had 14,199 votes and is 257 ahead of Gary Monahan.  In the all-important race for the third spot Monahan is now 153 votes ahead of John Stephens.  Colin McCarthy is 239 votes behind Stephens and Harold Weitzberg lags behind McCarthy by 1,752 votes.  Al Melone and James Rader trail the field.

THANKSGIVING IS THE GOAL
Neal Kelly, the Orange County Registrar of Voters, told us his goal was to be finished with the counting by Thanksgiving.  It certainly looks like he'll meet that goal with only 100 ballots remaining.

TONIGHT'S NUMBERS

Stephens, Weitzberg, Genis Top Ballot

 BALLOT POSITION ANNOUNCED
The California Secretary Of State released the randomized alphabet that will be used to determine the position on the ballot for each elective office in the state.  Based on that information, this is what the Costa Mesa City Council ballot will look like

John Stephens

Harold Weitzberg

Sandra Genis

Colin McCarthy

Gary Monahan

Al Melone

Steve Mensinger

James Rader

PERHAPS AN OMEN OF THINGS TO COME?

Since many scientific studies have determined that the position on the ballot has much to do with the success of a candidacy, those of us looking for a change on November 6th have a glimmer of encouragement in front of us.

GET CRACKIN'...

Now the real work begins.  Now is the time for the candidates to ramp-up their efforts, begin knocking on doors and delivering the message.

To Bring Costa Mesa Back To The Top

Just Vote 1, 2, 3 And Stop!

Rader Speaks Out - And Bows Out

RADER FOLDS CAMPAIGN BEFORE IT BEGAN
Newcomer Costa Mesa City Council Candidate James Rader announced today that he will NOT actively campaign for a seat on the council in November, citing time constraints that will preclude him from creating an organization to effectively campaign this season.

WILL SUPPORT GENIS
He has decided to support the candidacy of former mayor Sandra Genis and outlines the reasons why in his brief press release this afternoon.

NAME WILL STILL BE ON THE BALLOT
Even though Rader's name will remain on the ballot, we can only hope it will not be a distraction to the voters when they make their selections in November.  Thanks to Mr. Rader for making this decision so promptly.

PRESS RELEASE FOLLOWS
Here's the text of James Rader's press release:

August 15, 2012Re: Costa Mesa City Election, 2012

James Rader – Press Release

When I decided to run for the City Council, my goal was to be an active part of the process, and help move the city forward. Unfortunately, I waited until the last day of the nomination period to declare my candidacy. Now that I am a candidate, I see that there just isn’t enough time to create a campaign plan and build a viable organization before the November election. Bottom line, I will not be actively campaigning for the City Council.

That being said, I still plan to take an active role in the process by supporting Sandy Genis for City Council. Sandy has experience, and a good track record. As a public servant, she has demonstrated her commitment to making Costa Mesa a comfortable and safe place to live, and work.

This decision was not an easy one, but it is better that I make it now rather than at a later date.

Thank you very much for your support.

James Rader

The Answer To The Question "Who Is That Guy?"

BACK TO WORK...
OK, folks... the partying is over... thanks for all the kind words.  Now back to business.

MEETING JAMES RADER
I had a chance to speak with the unknown candidate for Costa Mesa City Council, James Rader, earlier this week.  He was kind enough to return my calls and we had a nice chat about him and his candidacy.  I must tell you that I liked him a lot based on that conversation.

WESTSIDE ENGINEER
Mr. Rader - a Westside resident -  is an engineer involved with customer interface in the custom circuit board business.  He's been doing this kind of work for almost three decades and has been with his current employer for a dozen years.

HOMELESS ISSUE MOTIVATED HIM
He tells me that he decided to throw his hat in the ring because of his frustration with the homeless situation near his home - across the street from Lions Park.  I'm sure most of us can understand that, for sure.  He complained about transients sleeping near his home, defiling his trash cans and making every trip across the street to the library or Historical Society an adventure in personal safety.

MANY OTHERS HAD A SINGLE ISSUE
It's been my observation that, over the years, it has been a single issue that has prompted many of our local politicians to get involved, so his reasoning didn't surprise me.  What did surprise me was his almost complete lack of knowledge - or even awareness - of many of the important issues that have been swirling around our city for the past few years.

UNAWARE...
For example, he was completely unaware of the Homeless Task Force that had been working diligently to try to identify and solve the many elements of the "homeless problem".  Since that was his motivating issue, I kind of expected him to be a little more up to speed on that one, if nothing else.

...ABOUT MOST ISSUES
He also has NO knowledge of the Charter issue, only a cursory awareness of the outsourcing drama and is vaguely aware of the budget issues facing the city.  He told me he has no acquaintanceship with any of the other candidates and only knows Gary Monahan because he's eaten at his place a couple times.



I UNDERSTAND
I don't get too excited when I meet residents who are clueless about important issues because that was me for nearly three decades.  I was like most folks in this town - I went to work each day out of the city, worked hard to make a living, then returned home to enjoy the fruits of those labors.  I figured I was in good hands - that the elected leaders of the city would do the right things on my behalf.  Yep, I, too, was clueless.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS, THOUGH
However, it's a BIG problem for me when a person takes the step to file as a candidate for City Council - paying the fees, gathering the necessary signatures and exposing his life to the world - with so little awareness of the important issues in the city and the time it will take to do the job even moderately well.

A MISTAKE, BUT TOO LATE...
It was clear during my conversation with him that Mr. Rader knew he made a mistake by filing because when the City Clerk called to tell him he had qualified for the ballot he asked her if it was too late to withdraw.  The answer, of course, was YES!  That's a real shame, because this race is going to be a barn-burner and every single vote will count.  Even if he avoids every candidate forum - he's going to miss the first one because of a planned vacation - and does NO campaigning at all he will likely get 1,000 votes in November that would have gone to someone else.
NO PARTY AFFILIATION
Mr. Rader describes himself as a "decline to state" candidate.  He told me that he had been a registered Democrat, then switched to the Republican Party, then re-registered in his current status several years ago.  So, because he doesn't know the issues, we don't know how his presence on the ballot might impact the election.   I guess we'll see.

HE'S GOT HIS HANDS FULL
He told me he's going to be very busy doing his homework to get up to speed on the issues.  Based on the number and complexity of those issues, he's certainly going to have his hands full.  I wish him well and actually do look forward to meeting him at the forums if he decides to actually participate in the process.

WHAT A SHAME...I shudder to think about the possibility of this election - the second-most important one in the city's history - being decided by the votes cast for a man who made a mistake in filing.  Let's hope that's not the case.

Candidates and Forum Dates

BACK DOWN TO EIGHT
According to the Costa Mesa's Interim City Clerk, Brenda Green, this morning, there will be eight (8) candidates on the ballot for the three council seats available in November.  Apparently late-filer Tom Hopkins did not have enough signatures on his petition.  So, in alphabetical order, here are the folks from whom you will make your selection:

Sandra L. "Sandy" Genis
Colin McCarthy
Al Melone
Steve Mensinger
Gary Monahan
James Rader
John Stephens
Harold Weitzberg

WHO IS THIS GUY?
I hope to spend some time with James Rader early this week to find out what prompted him to jump into this race so late in the game, what his views are on the issues, etc.  I'll report more when I know it.

GOOD-BYE, MARY JANE
Also, the Medical Marijuana initiative failed to qualify for the November ballot.  Although the proponents turned in 6,777 signatures, 5811 were required but only 5,703 were valid.

 *****

POLITICAL FORUM SCHEDULE
So you can plan your fall candidate viewing, here is the most recent version of the schedule of Political Forums in Costa Mesa.  Each of these events will be held at the Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Avenue (at Lions Park next door to the library).

Wednesday, August 29 

Mesa Verde Community, Inc. hosts the first forum of the season.  Their president, Darnell Wyrick will moderate the event.  Doors open at 6:30 and the program will run from 7-8:30.

Wednesday, September 5 

Barbara Venezia and her merry band of journalist/interrogators will host a Feet To The Fire Forum for council candidates.  Doors open at 6:30 and the program runs from 7-8:30.

Thursday, September 20 

Costa Mesa United hosts a forum that will include all Costa Mesa council candidates plus the three school board members that were eligible to run for re-election.  Since none of them had opposition they will automatically perpetuate their terms without appearing on the ballot.  President Gordon Bowley will moderate this forum, the theme of which will be "Academics, Athletics and Activities".

Monday, October 15 
Barbara Venezia is back for another Feet To The Fire Forum at which the subject will be Jim Righeimer's Charter.   She and her fellow interrogators will moderate a discussion between proponents and opponents of this issue.  At this point we understand Jim Righeimer will be one of the proponent panelists and, perhaps,  Orange County Employee Association General Manager Nick Berardino as one of the opponent panelists.  Other panelists are unknown at this time.

Thursday, October 18 

Later that week my friends in the Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbors Group will host the final council forum of this campaign season.  Doors will open at 6:30 and the event will run from 7 - 8:30.  This event, which two years ago was the best of the bunch, will be moderated again by Marnie O'Brien Primmer.  This will be the final chance for voters to see their candidates in action and to try to measure them before casting ballots.

If anything changes on any of these forums I'll immediately notify you so you can plan ahead.

Nine Is The Magic Number!

DEADLINE MET...
Shortly after 5:00 p.m. today, Friday, August 10th, the Costa Mesa City Clerk's office released the names of the candidates who completed and submitted the necessary paperwork by the deadline to run for a seat on the Costa Mesa City Council in November.

TRIPLE THE SEATS AVAILABLE
There are nine (9) candidates who completed the paperwork and three of those are still having the necessary signatures required for this process being certified by the Registrar of Voters.

AND THE CANDIDATES ARE...
Here is the list of those souls who are running for one of the three seats available on the Costa Mesa City Council in November:

Sandra L. "Sandy" Genis

Tom Hopkins

Colin McCarthy

Al Melone

Steve Mensinger

Gary Monahan

James Rader

John Stephens

Harold Weitzberg

SIGNATURES STILL PENDING ON 3
As of this writing just after 6:00 p.m. the certification of the signatures for Genis, Hopkins and Rader is pending.

TWO NEW GUYS
The only surprises are Tom Hopkins and James Rader - names that are unfamiliar to many who follow local politics.  I've placed calls to both men to chat with them about their reasons for filing to run for city council.  I'll report more when I know it.

SALESMEN...
Mr. Rader is an electronics salesman who lives on the Westside of town.
Mr. Hopkins is an "international broker", working for MONEX and lives in the north part of town.

MORE TO FOLLOW...
I have no idea what their views are on any of the major issues in town.  Hopefully, a conversation will enlighten us.  In the meantime they're all off and running...