SPECIAL DISTRICT RACES

YEAH, I'M BACK AGAIN...
Yes, there are more races we should address as the 2020 campaign season has now launched - and who really knows what THAT means?  I sure don't!  Are we going to have candidate forums? Are we going to have Zoom debates?  Are we just going to close our eyes and stab at our ballots, then mail them in? Will President Trump emasculate the United States Postal Service so our votes won't make it to the Registrar?  Anyhow, there are more races to be discussed and I'm going to give you my take, early in the season, for whatever it's worth.  HERE is a link to the page on the OC Registrar of Voters web page that gives you some info on each of the following candidates.

COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT
As most know, the Costa Mesa Sanitary District was extorted, just as the City of Costa Mesa and many other municipal entities were, into voting by district.  That required creating districts, then staggering the elections for those districts.  And, of course, the district boundaries are similar, but not the same, as the City boundaries or those of other districts that operate within Costa Mesa.  Yeah, confusion reigns.  This time around the CMSD has two seats being contested.  I'll address each of those individually.

DIVISION 2
This seat, is currently held by long, long time incumbent JAMES FERRYMAN, a man with a very long history of service to our community, including his tour as one of the strong leaders of the CMSD.  He would be my choice, hands down, if I could vote in this race.  He is challenged by BRETT ECKLES, a man with a youth sports orientation and a strong allegiance to the former political regime led by Jim Righeimer and Steve Mensinger.  Two years ago he ran against Andrea Marr for the 2nd District City Council seat and was soundly trounced by her.  I suspect that was because she brought such strong academic and leadership credentials to the race AND he carried the baggage of that previous administration.  He has not lost that baggage and Jim Ferryman has too much experience and leadership to be tossed aside.  Jim Ferryman is far and away the best choice.

DIVISION 4
In this race we have a similar situation.  ART PERRY is a long time community leader and educator.  His experience on the CMSD board has contributed to it being one of the most highly-regarded special districts in Orange County, if not the state.  Under the leadership of men like Art Perry and Jim Ferryman the CMSD has shown just how well such an organization can be run - with efficiency and fiscal responsibility.  Art Perry would be my guy in this race.  He is challenged by MICHELLE FIGUEREDO-WILSON, a woman with zero municipal experience.  She also challenged for a seat on the City Council two years ago, and, despite serious support from the OC GOP hierarchy, was soundly whipped by young newcomer Manuel Chavez.  She gained only 709 votes in that election.  She brings nothing to the table - to academic credentials nor demonstrated leadership experience.  She is a constant complainer via the social media sites and is closely allied with the above-mentioned Righeimer/Mensinger cabal.  Nope.. Art Perry's experience and long-time dedication to our community make him the easy choice in this race.

MESA WATER DISTRICT
It's interesting that, although there are three seats up for grabs, only one will be contested.  The seats held by incumbents FRED BOCKMILLER and MARICE DE PASAQUALE will not be contested - nobody stepped up to challenge them.  However, the Division 2 seat held by incumbent JAMES R. FISLER is being contested.  He is being challenged by newcomer, but home-town boy, ADAM C. ERETH, a member of the iconic Perry clan in town.  He brings an exceptional academic and work background to this race and will be a very refreshing replacement for the onerous Righeimer/Mensinger sycophant, Fisler.  I've watched Fisler over the years and have come away singularly unimpressed with his tours on various commissions and committees.  He's a politician who brings no expertise to any assignment.  I expect this will be a tough race - Fisler is well-connected in that part of town - but Ereth brings a special new kind of energy to this race and would certainly be a breath of fresh air on that board.  If I could vote in this race Adam Ereth would be my guy.

MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT OF ORANGE COUNTY (MWDOC)
There are several seats on this board being contested this time around, but only one with a local connection.

DIVISION 4
This race will be hotly-contested by an interesting mix of people.  There are two people about which I know absolutely nothing about - CHRISTOPHER GANIERE and DANA M. REED.  They apparently have no prior public service experience and will not get my vote.

Mesa Water District manager STACY LYNNE TAYLOR  has a strong Public Relations background at Mesa Water.  I've met her and don't dislike her, but I will not consider her because there is a much stronger candidate on the ballot and she is one more member of the Mesa Water power-hungry hierarchy trying to spread it's tentacles throughout the regional water management infrastructure.

Next is re-tread and termed out Costa Mesa Councilman ALLAN MANSOOR - a guy looking for another public trough to which he can belly-up.  Right up front, I am NOT a Mansoor fan.  Although he is a multi-term councilman, his times on the council were "distinguished" only by his anti-immigrant positions - he wanted to turn every Costa Mesa police officer into an ICE officer, for example.  He was named as an honorary "Minuteman" by the anti-immigrant leader, Jim Gilchrist, for goodness sake!  He has no record of accomplishment here - only divisiveness - or in the California State Assembly seat he held before returning to local politics.  He has been a willing pawn for the local OC GOP power brokers and brings nothing - no demonstrated leadership at any level, no strong academic credentials, no technical expertise, zero - to this particular race.  I strongly suspect that the only thing he knows about water is when he admiringly goes "ooohhh" as he watches it swirl around the toilet bowl when he flushes it.  The last time he ran for public office was two years ago when he ran, as a seated councilman and former mayor,  for the District 5 council seat.  He was crushed by newcomer Arlis Reynolds - making it clear that his neighbors knew him and rejected his brand of politics.  I suspect that will happen in this race, too.

Which brings us to the final person on the ballot - my friend and neighbor, KARL SECKEL.  Notwithstanding the fact that he lives in my neighborhood and I've gotten to know him over the past several years, as an old resume-reader for decades I can tell you that he brings a nearly perfect background for this job.  He has worked for MWDOC for nearly 4 decades and has an outstanding academic, technical and management background for this assignment.  He will retire the end of this year and his presence on this board will provide an extraordinary level of continuity of technical and professional leadership.  He is endorsed by the incumbent, Joan Finnegan.  This is an easy call for me -   Karl Seckel will enthusiastically get my vote.

SCHOOL BOARD?
Maybe next time.  I know nothing about any of the candidates except one.  So, I'll try to do my homework and get back to you - maybe I'll actually read Steve Smith's blog! :-)

Two Committees Off And Running

TWO MORE COMMITTEES GOOD TO GO
As mentioned in my earlier post, the new Finance and Pension Advisory Committee and the re-constituted Bikeway and Walkability Committee both met yesterday, elected leaders and have launched themselves off on their assigned tasks.  Although I attended neither meeting, sources who were in attendance provided some insight for us.

FINANCE AND PENSION ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHOOSES FISLER AND TABOADA
The Finance and Pension Advisory Committee chose former Planning Commissioner and current Mesa Water Board member Jim Fisler as Chairman and Ralph Taboada as Vice Chair.  Members Wendy Leece, Taboada, Robert Juneman, John Hinson and Anna Vrska were selected to become members of the Pension Working Group, a sub-committee that apparently will be charged with examining the pension issues and providing information to the broader group.  Although the information was a little fuzzy, it seems that Taboada will act as chair of that group.  It's unclear when they will next meet.

BUDGET SHORTFALL PROBABLE...
Among the issues discussed were the current year budget - apparently all signs indicate a slight budget shortfall by the end of the fiscal year in June.  I'm told Interim Finance Director Steve Dunivent provided a series of options for the council to consider.

NEW FIRE PLAN NOT DISCUSSED
There was a plan to hear from Fire Chief Dan Stefano on the latest iteration of his deployment plan, but that didn't happen.  This item is on the agenda for the City Council meeting on Tuesday.

So, this group is organized and ready to operate.  Thanks to the volunteers who formed this group.  They meet next on May 10th.

*****

BIKE COMMITTEE CHOOSES ERICKSON AND MC DONALD TO LEAD THEM
The Bikeway and Walkability Committee met at the Senior Center last evening and chose Jim Erickson as Chairman and Cynthia McDonald was selected to continue as Vice Chair.  All members, as well as Chamber of Commerce liaison Brent Stoll, attended.  Mayor Katrina Foley and NMUSD liaison Dr. Kirk Bauermeister were absent.

ALL BRIEFED AND READY TO GO
According to Public Services Director Raja Sethuraman, the committee was briefed on important procedural issues - the Brown Act, etc., - and were oriented about recent accomplishments and discussed issues they would like to address moving forward.  Again, another good group, willing to work for the betterment of the of the community.  Thanks to them all.  They will next meet on Wednesday, May 3rd.

Contemplating The Election

CONTEMPLATING
With two hours before the polls close here in Orange County and national media beginning their non-stop avalanche of news about the big election, I find myself with a few things on my mind about our local elections.

DON'T GET EXCITED ABOUT EARLY RETURNS
As you all know, in the last two council elections seats were captured with fewer than 200 votes - 155 votes blocked John Stephens and 47 blocked Jay Humphrey.  For this reason I doubt anyone will be calling the council election tonight.  It will likely take a couple days to get all the votes tallied and the celebrating will begin.

IMPACT OF ANTI-SOCIAL MEDIA?
I find myself wondering what impact, if any, social media - actually, the "anti-social media" - will have had on this election cycle locally.  The evolution of the Costa Mesa Public Square and other sites makes me curious about just what real impact they will have.  The CMPS is a closed site, so proponents of the existing power elite in Costa Mesa - the council majority and their sycophants and other appointees - jabber back and forth with each other on important issues but other residents with opposing viewpoints are blocked from participating.  That fact makes me question the value of the site.  They claim more than 8,000 members, but more than a few of those are outside Costa Mesa - outside the state, for that matter.  And, since some of the primary participants on that site are proven liars, I wonder how much you can trust the stuff being spewed there.

IMPACT OF PRECINCT WALKERS?
I wonder about the impact of the hundreds of volunteers who have walked the precincts for the past couple months in support of the slate of candidates opposing the Mensinger/Mansoor/Ramos slate - John Stephens, Sandy Genis and Jay Humphrey?  I wonder how the firefighters participation in those precinct walks will be interpreted?

IMPACT OF POLITICAL COWARDICE?
I wonder about the impact of the candidate forums this year.  How will the voters interpret the absence of the MMR candidates?  Will they presume they were afraid of being required to answer questions important to specific segments of the electorate?

IMPACT OF LYING?
I wonder about the impact of the decision by Judge Dunning that Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, candidate Lee Ramos and three other residents who signed it actually produced misrepresentations and flat-out lies on the rebuttal argument to Measure Y, the Smart Growth Initiative?  Will the fact that they have been adjudged as liars impact the election?

IMPACT OF THE BOGUS, CONFUSING INITIATIVES?
I wonder about the impact of the placement of expensive, confusing, competing ballot measures to try to defeat Measure Y, Measure AA - the Preserve Fairview Park Initiative - and the two medical marijuana initiatives.  In theory, Measure X competes with Measures V and W, but it has no retail sales element.  I wonder how the electorate feels about paying $8,500 each for mailers to promote those issues?

I WONDER IF THE ELECTORATE WILL BE FOOLED BY MEASURE EE?
I wonder if the pubic will be snookered by Righeimer's hijacking of the vote-by-districts issue when he demanded, and got, Measure EE - the 6-districts and directly-elected mayor - placed on the ballot instead of the resident-preferred 5-district choice?  Will the the voters see through that scheme and vote Measure EE down and let a judge choose the districting map for us?

I WONDER IF THE ELECTORATE WILL BE FOOLED BY MESA WATER?
Will the voters see through the plan by the Mesa Water District Board to implement a hostile takeover by the financially solid Costa Mesa Sanitary District?  Despite all the money spent by Mesa Water - estimated by election day to be in excess of $400,000, including a couple misleading mailers - will the voters reject Measure TT?

WILL THE ELECTORATE RETURN PROVEN LEADERSHIP TO CMSD?
Will the electorate re-elect proven leadership for the Costa Mesa Sanitary District by returning Jim Ferryman and Art Perry to the board, or will they decide to select addiction providers Gary Monahan and our village idiot, defrocked board member, marijuana advocate and campaign cheater, Jim Fitzpatrick?

WILL THE VOTERS TOSS FISLER FOR REICH?
Will the voters toss out Mesa Water District Director Jim Fisler in favor of a really smart, dedicated breath of fresh air, Alex Reich?

CHECKING BEGINNING AT 8 P.M.
Tonight I will check the Registrar of Voters site, HERE, to see what the early results are and, depending on what happens, report on them.  However, history in Costa Mesa tells us that it may be a couple days before we know who was successful in winning seats on the City Council and which of the eight ballot measures will pass and fail.

COULD HAVE SAVED TIME
If my vote was the only one that was counted tonight Genis, Humphrey and Stephens would win, Measure Y and Measure AA would win and all the rest would fail.  We could have saved Neal Kelley a lot of time and trouble if we'd just go with my vote.

 

NO SINGING YET...
More later...  Since it's unlikely that the critical council races will be finally determined until later this week, those who know her can tell Jami Joanne Russell that she doesn't need to limber up her pipes until later.

A Hostile Takeover Of The Costa Mesa Sanitary District?

IS MESA WATER PLANNING A COUP?
According to informed sources, rumor has it that the Board of Directors of the Mesa Water District may be planning to attempt a hostile takeover of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District.

PUSHING FOR A QUICK REPLY
Apparently officials of Mesa Water have approached the Costa Mesa Sanitary District with a proposal for Mesa Water to absorb the Costa Mesa Sanitary District and have asked for an early response from the CMSD Board on this issue.  It's my understanding that no discussions by the CMSD Board have taken place yet and it's not clear whether the Mesa Water Board has held official discussions, either in open or closed sessions.

NOT SURPRISING...
This is interesting, but not surprising.  It would represent a further expansion of the sphere of influence by certain city politicians over all segments of our lives - and not for the better in my humble opinion.

AN ODD MOVE
Normally, if a special district attempts to take over another it's because that district is in financial difficulty.  That's what makes this so curious, since both Mesa Water and Costa Mesa Sanitary District are on solid financial footing.  In fact, the CMSD is currently negotiating the sale of their current facility on West 19th Street and is purchasing a newer, larger facility near John Wayne Airport.

IS MONAHAN INVOLVED?
There could be many things at play here.  For example, it is presumed that Gary Monahan will, once again, try to land a seat on the CMSD board since he's termed out on the City Council again for the second time.  He's already apparently spouting off about what he will do when elected to that body.  Could this be the first step to attempt to discredit incumbent candidates?  Seems likely.

HE'S STAYED TOO LONG AT THE TROUGH
On that subject, it's my opinion that Monahan has spent much too long at the public trough.  For the past five years he's demonstrated a willingness to just "phone it in" -  go with the flow of the council power couple, Jim Righeimer and Steve Mensinger.  Because he's virtually a guaranteed third vote, the council has had few study sessions at which controversial and important issues could be fleshed out by the council and public before an official vote is taken.

IT'S ALL ABOUT POWER
Mesa Water has a similar unbreakable troika, with Shawn Dewane, Jim Fisler and Ethan Temanka controlling the agenda.  All three are tight with the council majority.

STAY TUNED...
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.  It would seem that the Costa Mesa Sanitary District has no reason to consider such a move.  Stay tuned...

Big Night At Mesa Water Board Meeting

MUCH-DESERVED RECOGNITION
Thursday night was a big one for the Mesa Water District Board, and for those of us they serve.  Last night they received proclamations from numerous official bodies, congratulating them - and us - on exceeding the State-mandated 20% water savings.  The district managed to save more than 21%, thanks to the outstanding efforts of the organization for their practical solutions to the problem, their excellent public awareness campaign and to most of us who use their services.

MY APOLOGIES
I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos... I just took my Iphone to this meeting, not expecting to "cover" it.  The distance and lighting taxed it's capabilities, so I didn't get good shots of most of the participants.  The best image is provided by Mesa Water - the group shot below.

EARLY SCHMOOZE-FEST

It was interesting to watch the many politicians in the room mingle and schmooze.  Here's a photo of Mayor Steve Mensinger having his photo taken with Michele Steel.

PROCLAMATIONS
Board President Shawn Dewane accepted proclamations from State Senator John Moorlach (in absentia); Assemblyman Matt Harper - who showed up looking all dapper in his chapeau.  I thought for a moment he might break into a song and dance number; Supervisor Michele Steel; Director Bob Ooten from the Costa Mesa Sanitary District; Mayor Steve Mensinger representing the City of Costa Mesa; President Cathy Green from the Orange County Water District; a representative of Congressman Dana Rhorabacher and others I didn't catch.  The kudos were well-deserved.

PRESS RELEASES
Additionally, as covered in the Mesa Water press release, HERE, the district bestowed awards on ten (10) groups they identified as "Mega" Mesa Water Savers.  The City of Costa Mesa also produced a page on Costa Mesa Connected, HERE, describing the event and including many images.

SPECIAL "SEGERSTROM" MOMENT
There were many highlights of those presentations.  For example, when Justin McCusker, representing C.J. Segerstrom & Sons stepped up to receive their award Dewane almost waxed poetic as he described the monumental contributions made to water issues by the Segerstrom family, and Henry Segerstrom in particular.  It was a nice touch.

KUDOS TO THE CITY
The City of Costa Mesa also received an award for their efforts in conserving water.  It was a special moment when, among the many dignitaries receiving accolades, the representative chosen to accept the award was Lead Maintenance Worker Philip Willey, accompanied by his lovely daughter.  When I spoke today with Bruce Hartley, his boss, he told me Philip was chosen because he's the guy who gets it done.  He's the one who makes sure all the sophisticated watering devices around the city work as expected and that the madates are met.  This was a very special moment for me - seeing the value of the folks who actually do the work acknowledged for their efforts.  Good for Hartley!  And, during the photo ops Mensinger made sure we knew he was there.  Councilwoman Katrina Foley also attended the meeting.

YEP, WE GOT ONE, TOO
Oh, yes... my sweet and very patient wife and I received an award, too.  We were one of two single-family residences - the other being Janice & Steven Frates - to receive acknowledgement of significant water savings.  We're very proud of this acknowledgement.  We spent a lot of time and effort designing and installing our new front yard - replacing a lawn with drought-tolerant plants, each one individually irrigated with a drip system.  As you can see from the images below, the plants - just a year old this month - have not only survived, but thrived.  Only those two bougainvillea plants were original - all the rest are new plantings.  The Santa Barbara Daisies and Mexican Sage have just exploded, as have the Kangaroo Paws, the roses and all the rest.  We hope our efforts will encourage more of you to experiment with water saving landscaping choices.  You don't have to install as many plants as we did - it was our choice to provide a demonstration garden, to show you what can be done.  And, FYI, Mesa Water acknowledged that we've saved around 40% on our water consumption.  In actuality, comparing month-to-month to previous years when we were watering a lawn, the savings have varied from around 40% to nearly 60%.

THANKS TO DEWANE AND STAFF
Thanks to President  Shawn Dewane, Directors Jim Fisler, Jim Atkinson, Fred Bockmiller and Ethan Temianka, each of whom were very cordial.  Fisler, with whom I've had social media battles in the past until he blocked me, was especially friendly and it was much appreciated.  It was nice to catch up.  I also appreciated the plug Dewane gave the blog.  Although he didn't name it, we felt the love.  And, a special thank you to Stacy Taylor, Noelle Collins and the staff for creating a special moment for those of us who received this recognition.

KUDOS TO MESA WATER
And, kudos, one more time, to Mesa Water and General Manager Paul Schoenberger and his staff for the industry-leading creativity that provides this critical resource to us, especially at a time of severe drought.

Mesa Water District To Adopt Conservation Ordinance

THIRSTY?
Most of us who have not been in a coma for the past couple years are aware of the water crisis facing the residents of the State of California these days.  Multiple years of drought conditions have resulted in historically low levels in water reservoirs throughout California and in lakes along the Colorado River.  Farmers are being forced to abandon their crops, particularly in the Central Valley, which has been called "The Bread Basket Of The World" because of the huge amount of crops that are exported annually.  On less than 1% of the total farmland in the United States, the Central Valley produces 8% of the nation's agricultural output by value.  About one-sixth of the irrigated land in the United States is in the Central Valley.  More than 230 crops are grown in that region, including toatoes, almonds, grapes, cotton, apricots and asparagus.

GOVERNMENT RULES
Water authorities throughout the state are mandating conservation measures - driven by edicts coming out of Sacramento.  Some may consider those measures draconian, but the simple fact is that we just don't have enough water to conduct "business as usual".

WE'RE CLUELESS
We here in Costa Mesa have been insulated from most of the rhetoric because the organization that provides us with water, Mesa Water District, does a very good job of managing that precious resource.  We are told that we operate with 100% locally-accessed water from wells that dip into a couple deep aquifers below us, plus Mesa Water is on the leading edge of the technology required to re-use water.

MESA WATER ON THE JOB
However, tomorrow, the Board of Directors of Mesa Water will meet in the Board Room at district headquarters, 1965 Placentia Avenue,  beginning at 6:00 p.m. to discuss the adoption of Ordinance 26, The Water Conservation and Water Supply Emergency Program.   Click HERE to be taken to a page which introduces the program, provides a historical justification and includes the ordinance as proposed plus all the details about the various emergency levels and the requirements and penalties involved in each. (Note: It's a big file, so it might take a few seconds to load for you.)

A QUICK LOOK AT THE ORDINANCE
The following chart capsulizes the broad brush facts of this ordinance.  Click on the image for easier reading if necessary.  You will probably wish to go to the actual ordinance and attachments for greater detail on the facts.  Little things, like if you're building a home with a swimming pool, you may not be able to fill it under certain conditions.  And, penalties COULD include disconnection of your water supply, so wealthy scofflaws cannot escape the need to conserve just because they have a few bucks.

INTO ENEMY TERRITORY FOR YOU
I have never attended a Mesa Water Board meeting, but this may force me to change my mind and place myself in the presence of my former Facebook buddy, Director Jim Fisler, so I can gather information on this very important issue.  The item is near the end of the agenda, following their review of the budget, so this could run late into the evening, depending on the amount of public input/questions and whether the directors plan to tinker with the ordinance/rules much.  For more information contact Mesa Water at 949-631-1205

THANKS, JORDAN GRAHAM
By the way, a hat tip to Jordan Graham of the Orange County Register for the article he recently wrote on this issue, HERE.  To my knowledge we have not received proper noticing of this extremely important issue at our home, so Graham's piece was the alarm bell for us.