MY TAKE ON THE 11/8/22 MUNICIPAL ELECTION

HERE WE GO AGAIN - ANOTHER ELECTION!

My city, Costa Mesa, California, like many others in our state, is in the midst of campaign season for city, county, state and national elections.  On November 8th we will choose three city council members and a mayor, chime in on a very important municipal ordinance, plus vote for members of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District, Mesa Water District and the Orange County Board of Supervisors.  This is about the city races…

THREE SEATS PLUS MAYOR UP THIS TIME AROUND

There are three council seats available this time around.  The City began electing city council members by district PLUS a directly-elected mayor in 2018, having been extorted by a Malibu law firm into converting from at-large voting to “give our Latino population a greater voice in government”.  Costa Mesa is 37% Latino, most of whom reside in what is known as the West Side - those areas represented by Districts 4 and 5 - two of the seats up for election this time.  The remaining seat is District 3, an area roughly surrounding the Orange County Fairgrounds near the center of the city.

SOME NOT-SO-GREAT MEMORIES

Let's review some history so you can understand why I think this election is so darn important.

THE SCHEME TO HOLD CONTROL

When the city was forced to go to district voting the then-Republican majority, led by Jim Righeimer and Steve Mensinger, tried to quick pitch the process when putting the District voting on the 2016 ballot.  Instead of using the 5-District configuration preferred by 100% of the residents who attended all the meetings held by the demographer, they had him conjure up a 6-District and Directly Elected Mayor choice, figuring they could field a group of like-minded individuals to control the city council.  That was the only choice on the ballot for the voters to consider and it passed with 64.8% of the ballots cast.  In an interesting sidebar, the existing mayor, Steve Mensinger, was ousted, finishing 4th the race for 3 open council seats.  And, further demonstrating the ire of the electorate, controversial Measure Y was passed by an even greater margin - just over 68%.  That citizen-generated measure was designed to slow, or stop, development in the city by requiring a “vote of the people” if certain triggers were met.  Since that measure passed not a single project has moved forward - no “vote of the people” has been taken.

DISTRICT VOTING QUICK-PITCH BACKFIRED

In the next election - November 2018 - council members were elected by district for the first time.  Districts 3,4 and 5 - the same ones up for election this time around - chose new council members.  Interestingly, all three of them chose persons with a Latino heritage.  In District 3 United States Naval Academy graduate and former Navy officer Andrea Marr defeated a Republican-supported candidate soundly.  In District 4 Manuel Chavez - who grew up in that district and was the youngest council member ever elected - was chosen over a hand-picked contender favored by the council majority by a wide margin.  In District 5 local woman and MIT-graduate Arlis Reynolds defeated seated councilman Allan Mansoor - a former mayor and state Assemblyman - by more than 20 points!.  And, in the biggest news in that election, Katrina Foley - who had been ousted as mayor by the majority in a bit of pure partisan politics just a few months earlier - soundly defeated the woman who replaced her, long-time councilwoman Sandy Genis.  That was a stunner and certainly made the point that the voters had had enough.  

TRYING TO RUN THE CITY LIKE A BUSINESS FAILED - HUY PHAM DIED

One must think back on what it was like back then.  Republican activists - Jim Righeimer, Steve Mensinger, Gary Monahan and Allan Mansoor - controlled the city and made some very controversial moves.  For example, on March 17, 2011 - St. Patrick’s Day - their council decided to issue layoff notices to 213 “regular employees” - non-public safety staffers.  This was their idea of how to control large unfunded pension liabilities.  In a tragic result of their actions young maintenance worker Huy Pham, upon receiving his layoff notice, leaped to his death from the roof of city hall.  This was the darkest day in our city in my memory - 48 years and counting.  There was a huge public outcry and outpouring of sympathy for Pham’s family and his entire city family, too.  Monahan, who was mayor at that time, didn’t bother to come to City Hall to console grieving employees - he was too busy pouring green beer at his bar, muttering something like, “What am I supposed to do?  This is the biggest day of the year for me.”  That was a quote from a news reporter who sought comment from him as he pranced around his bar in his kilt.  Disgusting!  Even worse, courts later determined that the layoff notices were illegal!

POLICE/COUNCIL FRICTION

About that same time friction ensued between certain members of the City Council and the Costa Mesa Police Department.  The council members sued the Police Association’s law firm and the association.  That went on for several years, but was finally settled.  In the meantime, the toxic atmosphere created by that council provoked several members of the Costa Mesa Police Department to abandon their jobs, choosing to either retire early or bail out to another police jurisdiction.  For more than 8 months the Righeimer/Mensinger council refused to permit recruitment efforts to fill more than 50 vacancies.  It’s been more than a decade since all that was going on and we still have not achieved proper police staffing levels.  That same council decided that the A.B.L.E. helicopter program - a joint venture between Costa Mesa and Newport Beach that provided police helicopter support for both cities and was a model for all municipal helicopter programs nationwide  - should be disbanded.  They proceeded to do just that, selling off the assets - 3 multi-million dollar helicopters - and reassigning the pilots back into patrol duties.  That was another low-morale moment in the CMPD.  This group also decided to privatize both the police jail and street sweeping services - causing more layoffs.  It was rumored that the successful contractor for the jail services was operated by family members of Jim Righeimer.  That unfortunate experiment has failed and the jail is, once again, under control of members of the CMPD.

MANSOOR’S “ICE” PLAN

Another bellwether of discord was Allan Mansoor’s scheme to deputize every single Costa Mesa Police Officer as an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officer so they could randomly snatch up members of our Latino community and process them for deportation. For his efforts Mansoor was anointed as an honorary “Minuteman”.  That scheme failed, fortunately, but it terrorized the entire Latino community to the point where they seldom expressed concerns about city issues.  That has changed under the current council.  Recently we’ve seen Latino’s bravely step to the speaker’s podium and air grievances.  They know they will be given a fair hearing on issues important to them and no longer worry about being hunted down like stray dogs in the street and deported.

A TOXIC, ANTI-RESIDENT ATMOSPHERE

The atmosphere in our city during those years was very tense.  That council decided that they were tired of hearing residents stand before them during the Public Comments segment of their regular meetings and gripe about issues - things that were important to the residents - so they bifurcated the public comments.  Only the first 10 people in the queue could speak early in the meeting.  Any remaining speakers had to wait until the very end of the meeting - sometimes midnight or later.  Few speakers stayed around that late.  At that time we saw several highly skilled senior staffers choose to retire early instead of dealing with the atmosphere created by that council.

WHAT’S MY POINT?

Well, in the four years since the core of the current council was elected - those choices clearly sent a message to the Republican establishment with the ouster of Mansoor and Mensinger and the rebuffing of Genis , who was soundly thumped as a directly-elected mayor by Katrina Foley not just once, but twice - a lot of important things have happened in our city and it’s appropriate to talk about how they were handled.

HOMELESSNESS

The city, for years, has had a growing homeless population.  The current council found a way to manage that issue by first contracting with a local church to provide temporary housing until a new facility could be created.  They then found and purchased an industrial building not far from John Wayne Airport and created a 70-bed shelter and worked out a deal with the City of Newport Beach to use 20 of those beds for a fee.  That system is working.

COVID-19

More than 2 years ago the hellish Covid-19 pandemic hit us, just as it did in every other city in America.  Our council, led by the tireless Mayor Katrina Foley (who has earned your vote for her seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors, by the way) and John Stephens as Mayor Pro Tem, helped provide the leadership to get out ahead of this issue before any other Orange County city.  Right off the bat they rejected the Governor’s scheme to house 60 infected people from an airliner in northern California at the under-used Fairview Developmental Center - right in the heart of our city.  They crafted emergency ordinances to govern mask-wearing, short-term rental assistance, rules to keep covid-affected renters from being evicted, and much, much more.  And, they made the tough decisions and managed to keep a balanced budget without tapping municipal reserves.

LACK OF HOUSING

Recently the State slammed our city with the demand for us to plan for 11,760 new dwelling units during the next 8 years (now 7 years), then told us our “Measure Y”, constraints passed by the voters in 2016, effectively created a roadblock to preclude the city from completing a required satisfactory Housing Element.  The failure to do so would cause the city to be penalized $100,000 per month, become ineligible for ALL State grant funds and - the worst part - lose all local control over development in our city - the State would take over.  So, with that gun to our head, in January the council appointed an Ad Hoc Committee of Mayor Pro Tem Marr, Councilwoman Reynolds and Councilman Jeffrey Harlan - a land planner and lawyer - to assess this problem and come up with a solution.  That effort resulted in what is now known as Measure K.  This ordinance, which is on the November 8th ballot, will basically de-fang Measure Y and thereby permit development of the much-needed (and State-demanded) new housing units, some of which will be affordable housing units.  To facilitate that action an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance is being crafted and will be presented to the council for consideration by December.

COMMITTEE ROUNDLY CRITICIZED

The Ad Hoc Committee has been roundly criticized by the people who conceived and marketed Measure Y, stating it would gut their product and “take away the vote of the people” on development decisions.  This, of course, is a flat-out lie!  Should Measure K pass next month ANY project submitted to the city for consideration will have to run the gauntlet of bureaucratic hurdles - including approvals from the Planning Commission and City Council.  At every step of the way residents or other interested parties have the opportunity to express themselves before those official bodies and/or write to them in detail with their concerns.  Measure Y was passed 6 years ago and, as I mentioned above, not a single project has been placed before the voters.  Any developer - every developer - will simply take their development dollars and expertise elsewhere when faced with spending tons of money and time, only to be informed that they now must go before the vote of the people.  Our city will shrivel under these constraints.  Our major commercial and industrial corridors will atrophy and our economic vitality will wither.

CITY COUNCIL CHOICES

I wrote all the above to make a point. This time around Mayor John Stephens, a former council member who was appointed mayor when then-mayor Katrina Foley was elected to the Board of Supervisors, is being challenged by Republican John Moorlach - a partisan who has held positions on the Board of Supervisors and in the State Senate.  Moorlach’s record in those roles is undistinguished, although some tout him as being a financial expert because he predicted the Orange County bankruptcy two decades ago.  Stephens, on the other hand, has been an instrumental part in leading Costa Mesa through a series of crises including the homelessness issue and the covid pandemic.  In both those cases Costa Mesa has led the way among all Orange County cities in dealing with those issues effectively, in great part due to the wisdom, energy and leadership of John Stephens.

OTHER SEATS

In this election only the seat occupied by Manuel Chavez is safe - he has no opposition.   Andrea Marr is being challenged by a Republican-supported newcomer, John Thomas Patton, who brings absolutely no governance experience to the party.  And Arlis Reynolds is being challenged by Rob Dickson, a former Righeimer/Mensinger sycophant who was part of “the problem” back in those days as he rubber stamped the council majority wishes while on the Planning Commission.  They have joined the creators of Measure Y to oppose Measure K - something our city MUST HAVE - and spread the lies provided to them.  This is not only disappointing, but very dangerous for our city.  Should all three of these men be successful that would change the balance of power on the City Council and combine them with lazy, hapless, hopeless, partisan hack Republican councilman Don Harper - the worst councilman in my memory - and we could be right back where we were nearly a decade ago.  This is NOT GOOD for our city..

ABOUT THAT “UNFUNDED PENSION LIABILITY”

Candidates Moorlach, Dickson and Patton constantly harp about the “unfunded pension liability” facing Costa Mesa, as though this is something this council created and fails to “fix”.  Well, this is not a new issue - every city council in the state that subscribes to the CalPERS retirement system is facing the same thing and THERE IS NOTHING THAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT at the local level.  The problem is the way the system was conceived.  It is managed by a board that understands little about municipal finance.  Their plan is to receive a 7.5% annual return on their investments to keep their ship afloat.  However, if the markets in which they play fail to generate that kind of return they simply bill their subscribers - hence the “unfunded liability”.  The only way this actually becomes a problem for our city, or any city, is if every single employee decides to retire simultaneously.  Then there wouldn’t be enough cash in the till to fund the retirements.  Of course, that’s not going to happen.  Predecessor  councils - the Righeimer/Mensinger group, for example - decided to “solve it’ by putting a paltry million dollars each year towards the debt, knowing full-well that would do nothing at all to solve the problem.  Their other solution, mentioned above, was to lay off over 200 employees, and we all know how that turned out.  This “issue” is really a “non-issue”.  It’s a straw man to attempt to burnish the candidacy of Moorlach, a theoretical finance expert, and the others are just piggybacking the issue.  If Moorlach has a solution let him speak out for the public good.  Otherwise, he should quit barfing up that politically-charge rhetoric.

ABOUT THOSE DARN DEVELOPERS

Some non-incumbent candidates are making a big deal about campaign funding by “out of town developers”.  Well, yeah!  The city is in desperate need of housing - affordable housing, for the most part - and the people that build that stuff are…. DEVELOPERS!  Of course they want to see a council in place that will give them a fair hearing, and that will help with the negative quagmire Measure Y has created.  All that jabbering about “out of town developer money” is a smoke screen, designed to inflame the voters into voting against Measure K.  The smartest guy I know on land use and planning issues, current Costa Mesa Planning Commission Chairman Byron de Arakal, has expounded frequently, loud and clear, why Measure K is critical to the future of our city, and has given us example after example of what happens if we don’t comply with the State rules.  That’s good enough for me.

THE BALL IS IN YOUR COURT, NEIGHBORS

Yeah, I know… you’re saying to yourself, “But Geoff, you’re a lifelong Republican and you’re asking us to support Democrats!”  That’s true.  I’m asking you to support proven, rational, clear-headed, non-partisan leadership who have effectively guided our city through multiple crises simultaneously instead of a trio of partisan hacks who march to the tune that caused chaos in our city in the recent past.  Because the future of our city is at stake, I implore you to not be bamboozled by those who lie about the issues.  Please re-elect Mayor John Stephens, Mayor Pro Tem Andrea Marr, Councilwoman Arlis Reynolds and Councilman Manuel Chavez.  And, if you hope your children and their children will be able to afford to live in Costa Mesa, please vote YES ON MEASURE K. 

Sharpnack Claim Morphs Into A Lawsuit

WAIT!  WHAT'S THIS?
Those of us who pay attention to City Council meetings got a little surprise Tuesday afternoon as the agenda for the Closed Session was read into the record by City Clerk Brenda Green before the council adjourned to a remote conference room to consider the seven items listed.   City Attorney Kimberly Hall Barlow asked the council to add another item to the agenda for discussion that afternoon - the lawsuit filed by former Police Chief Rob Sharpnack against The City of Costa Mesa - which Barlow had just become aware of shortly before the meeting!

BRAND NEW LAWSUIT
The 38 page lawsuit was dated February 12, 2020 and it's unclear whether the lawsuit had actually been served on The City by Tuesday night when Barlow brought it up.  You can read it HERE, if you wish.

NOPE... NOTHING TO REPORT
The City Council approved adding the lawsuit to the Closed Session agenda and they adjourned to deliberate.  When they returned a couple hours later for the regular session Barlow had nothing to report out of the Closed Session - on that or any of the other seven items on the agenda.

SPADONI SPRINGS THE PAPERWORK
In an interesting sidebar - early in the regular meeting, during Public Comments, resident (and former police officer) Mary Spadoni trundled up to the speaker's podium and proceeded to waive the text of the lawsuit at the council.  Apparently she managed to obtain a copy of it via a public records request and posted the link to it on the Facebook page Costa Mesa Sandbox.  By the time Public Comments had ended two people had contacted me about the lawsuit and had retrieved the text from that Facebook page.  One of them shared it with me since I have been blocked from participating on that site.

TRYING TO RIGHT A PERCEIVED WRONG
Some might recall that Spadoni frequently spoke and wrote about information that was eventually included in the initial Claim Sharpnack made against The City.  Much of that is included in the lawsuit.  Clearly, she is an insider in this process and makes no bones about doing her best to defame those she feels are responsible for Sharpnack's situation, including Mayor Katrina Foley, Mayor Pro Tem John Stephens, current City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison, former Acting City Manager Tammy Letourneau and former Acting Assistant City Manager Justin Martin.  The last two now hold positions at the City of Laguna Niguel.

THE TIMING IS CURIOUS
The timing of this lawsuit is very interesting - just two weeks before the Primary Election in which Foley is running for a chance to gain a seat in the State Senate against incumbent John Moorlach and another Democrat challenger, David Min.  Any mud that can be tossed Foley's way will probably go a long way to assuaging the animus felt about her by Spadoni and her pals, particularly if it affects her chances in the upcoming election.

MY SPECIAL INTEREST?
Why am I writing about this?  Well, in his original claim Sharpnack named me as a "witness" - the only non-current or former employee of The City on the list.  It's curious, since I have no first-hand knowledge of any of the circumstances.  Yes, I've written about CMPD issues, including observing about the many, many former police chiefs who have served my city over the past five decades.  This, of course, includes Rob Sharpnack.  I have no idea if I will end up being a part of his lawsuit - I hope not, but we shall see.

HAVE I MENTIONED THAT I HATE POLITICS?
In the meantime, the hit pieces about Foley continue to land in mailboxes all over the the 37th Assembly District and I doubt if it's over with two weeks to go before the election.  And the beat goes on.

Hit Piece On Foley Is Despicable

I AM REALLY TICKED-OFF!
Today in my mailbox appeared a hit piece on Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley in an attempt to discredit her with casual voters - those who only pay attention to local politics during an election season.

LIE-FILLED HIT PIECE
This hit piece, paid for by a group called "Keeping Californians Working" in San Rafael, CA, is so blatantly full of lies that it boggles one's mind.  I've provided images of the front, back and inside so you can see the full extent of the lies involved..

LIES AND MISREPRESENTATIONS
On the inside you will see several newspaper headlines, an attempt to link Foley with the bad news each one portrays.  They are called "bad decisions" by Foley.  In fact, in most cases she was not even on the City Council at the time.  In other cases the situation misrepresents the facts.

NEARLY A MILLION BUCKS ON LIES
I'm told the slimeballs who paid for this piece of trash spent nearly $1 million to distribute their falsehoods to Orange County households.  Their desperation about the possibility of Katrina Foley finishing first or second in the upcoming March 3rd Primary Election is obvious.  There are three (3) candidates for State Senate - Incumbent Republican John Moorlach, newcomer Democrat Dave Min from Irvine and Mayor Katrina Foley.

PRESUMING GOP INVOLVEMENT
We presume my Republican Party is responsible for this crap.  They know that Moorlach will have a hard time holding his seat if he has to go head-to-head with Foley, but he can likely crush Min.

MY PARTY HAS LOST IT'S WAY
I don't know what's happened to my party.  The leadership certainly seems to have lost it's way somewhere since Ronald Reagan's tour as President.  Locally, they continue to shoot themselves in the foot and clearly are no longer in tune with the electorate.

CATASTROPHIC INFIGHTING
You will recall a couple years ago when Scott Baugh tried to eviscerate incumbent Congressman Dana Rohrabacher in the primary race.  The terrible stuff that appeared in our mailboxes about those candidates - particularly those criticizing Rohrabacher -  was awful... and it backfired.  Rohrabacher managed to survive the primary election and was paired up against Harley Rouda, a former Republican-turned Democrat.  Then, in the race headed to the General Election, Rohrabacher failed to debate Rouda and ended up losing the seat he had held for 30 years!

MOORLACH IS A GOOD GUY.... BUT....
I like John Moorlach.  He's a smart man and has a record of accomplishment in county government, but he is very outnumbered in the State Senate, where only 10 of 40 Senators are Republicans.  He has almost NO chance of making a difference in Sacramento.  What I DO NOT like is that he's apparently willing to let surrogates act to defame and flat out lie about Foley in order to retain his seat.

I LIKE KATRINA FOLEY
Foley is my friend.  I've watched her as a City Council member and as a Trustee on the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Trustees and admired her dedication to our city for two decades.  She is smart, tireless and has a vision for Costa Mesa that is now coming to fruition.  She is a multi-tour mayor, having been elected by her peers, then - in a purely political move - was voted out of that spot.  She then ran for the seat as the first directly-elected mayor in the city's history and crushed then-incumbent and multi-term councilwoman Sandra Genis - one of the perpetrators of her earlier ouster.

I DON'T LIKE THE LIBERAL AGENDA
As a lifelong conservative I am not happy with the way the liberal majority in Sacramento is taking our state.  I disagree with almost every move they make, from the squandering of public funds to declaring California a Sanctuary State - spitting in the eye of the Federal Government, upon who we depend for funding of many projects.  Am I worried about Foley - another liberal politician - facilitating that which I find onerous?  A little.  However, I've watched her work.  She knows how to build consensus.    I will vote for her in the primary election.

WHY THE LIES?
I retired this blog nearly 3 years ago, but this nastiness has so angered me that I felt it was necessary to write about it.  Each of you will have to use your own judgment on this issue... just know that you are being lied to and ask yourselves why...

Dim Hope For Sober Living Home Invasion

 LOOKING FOR GOOD NEWS - DIDN'T GET IT
A group of elected officials and their surrogates plus a couple of lawyers spoke to more than 150 residents last night at the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center on the subject of Sober Living Homes.  The news was not good.

GLOOM
This event, hosted by several legislators, the Association of California Cities - Orange County (ACC-OC) and the Orange County Association of Realtors (OCAR), offered a gloomy picture to those in attendance expecting to hear that the "solution" is just around the corner.  It's not.

FROM HEATHER TO TODD
Moderator Heather Stratman, CEO of ACC-OC, kicked off the evening by introducing Todd Leishman, a lawyer from the firm of Best, Best and Krieger.  He presented the audience with a brief primer on sober living, the local issues, legal challenges and local city ordinances.  He moved briskly through his presentation, which included an admonition to attendees.  He cautioned them to avoid saying things like, "I don't want them living next door to me." when addressing our city councils on this issue because that kind of statement could haunt the city later in court.  He told us, "Don't do anything stupid."  He spoke about the difference between licensed and non-licensed facilities, and how they must be treated differently by law.  You'll get the gist of his presentation by following along on these slides.

MUNOZ UP NEXT
Next up was lawyer Patrick Munoz, with the firm of Rutan and Tucker and the City Attorney for the City of Dana Point.  He also represents the City of Costa Mesa in their current sober living legal battles.  He spoke of the City of Newport Beach's problems attempting to manage sober living homes - an effort that eventually cost them more than $10 million.  He also talked of Dana Point's situation, mentioning that sober living is a BIG business, citing one facility in that city that charges $2,500 per month per bed.  He spoke of the nuisance factor - Red Bull, cigarettes and loud talking. He stressed the "care and supervision" element and mentioned that if you can sort out the bad actors from the good ones it's likely that the bad actors will go out of business.

PANEL OF "EXPERTS"
Next came the panel of legislators and their surrogates.  Seated on the dais were Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, State Senator John Moorlach, State Assemblyman Matthew Harper, former Huntington Beach councilman Joe Carchio representing Assemblyman Travis Allen and Leishman providing his views on Congressman Darrell Issa's pending bill.  Later Munoz and Diana Coronado of ACC-OC joined the group for the Question and Answer period.

DANA BLAMES BAD POLICIES
First up was Rohrabacher, who got everyone's attention when he contradicted almost everything the two lawyers had said earlier.  He said, "It's not about bad actors.  It's about drug addicts and alcoholics in our neighborhoods!"  He went on to describe this situation as a result of bad policies.  He said the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is bad policy. He said the Fair Housing laws are bad policy.  He said the Affordable Care Act is bad policy because it throws a lot of money at the issue.  Perhaps the best way to describe what he was aiming at is to repeat what he told Stacey Butler of CBS News in an interview shown on television later last night.  Rohrabacher said, "They're putting drug addicts and alcoholics right next door to ordinary families which, of course, hurts the values of their property.  But, also, there's some jeopardy that you're put into if you have children right next door to a bunch of drug addicts and alcoholics."  He wants to move sober living facilities into commercial and/or industrial areas.

BEMOANING MINORITY STATUS
Moorlach, after composing himself following the double-take he did as Rohrabacher spoke, bemoaned the fact that he is limited to only 20 bills per year and that both he and Harper are at a big disavantage as members of a minority party in the state legislature.

HARD DRUGS
Harper told anecdotes about neighbors and their problems with sober living homes nearby.  He also emphasized the limitations he has in the Assembly because the "other" party has a super-majority.  He spoke of the proliferation of hard drugs, well beyond Marijuana, expressing concern that kids today are becoming hooked on opiates.  He said, "Once they do that they're gone."  Not exactly what you expect to hear from a legislator discussing sober living homes.  He also spoke of  clustering of sober living homes; proximity to schools; the need to change state laws to permit cities to deal with their sober living issues, but agreed that some level of state oversight and regulation will be necessary. He pleaded for city's to propose legislation that he could push forward.  Funny, I thought that was HIS job.  He also cited the need for volunteers/citizen organizations to spread the word state-wide and put pressure on the governor and legislature.

CITIES NEED TO WORK TOGETHER
Carchio gave some history to previous efforts, citing his own city as just not doing enough.  He looked forward to Costa Mesa making progress, saying everyone is watching.  He said the cities need to work together to get a bill passed, acknowledging that it will be difficult because "there is a lot of money to be made."  Gee, no kidding!

40% OF CALIFORNIA SOBER LIVING HOMES ARE IN OC
Stratman told us the ACC-OC mission is to be a powerful regional voice on important issues, and mentioned that 40% of the sober living homes in California are located in Orange County.  Yikes!

Leishman spoke briefly about H.R. 6070, Congressman Issa's bill, indicating that is will likely have to be re-visited before it can pass.

MENTAL HEALTH EFFECTS?
Then the panel began to respond to written questions from the audience.
The first question asked if mental health issues will be impacted by sober living homes.  Moorlach told us that Orange County has only 10 mental health beds for a county of 3.1 million people.

BACKGROUND CHECKS ON OWNER/OPERATORS?
Another asked about background checks for owners and operators of sober living homes.  Munoz said, "sometimes.", citing Costa Mesa litigation.

COSTA MESA ORDINANCE AND FAIR HOUSING LAWS
Another asked if Costa Mesa's ordinance violates Fair Housing laws?  Munoz, answering as an attorney retained by the City, said, "Absolutely not!", with a grin on his face.

HOW TO PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORHOOD?
Another person, apparently from an unincorporated part of the county, cited their tranquil enviornment and asked how they can discourage sober living homes in their area? Carchio said "build a wall."  Moorlach replied that they should contact the county.

HR6070?
Another question dealt with HR 6070 (Issa's bill) and how it would be implemented by the state.  Leishman said it's a federal bill, not a state bill.  Carchio rambled on about it being a problem for realtors.

WHAT ABOUT DISCLOSURE?
That was followed by a question of disclosure of the existence of sober living homes in the case of a home sale. That was interesting to watch, since nobody really had an answer.  Finally Munoz said, "Tell the truth.  The truth will set you free."  Leishman said if he were buying a home today he would ask every question he could about homes in the neighborhood - rentals, etc. - without actually asking about sober living homes.

SOBER LIVING HOMES AND HOMELESSNESS?
What turned out to be the final question asked about sober living homes and their contribution to homelessness.  Munoz observed it is a common complaint, but he didn't have any specific information.  Moorlach spoke of AB 109, Prop. 47 and the recently passed Prop 57, all of which changed the game regarding criminals being released back onto our streets sooner.  At that point Rohrabacher launched into an echo of his earlier rant, citing failed policies.  He ended by stating, "Expect very tough legislation early next year."  He was not specific, but it was red meat for those looking for some light at the end of the sober living tunnel.  It was almost like being at a Trump rally.

NOBODY HAS A HANDLE ON THIS!
I came away feeling that nobody really has a handle on the sober living industry - except those personally involved with it and making a LOT of money.  All I see ahead is many more lawsuits being generated by our attempts to enforce our two existing laws.  I found it ironic that as this meeting was going on the Costa Mesa Planning Commission was meeting to hear appeals of denials of permits from a couple such places.  I know they denied an appeal to a long-time operator - a local businessman who has operated a sober living home on the up-and-up for more than a dozen years.  More on that later.

WHERE WERE OUR LEADERS?
I must observe that the only city officials I saw in the crowd last night were not quite official - John Stephens and Allan Mansoor were in the room, but Mansoor bailed out early.  Stephens stayed to the bitter end, trying to soak in as much information as he could for the tasks ahead of him on the City Council.

WAS IT WORTH IT?
Was it worth attending this meeting?  Well, I guess so, because I really didn't expect to hear solutions presented.  From that standpoint I was not disappointed.  At one point I found myself looking at the men on the dais and thinking that Rohrabacher, Moorlach and Harper had just wrapped up successful re-elections based on the most recent numbers and yet they had nothing approaching a clue about how to manage this problem - and it IS a problem.  I see many more lawsuits facing our city before we get this figured out.

OC Sober Living Town Hall Tonight

A CHANCE TO GATHER INFORMATION
If you're interested in the Sober Living crisis in Costa Mesa and don't plan to attend the Planning Commission meeting tonight at which two such establishments will be addressed, you have an alternative.

NEIGHBORHOOD COMMUNITY CENTER AT 6:00 P.M.
Tonight, Monday, November 28, 2016 the Association of California Cities, The County of Orange and the Orange County Association of Realtors will host a Town Hall on the subject of Sober Living Homes from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. at the Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Avenue (Lions Park).

ELECTED LEADERS AND EXPERTS ON HAND
According to the announcement (below) State government representatives and legal experts will be on hand to present information about what cities can and cannot do to regulate homes, etc.  There will be a Q & A segment for attendees.

BE THERE OR BE... WELL, YOU KNOW...
This seems like a great opportunity to get current information.  See you there.

Mensinger Mayor - Big Surprise! NOT!

NO SURPRISE, BUT...
At a meeting that probably ran an hour longer than necessary, Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger was elected as mayor and Mayor Jim Righeimer was elected Mayor Pro Tem.  Sounds simple enough, but it was not without drama.  More on that later...

LAWSUITS DISCUSSED EARLIER
The meeting began shortly after 6:00 p.m. following a closed session to discuss several law suits.  It just wouldn't be a council meeting without lawsuits being discussed these days.

PLEA FOR CONCILIATION
Following the Pledge of Allegiance, led by termed-out council woman Wendy Leece, Pastor Mike Decker led the moment of solemn expression and called for conciliation and a return to more civil times.  Sounded like a good idea at the time.  Three hours later we found out that it's going to be business as usual.  How very sad for the city.

PACKED HOUSE!
The meeting played to a Standing Room Only crowd, about equally mixed with Righeimer supporters and Foley fans.  We found that out at one point when the two factions sniped at each other. 

SPEAKERS THANK LEECE, GAZSI AND BRING COATS
During Public Comments seventeen (17) speakers stepped up to address the council.  Almost all of them thanked Leece for her decades of service and many also thanked Police Chief Tom Gazsi, who is leaving next week for a very important job with the Los Angeles Port Police Department.  More than a few hauled coats to the dais as an "in-your-face" statement to Righeimer, who earlier had protested the collection of warm coats for needy Costa Mesa children - a program Katrina Foley has sponsored for years.  It was clear by evening's end that the backlash generated many more coats than anticipated.  One had to smile at the political gaffe by Righeimer, who fancies himself a first-class politician.

THE LAWSUIT
A couple speakers called for Mensinger and Righeimer to abandon their lawsuit as a sign of good faith.  I smiled.

SOBER LIVING HOMES
Others demanded action on the sober living home problem and observed that we already have two lawsuits and the applications still are not ready for the operators to obtain.

GENIS DISAPPOINTED
During Council Member Comments Sandra Genis led off with a statement about her disappointment with the rhetoric following the last election - the one in which she was the highest vote-getter.  At that time, she said, she hoped for some sign of a willingness to consider all views and to work together.  She told us she gave it three months, by which time she realized that cooperation was not going to be happening.  She called for a "goal-setting" meeting by the council so a road map of their direction could be determined - and perhaps find common ground.  She also praised Leece and Gazsi.

LEECE THANKS GAZSI AND BROUGHT A COAT
Leece came next and addressed the coat drive - holding up a gently-used coat donated by her grandson.  She told the audience we had been blessed by the presence of Tom Gazsi as Police Chief and wished him luck.  She also called for the abandonment of the lawsuit.

MONAHAN
Gary Monahan thanked Gazsi and Leece and welcomed Foley back to the dais.

RIGHEIMER
Righeimer spoke next and asked CEO Tom Hatch for an update on the sober living home issue.  He then whined about all the tough issues they face, including the Pension Liability issue, stating - again - that it was a state-wide problem and that the State is going to have to step in, but it will take a couple more cities to go bankrupt for that to happen.  Parts of the crowd grumbled at that one.

DIFFERENT LANGUAGE
He then complimented Leece for her service, stating that he enjoyed working with her.  I smiled, because his definition of "working with" is very different than mine.  In the case of Leece, his means "ignoring you all the time".

THE LAW SUIT
Righeimer then launched off on a mini-tirade about the lawsuit.  He attempted to portray the Costa Mesa Police Association as bullies and extortionists, citing actions by the law firm they had employed.  He told us he and his wife didn't need this - the lawsuit.

GAZSI SPEAKS
Then Righeimer summoned Gazsi to the speaker's podium, where he proceeded to present him with a proclamation about his service to the community.  Gazsi received a standing ovation, then delivered one of the best, most inspirational speeches I can recall, citing the outstanding men and women of the department, the standards set by previous chiefs, and much, much more.

MENSINGER
Then it was Mensinger's turn.  He congratulated Foley on her victory and Leece and Gazsi for their service.  He then also addressed the lawsuit and complained about how hard it is for his children to hear bad things said about him.  He emphasized that he will NEVER abandon the lawsuit.

HATCH
During his segment Hatch also praised Gazsi and, at one point, said, "I love you, Tom."  He then turned to the Medical Marijuana issue.  He affirmed that there will be a meeting next Tuesday - the 9th - at which the sole issue will be the various elements of the Medical Marijuana situation.  There are two competing initiatives, plus Monahan's previous scheme Plus the possibility of a special election OR waiting for the General Election in two years.  That meeting starts at 6:45 p.m., although there will be a closed session at that time, so the actual start time of the open meeting is unclear.  He stressed the need for community input at the meeting.

SOBER LIVING HOMES
Hatch then turned to the sober living home issue and confirmed two lawsuits have been filed so far because of the new ordinance.  He also confirmed that there have been "unfortunate" delays in getting the applications prepared for distribution to willing operators.  He also emphasized the need for "a lot of Code Enforcement" presence to enforce the ordinance.  He said it is his "top priority", and stressed the recent events on Senate Street where a dozen beds were seen being taken into a home that had just been investigated - citing citizen involvement by providing photos showing the activity.

ELECTION CERTIFICATION
Finally, at 7:30, we finally got around to the main issue at hand - the certification of the election results and the election of a new mayor and mayor pro tem.  Ten individuals spoke on this issue, most of them off the mark.  Many thanked Leece and Gazsi for their service.  Gene Hutchins continued to express concern about the failure of Measure O, and complained about the unfunded pension liability - again.  Cindy Black presented comic books to each of the council members the stars of which she said represented each of the council members.  I smiled.

RIDGE ON MEASURE "P" GAFFE
Greg Ridge complained about Measure P, the confusing ballot measure about the I-405 toll lanes.  He told the City Attorney, Tom Duarte, that it never should have appeared on the ballot that way.  He then observed that the council sits before a wall on which the words "In God We Trust" are embossed and suggested those words are on the wrong wall - they should be on the back wall where the council can see them.

LEECE FETED
Righeimer then guided the presentation of a proclamation to Leece for her service.  Leece then took the opportunity to introduce her family and showed slides.  In addition to the proclamation presented by Righeimer, she also received acknowledgment by the city staff, presented by Hatch; a photo album presented by the 5th floor support staff; the Orange County library staff for her involvement in library issues; Think Together, for her involvement in education; Orange County Vector Control, for her active participation and support of that group; Hank Lloyd from the Costa Mesa Tennis Center recognized her help getting professional tennis to the city; Moorlach stepped up, gave her a BIG hug (I thought we'd have to turn a hose on them!) and recounted their long relationship and praised her for her service to the community and Robin Leffler made a presentation from Costa Mesans For Responsible Government for her activism and support for the community.

COUNCILWOMAN KATRINA FOLEY
At 8:20 we got around to swearing-in Katrina Foley - the highest vote-getter in this election by far.  Following that procedure by City Clerk Brenda Green, Foley took a seat on the dais and proceeded to thank her supporters, her office staff and her family.   She told the audience that many folks have high expectations for her on the council and she's not sure she can meet all of them.  She hopes to find ways to collaborate with the other council members and called for a toning down of the rhetoric and vitriol that marked the campaign - on both sides.  She asked HER supporters to give it three months - to address facts, but not with rancor.  She said "We're all in this car pool together".  She encouraged speakers to come to the meetings and focus on facts and to join her in bringing civility back to government.

RIGHEIMER, AGAIN - BARELY
At 8:35 Righeimer - who beat Jay Humhprey by only 47 votes - was sworn-in by Green and thanked "everyone for being here".  He said "my kids are getting an education".  He thanked his wife and daughters, Mensinger and his wife, Robin and his staff, including Jon Fleishman (who publishes the FlashReport - a conservative newsletter).  He thanked some supporters in the audience and the city staff. 

OK, JIM...
Righeimer told us the City is in "real good shape".  Then said, "Let's all just work together.", observing that the campaign is over and addressed the acrimony on Facebook that has marked this campaign.  He said, "We agree on 95% of the stuff and the other 5% is important."  I'm not sure what he meant by that, since most of what they work on is important to somebody in the city.  Maybe he meant that 5% was important to him and the rest, not so much.

SPEAKERS, FIRST
Before the election of officers there were three speakers.  Gene Hutchins suggested the continuation of Righeimer as mayor. Planning Commission Chairman Jim Fitzpatrick - who recently called for the City to "do something" about this blog on Facebook - stepped to the podium and told us he referred to Righeimer as "Black Jack Riggy" because of how the votes shifted during the counting process.  A strange comment, for sure.  Anyhow, he supported Mensinger for mayor, citing him dragging Fitzpatrick away from work (does he have a job?) to go look at a development as a reason to consider him for mayor.  Fitzy is a strange guy...  Colin McCarthy suggested that they get back to the previous practice and rotate the Mayor Pro Tem into the mayor's slot.  He suggested Mensinger for the job and cited a "seamless transition"... I smiled.

FOLEY DECLINES
Then came the nominations.  Genis nominated Foley for Mayor, citing her prior service, legal training and that she was the top vote-getter in the election.  After a pause during which there was no second forthcoming Foley spoke up and said she didn't feel right about seconding that nomination and that she supported the rotation concept and would support Mensinger for mayor if he was nominated.

MAYOR MENSINGER
Monahan nominated Mensinger and Righeimer immediately seconded his nomination.  At 8:55 Steve Mensinger was elected Mayor of the City of Costa Mesa on a 5-0 vote.  He then proceded to thank his family - his parents flew down from northern California for the event.  He mentioned his liberal aunt Peggy - a legend in Modesto where she was an extremely effective council member.

HARMONY SHORT-LIVED
At 9:00 Monahan nominated Righeimer for Mayor Pro Tem and Mensinger seconded.  Foley nominated Genis, citing the fact that she was experienced,  next in the rotation and that her appointment to the position would be a show of good faith in the spirit of cooperation called for earlier by both sides.  She hoped one of the members would second her nomination.  When none was forthcoming Genis observed that two years ago it took her three months to understand the situation on the dais, but that she's learning much quicker this time around. (It only took 5 minutes this time!)  The vote was called and Righeimer was elected Mayor Pro Tem on a 3-2 vote - Foley and Genis voted NO.  And so it begins... so much for that spirit of cooperation.  The two candidates in the last two elections who received the greatest number of votes - by far - were shut out of leadership positions.  I suspect, though, this time around it's going to be very different.  Foley will NOT sit quietly by as the male majority runs roughshod over the rules.

CLUELESS ON THE DAIS
Mensinger then issued a proclamation to outgoing Mayor Righeimer and asked Moorlach to help.  Moorlach used that opportunity to, instead, thank Gazsi for his service and recounted their long friendship to the audience.  As an aside, when Mensinger asked Moorlach to step to the podium he identified him as "hopefully our next Senator from California".  Poor guy is clueless!  Moorlach is running for the California State Senate!  It's going to be a long, long couple of years with Mensinger at the helm.  Somebody better find a tutor for him - quick!

ANOTHER CALL FOR HARMONY...
Before they quickly dealt with the Consent Calendar Foley again called for her supporters to just take a deep breath for awhile and strive for harmony.  That's going to be like a whisper in a hurricane...

STARTING WITH A BANG (OR BONG) NEXT WEEK
A reception was held for the new council members in Conference Room 1A, which seemed to be sparsely attended when I wandered through.  Next Tuesday they get down to business on the Medical Marijuana issue - and it's not going to be pretty.  See you there.

KATRINA'S COATS FOR KIDS...
Oh, yes... Katrina's Coat Drive appeared to be a huge success.  This photo shows only those hauled up to the City Council Chambers porch.  Others left their's in the car.  One person had 48 coats she had collected from friends and neighbors in her car.  A big shout-out to Righeimer for his ham-handed handling of this issue which gave it MUCH MORE publicity than it might have otherwise gotten.