REMEMBERING THE PAST AND CONTEMPLATING THE FUTURE

CONTEMPLATING THE PAST - AND THE FUTURE

As I sat on my front porch on another perfect Southern California afternoon contemplating life and awaiting hoards of trick or treaters on this glorious Halloween day, I was having very mixed feelings.  

A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR A GREAT LIFE

I’ve had a wonderful life!  I grew up in a loving family with hardworking, honest,  parents who guided my sisters and me in preparation for life ahead.  I have many valued friends from those early years and still have contact with some of them.  They helped form the foundation of my life.

EXPERIENCE AND PROUD SERVICE

I’ve had a variety of work experiences, sprinkled in among my college days.  I worked as a shipping and receiving clerk, box boy and lifeguard.  I baked baseball bases, put sticks in popsicles, was a carpet layer’s helper,  pumped gas at a marina and learned something about life and myself in every assignment. I was a very good competitive water skier and a darn good teacher of that sport.  I taught hundreds of people to ski. Although I had no competitive swimming experience in my youth and had only seen one water polo game, I competed in both sports in college.  I proudly served my country during the Vietnam War era.  I flew helicopters for awhile - but didn’t see combat.  I’m grateful for that.  I learned a lot about myself as a leader during that time.

MY BEST CHOICE

I met my Sweet Susie, the love of my life, more than 58 years ago and have been married to her for 57 of those years - and counting.  That union made me part of HER wonderful family.  Her parents had a very different background than mine - they were World War II immigrants - but they had the same family values and it shows in their offspring.

A LITTLE LUCK AND A LOT OF HARD WORK

I’ve had a wonderful career - a couple of them, actually.  When I mustered out of the Army I lucked out and found a job with a terrific company that provided fantastic opportunities for advancement.  During my seven years with them I worked in six different cities in progressively more responsible jobs.  My Susie and I followed a gypsy life - we drove across the country for a promotion a week after we were married - and were living the American Dream, in which our hard work paid off.

THE FAST TRACK TO THE FROZEN EAST

When it became clear that the only place we could end up with that company was on the East Coast - two winters were enough - I left them and we moved home - south from the Bay Area back to Southern California where, once again, I was very fortunate to land a job with another wonderful company.  During my six years with that company I held several positions that provided me with exposure to sophisticated, cutting edge technology and gave me more depth in my career as a Human Resources professional. 

OOPS!

When the lack of a college degree became an artificial roadblock for further advancement I changed jobs - this time for a very short 6 weeks - to a position with a company that was NOT the kind of place I wished to work.  I began seeking another job on my second day.

RUNNIN’ AND GUNNIN’

Then I became the Employment Manager of a high-tech company that was, at that time, the fastest growing company in Southern California. That was lots of fun - fast paced in a very creative environment where the staff I managed developed new techniques so essential to quickly and efficiently filling those positions.  And, oh, yes - it was also financially rewarding.

A VALUED CONSULTANT

After a couple years I chose to strike out on my own and created a consulting practice, specializing in Executive Search and Team Building.  Among my client companies, in addition to a couple previous employers,  were small start-up organizations that needed help building a management team and guiding their organizations through their early days.  I never advertised for work - word of mouth as a result of my efforts was all it took.  I loved that job!  I was pretty good at it and made enough money to retire after 20 years.  

LIFE-MATE, SOUL-MATE AND PARTNER ALONG THE WAY

Through this all my dear wife stayed at my side, pulling more than her weight with every oar stroke as we navigated our life together and supporting me every step of the way.  She is the best thing that has happened to me in my life.

WRITING OPINIONS

After retiring I began paying attention to the world around me - particularly local issues.  I wrote the occasional letter to the editor to local newspapers, offering an opinion or observation on local happenings - usually political issues.  Over the years the Daily Pilot (our local “newspaper of record”) offered me the chance to write a regular column for them - 12 times.  Each time I politely declined - I didn’t want to write “on assignment”.  They continued to publish my contributions - sometimes  as many as 3 of my letters a week.  Similarly, the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times published my contributions and also offered me regular space on their pages.

THE BLOG

Then, nearly 20 years ago, I decided I needed more space to express my views.  By that time I was attending almost every important city meeting and event, so I started my blog, A Bubbling Cauldron.  After 18 months and nearly 180 posts I changed hosts so I could include photos and comments.  Since then, after posting nearly 3,500 entries, I’ve throttled back on that effort in recent years, but the blog still receives upwards of 10,000 pageviews each month!  As of this date the blog has recorded 3.8 million pageviews on the current host site.  I had no way to measure traffic on the other site.  Over those years the blog was chosen as the best blog in Orange County - twice - and I was selected by the editors of the Daily Pilot as one of their "DP 103" people who positively influenced their communities - 9 years in a row.  I certainly appreciated that recognition and I’m grateful for the continuing interest in what I’ve written over all these years.

MY POINT - SOCIETAL DECAY

All this background is slowly dragging me to my point - the societal decay I see these days!  It deeply saddens me to watch as the level of political discourse has degenerated to something akin to a bar fight!  I guess I can attribute much of this to the evolution of Donald J. Trump as a political force in our country.  He has lowered the bar for statesmanship, conducting himself as a pre-pubescent teenager might in junior high school.  His example has encouraged many elected leaders to follow his lead, which hamstrings progress.  His mere presence has coarsened our society to the point where fans at college football games feel it’s appropriate to lob water bottles on the field when they disagree with decisions made by officials.  This decay was most recently exhibited by two “fans” at the New York Yankees/Los Angeles Dodgers World Series game at Yankee Stadium when they yanked a ball from the glove of Dodger Mookie Betts in an attempt, apparently, to help the batter achieve a home run.  One of those idiots - both of whom were ejected from the game -  proclaimed when asked during a post-game drinking binge at his favorite bar,  why he did it, he proudly said that he was just “providing some D” for the team.  

IGNORING THE RULES

In our broader society we see more evidence of the decay.  We see more and more people completely ignoring the rules of the road.  Speed limits are apparently viewed as mere suggestions and stop signs are consistently ignored, for example.  They just blow right on through them - a trait many of the children driving E-bikes now emulate.  

COARSENING OF DISCOURSE

No longer is it sufficient to simply disagree with someone and move on.  Today, thanks in great part to Trump,  his acolytes and the anonymity provided by social media sites, it is becoming more a standard practice to attempt to demean and belittle those with whom we disagree.  Civility is disappearing.  Courtesy is a dying art.

FEARING THE FUTURE

I join many Americans in fearing for the future of our country, regardless who wins the election next week.  While I agree with some of the policies he advocates, Donald Trump has clearly shown that he possesses neither the intellect nor character to be entrusted with the job of the most powerful man in the world.  Kamala Harris is completely unqualified for this job, so we voters are left with the choice of, according to outstanding Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan, between ”empty and awful”.

WHAT’S NEXT?

So, what do we do?  Well, I did not cast a vote for President of the United States when I completed my ballot two weeks ago.  I did focus on the down-ballot measures and candidates and, although I no longer attend meetings, I do pay attention to local issues and do still comment occasionally when the spirit moves me.  I can do very little on national issues, but I know I can provide input to my neighbors on local issues and, sometimes, influence the outcome of important decisions made by our local elected leaders.  Although I no longer have the energy I did two decades ago, I will continue to be a voice in my community and let others judge the value of that voice.

RE-DISCOVERING CIVILITY

In the meantime, I think it’s very important for our society to re-discover civility.  We need to take a collective remedial course in civil conversation - something we could observe in the mainstream media in years gone bye.   Not so much today.  The examples set by Walter Cronkite and Huntley and Brinkley are long gone.  Our children - your children - need better boundaries and need to learn and to understand and follow the rules.  We ALL need to include a lot more “Please” and “Thank You” in our daily lives.  We need to do a lot more “listening”, not just hearing, the other side of arguments.  We need to be willing to make intelligent, well-reasoned choices and compromise for the better good when necessary. 

THE GREATEST GENERATION

My parents generation, the so-called “Greatest Generation”, had gone through years of sacrifice to make happy lives and keep our country safe, first during the Great Depression when they were teenagers and then through World War II when they sometimes worked two jobs for the duration of the war.  They learned to ‘make do” and to ‘do without”.  They developed frugality into an art form.  In those years our society pulled together for the common good.  Today we are so factionalized that we seem to be pulling against each other, shouting each other down instead of having a meaningful dialogue to resolve issues.  When our leaders behave like children, using denigration and name-calling as a staple of their dialogue, it diminishes us as a people.  We simply MUST change.  We MUST re-learn to work together to resolve the problems facing our society today.  As long as our elected leadership practices and encourages divisiveness our form of government is in peril.  We MUST demand better.

Fitzpatrick Resigns From the Sanitary District Board

HE FINALLY DOES THE RIGHT THING

To the surprise of very few, Costa Mesa Sanitary District Director Jim Fitzpatrick resigned his seat from that board today, clearing the way for him to be re-appointed to the Costa Mesa Planning Commission by the Costa Mesa City Council tomorrow evening.

BITTER DEPARTURE
In a bitter letter to Costa Mesa Sanitary District General Manager, Scott Carroll, Fitzpatrick expressed his continuing disappointment in the CMSD Board for its attempt to remove him.  His letter   - which misstates the legal opinion recently provided by State Attorney General Kamala Harris - says that the receipt of his letter by the Board is "ending further legal processes on the Quo Warrento action".  I'm not so sure that's actually the case.  He expressed disappointment that the Board would not wait for his pal, Assemblyman Allan Mansoor, to "amend the language" that apparently prohibits Fitzpatrick - or anyone else - to hold seats on the Sanitary District Board and the Planning Commission simultaneously.  Since Mansoor has ZERO clout in the Assembly, that could be a long, long, long wait.  His closing sentence is a confusing one.  He says, "My actions are designed to end further efforts by my fellow CMSD Board Members thereby eliminating any additional cost to both the District rate payers and myself."  Say, what?  End their efforts to do what?  Get a legal decision that finally resolves this issue?

BOARD LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK TO BUSINESS

The CMSD Board held a previously-scheduled closed session meeting today.  In light of Fitzpatrick's resignation they have dropped the Quo Warrento action and, according to one director, are looking forward to getting back to the sewer and trash business.  Any thoughts about how to replace Fitzpatrick on the Board will be agendized for their next regular meeting on January 24, 2013.

THUMBED HIS NOSE AT LEGAL ADVICE
Fitzpatrick, who ignored solid legal advice when he held seats on the Planning Commission and the Sanitary District simultaneously, faced the specter of very significant legal costs as his four peers on the Sanitary District board decided to pursue legal action to remove him.  It is unclear at this time whether he will be responsible for legal fees accumulated by the Board in this matter.

WILL DON QUIXOTE RE-APPOINT SANCHO PANZA?

Now we will see if cronyism is still alive and well in Costa Mesa.  We'll know it is if the city council majority appoints Fitzpatrick - whom I've previously described as "Sancho Panza" to Steve Mensinger's "Don Quixote" -  to one of the two open seats on the Planning Commission and thereby ousting one of his former peers, either Chairman Colin McCarthy or Vice Chair Sam Clark.  Regardless, it will certainly perpetuate the drama that Costa Mesa municipal governance has become over the past couple years.  It's certainly worth the price of admission.

Fitzpatrick Lawsuit To Proceed

 FOUR MEMBER MAJORITY VOTES TO MOVE AHEAD
As reported by Bradley Zint in the Daily Pilot last evening, HERE, four members of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board of Directors voted last night to proceed with the lawsuit to force the remaining director, Jim Fitzpatrick, out of his seat.

WE KNOW ONLY THE DECISION
Since the decision was made in a closed session - Zint tells us it actually took two closed sessions - we won't know how the discussions went as the Board considered the decision by California Attorney General Kamala Harris and the rebuttal letter to Harris by Assemblyman Allan Mansoor in which he says he will introduce legislation to basically nullify the grounds on which the Board has based their lawsuit.

DESPITE A WARNING FITZPATRICK THUMBS HIS NOSE
It is our understanding that Fitzpatrick was warned more than once by Sanitary District Counsel Alan Burns when he initially ran for the Sanitary District Board seat that, because he was a Costa Mesa Planning Commissioner at the time, if he was elected he would be in violation of law by holding two incompatible positions simultaneously.  Despite that warning Fitzpatrick did run and win his seat - and kept his planning commission appointment, as well.  In fact, a couple months later - in what some interpret as an in-your-face move - he requested to be re-appointed to the planning commission and was, in fact, re-appointed.  He was reminded, again, that he held two incompatible seats and, since he chose to be appointed subsequent to his election, he should resign from the Sanitary District Board seat.  He refused and the lawsuit ensued.

WHAT ABOUT THE MONEY?

Much later, apparently in an attempt to defuse the lawsuit, Fitzpatrick resigned his seat on the planning commission, but only after holding both positions in violation of the law for nearly 18 months - and receiving compensation for both positions.  A Costa Mesa Planning Commissioner is paid $400 per month - among the highest in the state - and a Sanitary District Board member can receive more than $1300 per month depending on the number of qualifying events/meetings he attends.  It is unclear whether he would be forced to pay restitution of the lawsuit is resolved against him.  OC GOP insider and Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission member Jeff Mathews was appointed to fill Fitzpatrick's seat on the Planning Commission for the remainder of his term, which runs until 2015.

HE SHOULD RESIGN

So, onward they go with the lawsuit.  I don't know whether Fitzpatrick was given the opportunity to resign his seat or not, nor whether the Board would drop the lawsuit if he does.  That would seem to be the most appropriate course of action at this point considering the Attorney General's opinion.

ESTABLISHING THE PRECEDENT
There is also a body of thought that postulates that the lawsuit should proceed to resolve this issue once and for all on a statewide level.  I'm not sure it's good for our community to be, once again, placed in a position of having precedent-setting legal issues created because of actions in our locale.  You will recall that, primarily due to the obstinance of now-mayor Jim Righeimer, his bogus outsourcing scheme has resulted in a legal opinion that may force every General Law city to unravel their own outsourcing programs, much to their chagrin.

WAITING FOR AN UNLIKELY RESULT

Some, apparently including Fitzpatrick's former mate on the planning commission, Rob Dickson, expressed the view that the lawsuit should NOT be pursued because of the legislation Mansoor says he will propose.  That, of course - to use a Mansoorism - is silly.  As a member of the minority in the Assembly - and with a track record of having only one piece of legislation he proposed ever brought to a vote (the issue to eliminate the word "retarded" from the official state lexicon) - it is highly unlikely he will be successful in getting it passed.  Zint quotes Dickson as saying, "The precedent is very clear... it seems clear that this board is not interested in considering that the legislation run its course."  This does not surprise me at all.  Dickson has been supportive of Fitzpatrick throughout this ordeal.  We think he's got it wrong - the lawsuit should proceed.

NO COMMENTS AVAILABLE YET

Due to the lateness of the hour none of the Board members were available for comment.  We'll update this entry, or post another one, if and when those opportunities present themselves.

Somebody Plays The "Mansoor" Card

MANSOOR INSERTS HIMSELF
The battle for the Costa Mesa Sanitary District seat continues.  Yesterday freshly-re-elected Assemblyman Allan Mansoor injected himself into the issue when he sent a two-page letter to California Attorney General Kamala Harris disagreeing with her interpretation of "legislative intent" as it applies to the Health and Safety Code in the matter of Jim Fitzpatrick vs. the Costa Mesa Sanitary District.  Yeah, I know - that's not the correct title of the legal action, but you know what I mean.

THE "SAVE FITZPATRICK'S BUTT" BILL?

Mansoor says he plans to introduce legislation after the Legislature reconvenes in January to re-define that part of the code to which Harris referred in her decision to the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board earlier this week.  His legislation would apparently re-define the phrase "legislative body".  In his letter he tells Harris that she has "defined 'legislative body' too narrowly".   He says, "I believe the Legislature intended for 'legislative body' to extend to the city's entire legislative body, including all commissions and other advisory agencies created by and for the benefit of the city council."

DOES KAMALA CARE?
I'm sure Ms. Harris - a Democrat - really cares about the opinion conjured up by an under-educated, under-achieving political messenger boy for the Orange County Republican Party power elite, who now finds himself not only in the minority, but staring at the face of a Democrat super majority.  Please let me know when the thermometer in Hades slips below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, because that will be the day Mansoor has a chance to get ANY legislation passed with this Assembly configuration.  Keep in mind that the Conclusion stated in Ms. Harris' letter to the CMSD Board stated: "Whether the offices of director of the Costa Mes Sanitary District and commissioner of the Costa Mesa Planning Commission are incompatible, and whether Jim Fitzpatrick has therefore forfeited his office as sanitary district director, present substantial questions of fact and law warranting judicial resolution.  Accordingly, the application for leave to sue is GRANTED."  She's saying let the legal process decide this matter.

WHO PULLED THE STRINGS?

The bigger question is, "Who called in the chit on this issue?"   Do these guys REALLY think Fitzpatrick's seat on the Sanitary District Board is worth all this trouble?  REALLY?  Who asked (told?) Mansoor to gin-up this letter and the threat of "legislation"?  Would Mansoor do it because Fitzpatrick asked him?  Nah, I don't think so, either.  No, I suspect this marching order came from much higher up the food chain. 

WILL THE CMSD BOARD CARE?
It will be VERY interesting to see what impact, if any, Mansoor's letter has on the closed session deliberations scheduled at the Special meeting of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board this evening.