Short Night, Red Lights And Senior Fights

The Costa Mesa City Council meeting tonight, while less than two hours long, was not without it's moments.

FEENEY ATTACKS THE SENIOR CENTER MANAGEMENT - AGAIN
It started out with some unanticipated fireworks when resident Ernie Feeney - a grumpy person about my age - decided to attack the operations at the Costa Mesa Senior Center again. This time she was griping about a new policy regarding the use of the van that is used to take seniors to doctor visits. As usual, she launched her attack before the council during her 3 minutes of public comments time without having first looked for a resolution from the Senior Center Board.

SHE JUST WOULDN'T STOP!
She rattled on and on and finally used up her time. Mayor Allan Mansoor advised her that her time was up, but she demanded another 15 seconds. Mansoor was adamant that she had used up her time and asked her to step away. Feeney, part of a geriatric scrooge team with her husband, John, refused and said she was going to stand right there for the entire meeting to get an answer to her questions, if necessary.

REMEMBER BENITO ACOSTA?
Let me pause here to remind the readers that a few years ago another speaker, one Benito Acosta, objected when Mansoor cut his speaking time short. While he didn't refuse to leave the podium, he was dragged bodily from the chambers and arrested. His trial against the city and Mayor Mansoor begins in October.

MANSOOR CONTINUES TO APPLY A DOUBLE STANDARD
So, Mr. Mayor, do we assume that your friend, Ms. Feeney, is entitled to preferential treatment? She was even more obstinate than Acosta, yet you just let her stand there, defy your authority and interfere with the proceedings. Why didn't you have her dragged out of the chambers and arrested? I suppose a good lawyer will make a note of tonight's event for use in your trial.

LEECE BAILS FROM SENIOR CENTER LIAISON JOB
The next big item that came up was Mayor Pro Tempore Wendy Leece's announcement that, because of her busy schedule and job requirements, she is resigning as the council liaison to the Senior Center. I'm sure that news was met with a hearty round of cheers by many seniors in our city. During her tenure in that roll she has been an instigator of much unrest at the Senior Center. It looks like Ernie Feeney may have taken that baton from her, though. It will be interesting to see which council member is placed into that hot spot. It could be Katrina Foley, since she no longer has a business conflict.

"THE MOUTH" DEMONSTRATES HIS INFLUENCE
The Mayor and Leece, once again, showed just how they bow to the instructions of our city's racist laureate, The Mouth From Mesa North. During a discussion of some stimulus funds available for providing immediate relief for homeless renters, The Mouth told the council they shouldn't agree to the proposal and, bingo!, Mansoor and Leece indicated they were not going to vote for it. Since Eric Bever was absent from yet another meeting that would have meant a 2-2 vote - a de facto denial. Monahan saved the day when he made a substitute motion to bring the item back at the next meeting when all five members would be available. Mansoor demonstrated his Latinophobia again, when he expressed fear that these funds might be used for illegal aliens. What a guy - an easily-led guy.

RED LIGHT CAMERAS ON THE WAY OUT?
The council also heard from the Costa Mesa Police Department on the subject of red light cameras. After a long, but excellent, report everyone in the chambers understood that it would be the police department's choice to cease operating the red light cameras and ramp up targeted enforcement utilizing motorcycle officers instead. Very revealing statistics were used to support that choice. The council asked for this item to come back at a future meeting - probably the next one, depending on how the receivership hearing for the current vendor, Nestor Systems, goes on the 8th.

FISLER'S REPLACEMENT PROCESS DISCUSSED
Also discussed was the method of replacement for departed Planning Commission Vice Chairman Jim Fisler, who left last week when he was appointed to the Mesa Consolidated Water District Board. The staff will bring back a recruitment action plan for the council to consider. It sounded like Fisler's seat might not be filled until October.

LATEST FIRE NEWS

(Photo courtesy of Don Bartletti, Los Angeles Times)

MORE FIRE INFORMATION
Finally, fire officials seemed cautiously optimistic in the most recent briefings. Even though one fire alone, the Station fire, is over 200 square miles, the firefighters have big guns in their arsenal and progress is being made. Today we saw the DC-10, the 747 and the Martin Mars Flying Boat in action, joining dozens of helicopters and fixed wing assets. The Canadian Super Scoopers may be in action tomorrow. The Governor told us, one more time, that the state has plenty of money to spend on fires... good thing, since there are 8 separate fires burning throughout the state - most of which are within 200 miles of my house!

LOCAL TV DID A BETTER JOB TODAY
Local television outlets did a much better job of providing information today. I guess they're worried about being knocked off the air if their antennae on Mt. Wilson are overrun by the fire. This afternoon that big Martin Mars Flying Boat made several passes, dumping thousands of gallons of water on the foliage surrounding the peak.

Finally, A Budget Framework...

OVERPAID PLANNING COMMISSIONERS PROVE MY POINT
Before I forget.... the Costa Mesa Planning Commission, at their meeting Monday night, exceeded my expectations - kinda. As I earlier predicted, their one-item meeting was going to be a quickie - I speculated that it would be finished in a half-hour. Well, I was wrong, but not by much. The meeting began promptly at 6 p.m. and concluded at 6:27, so the boys did themselves proud. And, since they will only be meeting once a month through November, that means the good taxpayers of Costa Mesa paid them what amounted to more than $800.00 per hour for all their "hard work" on Monday. Don't you feel good about that?

*****

FULL STUDY SESSION AGENDA
Today was a busy one for our City Council. As mentioned yesterday, they had a full agenda, with a Study Session packed with interesting items - including Wendy Leece's proposal to sanctify the City Council chambers with a plaque carrying the motto, "In God We Trust". Since the session was not televised live I have no idea how that played with the remainder of the council members.

PAINFUL REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY REALITY
Then they adjourned to the council chambers for a meeting of the Redevelopment Agency - the council in a different dress. That was a quickie, during which they made decisions protecting the city in the event the state successfully snatches redevelopment dollars from us.

MUSICAL CHAIRS
Then the lights were dimmed and the council played musical chairs and swapped name tags and re-convened as the city council to consider one item - the proposed Memorandum of Understanding between the Costa Mesa Firefighters and the city.

FIREFIGHTERS OFFERED MORE THAN WAS ASKED...
To summarize, the questionable areas that existed a week ago have been hashed out by the negotiators on both sides and an acceptable proposal was presented for the council to consider. Presentations by senior city staff with, added input by the leaders of the firefighters association, made clear that this was an acceptable proposal. In fact, the firefighters actually presented more savings than the city originally requested.

STUBBORN OR STUPID?
It was very frustrating, but not unexpected, that Mayor Mansoor just couldn't grasp the numbers no matter how many times it was explained to him. Of course, this is who he is - a man with very limited intellectual resources being asked to comprehend what began as some complicated issues. In the end, though, I think it was just stubbornness on his part. Led by the solid discussions by Katrina Foley, Wendy Leece and Gary Monahan, the proposal as presented was passed on a 3-2 vote, with Mansoor and Bever voting No.

BEVER'S CONTRIBUTION? ONE WORD...
It was interesting to note that, despite all his bluster on the Daily Pilot blog over the past few days, Bever said only one audible word all night. That was when he said "second" to Mansoor's substitute motion to delay voting on this issue until the next council meeting on the 18th. That motion failed. Bever offered not a single word - not even any of his occasional grunts - during the discussion. He asked no questions, posed no alternatives - it was as though he was asleep. In fact, he may have been for all we could tell. One might have thought someone had cut out his tongue, for goodness sake.

THE BERRYS BLUSTER
Maybe Bever felt the tag-team of his neighbors, Mike and Judi Berry, said enough so he didn't have to. Believe me, I thought they said more than enough, but at least Judi didn't whine about cutting the Mutt Mittens from the budget this time around. And who knows what Mike said?! Sometimes it seems as though even he doesn't know what he's saying.

PETTINESS ON DISPLAY
When the final vote was taken Mansoor, clearly peeved, abruptly said, "That's it. We're adjourned."

NOW LET'S MOVE FORWARD
This budget process has been taxing for all concerned. City Manager Allan Roeder, Steve Mandoki, Marc Puckett, Bobby Young and the rest of the senior staff did a masterful job of presenting the council with workable solutions. Some of those are still dependent on a certain level of sales and property tax dollars. However, with the passage of the issue tonight, they now have a skeleton on which to begin adding muscle and bone. So now the city staff can move forward unless other curves are thrown our way. They can begin to plan for the potential early retirements they anticipate this fall and they can begin to manage the 104 unpaid furlough hours each employee - except the firefighters - will be expected to take between now and the end of August next year.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL FOR A JOB WELL-DONE
Congratulations to all involved for a job well-done. To the employees of our city, thank you all for understanding the extent of the problem and for your dedication in working together with the senior staff to resolve the problems. The firefighters, in particular, are to be commended for presenting a workable solution with some very sticky service issues that had to be addressed.

MANSOOR AND BEVER UNWORTHY OF OFFICE
I cannot close this post without observing, one more time, just how ineffective Mansoor and Bever have been in this process. It seems as though everything is black or white to them. Their inability to grasp - either through stubbornness or denseness, or both - the intricacies of this process demonstrates just what happens when the electorate is wooed by a one-note samba during a campaign. Mansoor and Bever used the fear of your dark-skinned neighbors to win their seats, which concealed the fact that neither man has the grey matter necessary to do their jobs. That is certainly something to keep in mind in the future as one or both may seek another elected office.

Catching Up

CAN'T TURN YOUR BACK FOR A MINUTE!
Geez, I sneak away for some quality time with the little woman for our 42nd wedding anniversary and the wheels begin to come off around here!

Upon my return Monday I found a few minutes to go online to catch up and found some very interesting items awaiting me.

QUACH'S CANDIDACY SQUASHED
First, there is the article about Assemblyman Van Tran's right-hand man, Andy Quach, getting tanked - with a blood alcohol level of .26 (three times the legal limit) - and smashing his car into another car, a power pole and a building and knocking out power to 300 homes! According to news reports, Tran himself came close to getting arrested as he tried to intervene during the processing of his friend at the scene. Quach was to be a contender in the race with our young jailer/mayor, Allan Mansoor, for Tran's Assembly seat. Looks like that race got just a little easier for our easily-led mayor.

BEVER BLOGS BUFFOONERY
Then, there is the article Alan Blank wrote in the Daily Pilot last week, HERE, about Costa Mesa employees taking furloughs generated lots of flack on the DP Blog. Among the many familiar names posting long, long entries was our very own formerly-pigtailed councilman, Eric Bever. He defended his position on the votes at the recent council meeting wherein he voted NO! to almost every item having to do with the negotiated budget issues. He apparently thinks that the employee unions should have taken a flat 5% pay cut instead of 104 hours of unpaid time - the fiscal impact is the same.

HE SHOULD PAY ATTENTION
Now, I understand Bever's view, but I wonder if he understands the position of the unions. Word has it that he was absent from almost all the sessions where negotiations took place or were discussed. Maybe if he'd pay a little more attention to his job as councilman he'd actually be in a position to make an informed vote, not just some gut reaction in a fit of pique. As I type this the comment thread on that article is at 54 and counting... very interesting.

GOOD GOD, WENDY!
And then there is the issue that Wendy Leece is going to present at the council study session on Tuesday! She apparently wants the city to fork over enough cash - maybe as much as $3,500 - to place a plaque somewhere in the council chambers proclaiming, "In God We Trust". You know, I'm not really surprised at this. All you folks who voted for Wendy knew what you were getting. It was inevitable that, somehow, she was going to attempt to insert her religious beliefs into her job as a council member. What astounds me is her absolutely abysmal timing! This is an unnecessary distraction for our city leaders at this moment in time.

LOBDELL CHIMES IN
There are some interesting viewpoints on this issue, one of which is HERE, from former Daily Pilot Editor and current Co-Publisher of the recently-launched Daily Voice, William Lobdell's take on this subject. He's the author of, "Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America - and Found Unexpected Peace."

MAYBE WENDY'S RIGHT...
Lobdell is apparently willing to cut Wendy some slack, but many of those posting comments on the Daily Pilot article are not, HERE. But maybe Wendy has a point. Based on some of their actions in recent years, maybe this current City Council needs a little reminder of some of the cornerstone values of Christianity - like tolerance, for example. It might work better, though, if - every time a council member votes to disenfranchise a member of a minority in our city - a big mallet would drop from the ceiling and give him or her a big whack on the skull. I can see it now... "I'm sorry, Mr. Bautista, but we want you to change the name of your basketball league to get rid of that nasty, offensive 'Aztec' reference"... Whack! A new lump on the skull of the mayor! I don't think a simple little plaque with a motto on it will do the trick.

MAYBE PLURAL?
On the other hand, I'm a little concerned about just what this plaque will say. Since we are rapidly becoming a very diverse nation, in which sizable chunks of our population do not, in fact, worship God. What about Greek gods, Hindu gods, Norse gods, Roman gods? You get the picture. Maybe the plaque should say, "In Gods We Trust", and cover all the bases.

OR A HIGH-TECH CRAWL?
And, since we're a high-tech kind of place, maybe we don't need a plaque at all. We can take an idea from the news media and include a big, running scroll across the council dais that says, "In God We Trust....In God We Trust....In God We Trust..." in big, red illuminated letters. Wouldn't that be cool?! Even better, every time the word "God" passed in front of Wendy Leece's position on the dais a big halo would light up around her head!

FULL AGENDA AT THE STUDY SESSION...
Tuesday is going to be an interesting day for the City Council. They have the aforementioned Study Session at 4:30, in which they will hear about John Wayne Airport, Local Agency Formation of Orange County and have the new city website previewed - in addition to Wendy's plans for a religious overlay for our city.

THEN BAD NEWS FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY...
Then they adjourn to a meeting of the Redevelopment Agency - the City Council in a fancy dress - at which they will undoubtedly hear how the current state budget crisis is going to hamstring redevelopment agencies state-wide.

AND THEN A SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING
And then they will convene a special City Council meeting at which the new Memorandum of Understanding with the Costa Mesa firefighters will be discussed. It's going to be a very, very interesting afternoon and evening.

I guess I'm just going to have to stick closer to home from now on...

Some Budget Cuts Restored, Just Not Enough

WORTH THE PRICE
As expected, the Costa Mesa City Council meeting was worth the price of admission, even though one of the potentially most contentious issues - the proposed tougher solicitation ordinance - was continued until next month. I guess they may have realized that their plan had some major holes in it - like the lack of a Job Center, for example.

ANTICIPATED FIREWORKS DO MATERIALIZE
The proposal by Katrina Foley and Wendy Leece to restore previously chopped programs to the budget generated many comments from community members and rancorous discussion between council members. Allan Mansoor set the tone for the evening's discussions when he launched into a tirade against Katrina Foley during council member comments for her behavior at the previous meeting nearly a month ago. He demanded an apology for being called "ignorant" by Foley at the last meeting. He didn't get one, and rightfully so. At that meeting he, Eric Bever and Gary Monahan displayed ignorance of family issues as they stubbornly voted in lock-step to chop family-oriented issues from the budget. I guess our young jailer/mayor (is he still a jailer?) has a heightened sensitivity to being called ignorant, for which I take some small degree of responsibility since I've reminded readers of his limited intellectual horsepower for several years. Since this was the first meeting which did not include the dinner part of the "dinner session", maybe Mansoor was just hungry. He really shouldn't miss any meals because his teeny brain needs all the nourishment it can get...

MONAHAN, THE MARTYR
As anticipated, Monahan again played the martyr, acknowledging that he knows he will get "beat up" for defending his position of nit-picking the little issues on the budget because the city is "in trouble". Well, duh, Gary - we all know that. Why didn't you spend your time massaging the big-ticket items in the budget? Maybe we should be asking the unions for a 6% pay cut instead of 5. Maybe he should be giving up his family health care plan - that would save a couple staff jobs. Oh, no.. he simply must use our current budget crisis to further oppress the less fortunate among us - those folks with brown skins. Honestly, I don't know how he faces those folks at church on Sunday...

SHOPPING CART ISSUE PASSED
The council decided to go along with the recommendation by staff regarding the shopping cart issue. Monahan recommended the threshold for the requirements be raised to 15 carts from 10. It will take several months to get the details sorted out and the store owners informed. Eventually, this plan will save the city $48,000 that it pays to have abandoned carts scooped up and returned to the proper stores. I wonder what it will cost us in goodwill with the stores in town, and how any potential merchants will feel about locating here with this measure in place. Oh, yes - the section of the ordinance giving the "developer majority" on the Planning Commission final say was included - lord help us all!

MASSAGE PARLOR MORATORIUM PASSED
The urgency ordinance requested by the Police Department to delay approvals of new permits and licenses for massage parlors and therapists was approved. Chief Shawkey told the council that he will use the 45 day moratorium to work with the City Attorney to craft tighter regulations for such businesses to help head off those that might be fronts for prostitution.

CONCERTS IN THE PARK RESTORED
Due to the efforts by Foley, Leece and others, the concerts in the park were restored. The Costa Mesa Community Foundation came up with $4300 and the Fire and Police unions donated $2500 each to help produce three concerts in the park. It is possible that a fourth concert will be salvaged if the community can come up with $1000 - Foley committed to contribute $500 of the $1500 necessary to produce that fourth concert. The council unanimously supported the restoration of the remaining concerts.

NEIGHBORS FOR NEIGHBORS, TOO
Leece moved that the Neighbors for Neighbors program be restored by using previously allocated funds from the Community Foundation. The vote was 4-1 in favor, with Monahan voting no.

MOBILE RECREATION PROGRAMS REJECTED - AGAIN
The Mobile Recreation Program was again rejected, despite the fact that the Costa Mesa Library Foundation and the School District both have participated in programs. Foley and Leece voted to reinstate it, but the three stooges on the council chose to take the short-sighted path and rejected it. Now the city will simply moth-ball the $82,000 vehicle and kiss off the opportunity to have a very positive impact on over 400 kids a month in our city.

TEEN AND YOUTH RECREATION PROGRAMS REJECTED - AGAIN
The Teen Program and the Youth Recreation programs were, once again, rejected by the men on the council. The council voted to receive and file the sister city and grad night programs, which means they remain unfunded in this year's budget.

IGNORANCE AND ELITISM
So, the men on the council demonstrated for their constituents one more time that they really have no clue when it comes to issues involving children and the importance of after school programs for them. Of course, we expect that kind of ignorance from Bever and Mansoor, since they have no kids that we know of. Monahan's insensitivity, however, is pure elitism - he can cover the cost of his children's private schools and all the after school amenities that goes with it by simply raising the price of a drink at his bar. The hardworking folks on the Westside that are the main beneficiaries of those chopped programs don't have that luxury. Monahan's "let them eat cake" attitude is disgusting, but not unexpected. I warned you about it last year during the campaign. Pay attention next time, will you please?

WHAT'S WITH BEVER?
By the way, is it my imagination or has Eric Bever decided to hibernate for the summer? His participation in the debates last night was nearly zero, and when he did speak he made no sense at all. If he plans to ride out the remainder of his term like this - basically phoning it in - perhaps someone should consider launching a recall effort so he can be replaced by someone who actually seems to be interested in city issues.

WENDY STANDS HER GROUND
And, finally, I must again commend Wendy Leece for standing up to the guys on the dais. She clearly has a much better grasp of family-oriented issues and, as an instructor at Juvenile Hall, she sees the end result of kids having little or no guidance and direction. I'm certainly not her biggest fan, but cannot help but admire her tenacity over the past couple months.

Drama On The Dais

DRAMA!
That's what we got at the Costa Mesa City Council meeting last night.






LEECE'S GEEZER POSSE ATTACKS
First, we had Wendy Leece's geezer posse stand before the council and continue their tirade about the Senior Center. We saw Costa Mesa's grumpiest couple, Ernie and John Feeney, perform a vitriolic tag team attack. Then the theme was carried forward by a couple of perpetual malcontents - two women who apparently have worn out their welcome at The Center. They were followed by two less strident ladies singing the same tune.

SENIOR CENTER TO CLOSE FOR A WEEK?
In fairness, the subject du jour was the apparent announcement within the last day or so by the Executive Director of The Center that it will be closed for a week next month, dislocating a few hundred seniors, so she and her staff can hold some kind of planning retreat. I must admit that, without more information, shutting down the Senior Center for a week so five staff members can "plan" seems ill-advised and certainly was ill-timed, considering all the controversy swirling around The Center for the past several months. The subject seemed to catch the council and city staff by surprise.

"THE MOUTH" AND "THE BEVE" HAVING A BAD NIGHT
Yep, if it wasn't The Mouth From Mesa North, who frequently speaks before the council, cussing them out several times because of their position on fees proposed by the fire department (I think he might have been ticked off because his trademark black golf shirt was in the wash), it was the perpetually petulant Eric Bever pouting on almost every issue. It seemed like he was just hitting the "No" button during votes because he was peeved.

GETTING MANSOOR'S DANDER UP
One thing was confirmed last night. If you want to get our young jailer/mayor's dander up, all you have to do is say one word - TAX! It seems that when he hears that word he's just like Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate when he sees the Queen of Hearts. Mansoor immediately goes into some kind of trance and begins spouting his anti-tax mantra.

GOOD TAX VS. BAD TAX
Last night he attempted to give us a primer on the difference between a good tax and a bad tax. Apparently, a tax that helps fix roads is a good tax and any other kind of a tax - the Transient Occupancy Tax, for example - is a bad tax. Somehow his teeny little brain doesn't seem to comprehend that it's tax dollars that keep the city functioning. Somehow he manages to forget that it's tax dollars that pay his salary as a Deputy Sheriff - if he's still working in that job, that is.

SICK OR HURT? PAY A FEE
The controversial measures proposed by the Fire Chief to raise revenue generated some heated debate, both among the council members and residents, too. On a split vote, with Bever and Leece voting no, the council passed the resolution to begin assessing every resident fees for ambulance and paramedic services when they use those services. It is assumed that most folks will have health coverage that will cover those costs or will qualify for "hardship" relief. This theoretically will generate over $540,000 in new revenue to the city. Several residents spoke against this issue, claiming that it was part of the basic services paid for by property taxes.

CRASH YOUR CAR? PAY A FEE
Equally controversial was the subject of charging those responsible for traffic accidents the cost of cleaning up the "property damage" caused by the accident. Generally, we're talking about an event that spills fuel, oil or coolant on the streets or otherwise damages city property. This is supposed to generate nearly $200,000 in new revenue. An interesting sidebar - Chief Morgan had sitting at his side as an "expert witness" one of the honchos of EF Recovery - the mysterious company mentioned in my earlier posts. Gee, I wonder who will get the contract? The vote on this one was the same - 3-2, with Bever and Leece voting no.

FIRE PREVENTION FEES SENT BACK
The third item presented by the Fire Chief - the fee schedule for fire prevention inspections - was not passed. It was sent back for more information and will not likely be adopted in time to become part of the initial 2009/2010 budget.

BOGUS COUNCIL PAY CUT APPROVED
The issue proposed by the grandstanding Mansoor to reduce city council salaries by 5% passed the second reading. So, way, way off in November of 2010 the council at that time will get a meaningless pay cut and Mansoor will be looking over his termed-out shoulder and smiling that goofy smile of his.

FIREWORKS ORDINANCE POLISHED AND APPROVED
The ordinance approved in an earlier meeting was back for another try. The wording of the ordinance was buffed up to meet current state requirements and was approved. Violations will now be civil citations and all the money received will go to the city.

BIA TAX APPROVED - AGAIN
The annual love-fest that is the renewal of the 2% levy on hotel rooms to support the Business Improvement Area (BIA) was passed, but not without some healthy discussion. Katrina Foley asked that a portion of the proceeds be contributed by the BIA to related community activities. That got Gary Monahan's Irish (sorry, couldn't resist) up, because he's apparently been wheeling and dealing with the group to kick back a pittance. The fact that Monahan gets lots of referrals to his gin mill from member hotels has more than a slight odor to it.

COUNCIL APPROVES APPRAISAL - WITH SOMEONE ELSE'S MONEY
Finally, the council approved getting an appraisal for the site of the old mini-storage at 1100 Bristol, below the 73 Freeway. It is assumed that it would make a good location for still more playing fields in a city that just can't seem to build them fast enough. They approved it only because Foley managed to find a third party - Costa Mesa United - to pay the $9,000 fee. We can't afford to buy the land, but that decision is way off in the future. Right now the appraisal is necessary to begin thinking about it. Many thanks to the good folks at Costa Mesa United for stepping up.

MC EVOY & THE MOUTH
I was very pleased to see young Chris McEvoy, candidate for city council in the last election, again step before the council and ask excellent questions. His courteous, respectful demeanor was a very pleasant counterpoint to the near-apoplectic rants by The Mouth From Mesa North. But then, unlike The Mouth, McEvoy doesn't have a hidden agenda. He only cares about the well-being of his home town and ALL the residents who live here.,