Mike Grier Remembrance

PRE-THANKSGIVING CEREMONY
You may recall that just before the Thanksgiving holiday I wrote, HERE, about the plan to unveil a plaque for my neighbor, Mike Grier, at Newport Harbor High School.  That ceremony took place on Thursday, November 20th, on the pool deck at the school.  You can read Matt Szabo's excellent account of that event from the Daily Pilot, HERE.  I wrote about Mike's passing HERE.

FAMILY, FRIENDS, TEAM MATES
Before a small gathering of family, friends, neighbors and team mates, Newport Harbor Athletic Director Mike Zimmerman unveiled the plaque honoring the memory of Michael Stanley Grier for his outstanding accomplishments as a water polo player, not only for Newport Harbor High School, but for his accomplishments in college at Pepperdine University and on the world scene.  A similar plaque will also be mounted inside Heritage Hall, and a scholarship will be created in Mike's name.

A WONDERFUL MAN REMEMBERED
Mike Grier was a neighbor of mine.  In fact, he was the very first person I saw the day we moved into our Eastside Costa Mesa neighborhood over 41 years ago.  I looked down the street as I was hauling stuff into the house from my car and saw this strapping young fellow in shorts and a t-shirt - a nice looking kid.  As it turns out, that was just about the time he began swimming and playing water polo.

FATHER AND DAUGHTER
Mike's father, Stan Grier, spoke to us briefly about his son and his life beyond water polo.  His daughter, Emma, shared her memories of her father.

 "THE BELL"...
Team mate John Layman told us about his recollections of Mike and shared with us the story of the bell he brought with him.  It was to be rung once each time a member of their championship team passed.  Layman pulled the cord and rang the bell in honor of Mike.

 FRIENDS...
Among those who attended was family friend Marian Bergeson, whose son, James, was a team mate and Mike Grier's best friend.  She is shown here with Mike's mother, Jane.

...AND LEGENDS

Also attending were John Dobrott, James Bergeson, and legendary coach Bill Barnett - all shown here with Layman.  As I looked at the signs around the pool deck displaying the names of so many great swimmers and water polo players I had to smile. 

HE WILL BE MISSED...
Mike Grier was a terrific athlete, a loving husband and father, devoted son and brother and a great friend.  He was a young man who reached the pinnacle of success as an athlete, was a successful businessman and a loyal friend.  He left us at age 51 - much too soon.  I'm proud to have known him and will miss him.

Singeing Supervisor Candidate's Digits

FEET TO THE FIRE, AGAIN
Last night the four candidates for the Orange County 2nd District Supervisor race met at the Costa Mesa Community Center and were grilled for a fast-paced hour by Barbara Venezia and her merry mob of interrogators - Daily Pilot Editor John Canalis, City Editor Alicia Lopez, Orange County Register columnist Jack Wu and Voice of OC Editor-in-Chief Norberto Santana, Jr.

THE "VICTIMS"
 Board of Equalization Vice Chair Michelle Steel, Coast Community College District Board member Jim Moreno, Assemblyman Allan Mansoor, and Huntington Beach City Councilman Joe Carchio endured this edition of the now-famous Feet To The Fire Forum - the seventh in the series - and all walked away without the need of resuscitation.

BROUGHT HER OWN CROWD
Steel brought with her an enthusiastic crowd of admirers, who were planted front and center fully a half-hour before the event began.  Support for the others seemed sparse and scattered by comparison.

FRENETIC PACE
The "format" - described by some as Jerry Springeresque - was rapid and random, with some candidates being able to fully answer questions and others not so much.  As has been the case in previous events like this one, interrogators talked over each other and candidates and some were left with their hands in the air as the questions moved on without them.

ATTENTIVE CROWD

That being said, at the end of that whirlwind hour I suspect most in the audience of around 100 souls  had a pretty clear idea of each of the candidates.  I notice several other political players in the room, including some of the young cadre of OC GOP up-and-comers.  Supervisor Todd Spitzer was there, but termed-out John Moorlach - who's seat is in play for this election - was not.  And, our matriarch of Orange County politics, former Assemblywoman, State Senator and Secretary of Education Marian Bergeson, attended this one, too.

FORGO PENSION?
Canalis led off the questioning by asking each of the candidates whether, if elected, they would forgo their pensions?  Steel said yes.  Moreno gave a long answer about trying to use it to fund necessary programs.  Mansoor said he "probably would", then danced around the issue, stating that he was not "independently wealthy" - a slam at Steel.  Carchio said he had done so in Huntington Beach and saw no reason to change.

MORE PENSIONS
The question then turned to whether they would support a move to remove Supervisor's pensions.  Only Moreno answered that one, and then only partially, before the conversation got sidetracked into a broader "pension" dialogue.  Santana attempted to get each of them to answer specific questions, but they each dodged them like a ring full of bullfighters.  Moreno said pensions are "a horrendous problem".  Mansoor said he led by example - indicating that he didn't take any pay raises while in Sacramento.  That, of course, didn't answer the question.  Carchio discussed his experiences in Huntington Beach.

CALOPTIMA
The issue of the beleaguered CalOptima program came up.  Several of the candidates didn't seem to have done their homework on it so the discussion sank.

TO MANSOOR - WHY THIS MOVE?

Mansoor was asked why people who supported him just two years ago for his current seat should support him now for this move, speculating that they might worry that he would jump again in another couple years.  He said, "I can respect that", but that he was supporting Huntington Beach councilman Don Hansen for this role, then he chose not to run, so he felt there needed to be someone with strong roots - again alluding to Steel's perceived carpetbagger status.  He indicated that "we need someone who can hit the ground running." - meaning himself.

 SPEAKING OF CARPETBAGGERS
Jack Wu, during that discussion, made an oblique reference to Costa Mesa Mayor Jim Righeimer, talking about how Mansoor appointed him to the Planning Commission only a short time after he moved to Costa Mesa from Fountain Valley.  The discussion was frenetic, but Mansoor was clearly rattled by that one.  He said something curious about Righeimer "being able to walk over from Fountain Valley."

 A LITTLE BACKGROUND
Each managed to include a little personal history, including Carchio.  His verbal resume seemed tailor-made for the job of Supervisor.  He's been on the Huntington Beach City Council, lived in Orange County 35 years, coached baseball and football, is the Chairman of the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), is in the PTA, on the board of the Orange County Waste Management Board, the Vector Control Board, California League of Cities and many others.  I got exhausted just listening to the list.

REALLY?
There was an amusing exchange when Mansoor was asked why he was running when Carchio was running.  He said he "liked Joe, but I don't think he can win."

MORENO
At that point Moreno discussed his background working as a Deputy Supervisor in Los Angeles County for thirteen years - part of his 35 years in that county government.  He also spoke of his time on the Coast Community College District Board for the past 7 years, during which more than 60,000 students received degrees or transferred to other schools.

 SHOW ME THE MONEY...

At one point each candidate was asked to tell the panel how much money they had in their campaign war chests, excluding personal loans to it.  Their answers were:

Carchio - $75,000

Mansoor - $100,000

Moreno - $40,000

Steel - $550,000

GULP!
Yes, that is NOT a typo... Steel has more than a half-million bucks to spend!  Mansoor told the crowd that he's been outspent in every race he'd ever run in and won them all.

A RECORD OF..... ?
When asked about his accomplishments in Sacramento Mansoor was unable to point to any bill of his that had passed - he apparently forgot the one that took the word "retard" out of the official Sacramento lexicon.  Funny, because that was it - his "accomplishment".

SOON ON TV...

And on and on... it was much like watching doubles badminton, with candidates taking giant whacks at the shuttlecock, only to have it drop softly at the feet of the opponent.  Still, it was entertaining and you'll soon be able to watch it on Newport Beach Television and, if they provide a DVD to CMTV, on that station, too.

IMPRESSIONS
I came away with the following impressions:

Michelle Steel is probably a very smart woman and probably really knows her subject matter, but she has a problem communicating it in memorable sound bites.  She has a gigantic war chest and likely will outspend all the other candidates combined.  That doesn't make her the best choice, though.  There's this whole "carpetbagger" perception issue and the almost slobbering embrace by the OC GOP hierarchy that just doesn't seem to square with her actual qualifications.  Early in the race and my mailbox seems to have something from her campaign every day.

Allan Mansoor, a brand new father, seemed very defensive and was clearly the most aggressive candidate on the stage.  His not-too-subtle barbs aimed at Steel demonstrated to me that he thinks she's the one to beat.  He's in the unenviable position of having decided to bail out of his current gig with no apparent fall-back position if he loses to her.  And, virtually all the big name GOP support is going to Steel.  Having watched him in action for more than a decade I can say that Mansoor is, well, Mansoor - an affable, not very smart and ineffective politician who seems very uncomfortable with that role in life.

Jim Moreno has a lifetime of public service, including some very relevant experience working for an LA County Supervisor - whom he did not name, by the way.  His experience on the Coast Community College Board is also impressive.  He was not rattled last night during the verbal food fight we witnessed.  I came away from the evening thinking he was probably a pretty steady hand.

Joe Carchio - a man whom I've never met before - had the best "resume" of the bunch.  His experience seems to perfectly position him for this job - he actually does know Orange County.  He's held several elected and appointed positions simultaneously and, apparently, successfully and he managed the chaos the best last night.  He was unflappable.  I don't know what kind of a council member he has been in Huntington Beach, nor am I familiar with his other contributions as a member of other boards, but I'd like to know more.  If I had to vote today, based only on what I know about the candidates right now,  I'd vote for him.

NEXT UP - COSTA MESA CANDIDATES IN SEPTEMBER
So, another Feet To The Fire Forum in the can.  The next one is way, way out in September, on the 18th, when the Costa Mesa City Council candidates will get their chance to be spindled and toasted on the campus of Orange Coast College - a new, larger venue.  Thanks to Barbara Venezia and her team for another enlightening, entertaining evening.  Again, I found myself wanting more...

Feet To The Fire Forum Festivities

OUCH! OUCH! OUCH!

If any of the candidates at last night's Feet To The Fire Forum expected to come away with only moderately warm toes they were in for a rude awakening. The fire was turned up to "broil" most of the night.

YOU MISSED THE FUN!

Those of you who chose to stay home last night and watch television, or go to the Claim Jumper so you could Tip A Cop, missed the best game in town last night as the irrepressible Barbara Venezia and her merry band of cohorts from local media outlets mercilessly grilled the three remaining candidates for the 74th Assembly District before approximately 150 of your friends and neighbors, including some local political royalty - the very honorable Marian Bergeson.

THE INTERROGATORS

Venezia, a columnist for the Orange County Register, was joined by former Daily Pilot publisher Tom Johnson, who recently took over operations of the Register's The Current weekly supplement; John Canalis, editor, and Jack Wu, new "conservative" columnist represented the Daily Pilot; Roger Bloom, editor of the Newport Beach Independent and Norberto Santana, Jr,. Editor-in-Chief of The Voice of OC.

THE VICTIMS, ER, CANDIDATES

They teamed up to interrogate candidates Leslie Daigle, Newport Beach Councilwoman; Allan Mansoor, presently Assemblyman from a district in which he no longer lives due to redistricting and Bob Rush, a Newport Beach resident and freshly-minted Democrat.

THE OPENING BELL...

Former Newport Beach mayor Evelyn Hart got things rolling as she led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, then we all kind of sat back, expecting a nice, cordial little chat about issues. Wrong! It only took about 15 seconds before the candidates lit into each other. What followed was terrific drama and a very enlightening evening.

"THE BRIDGE"

Canalis led things off with one of the real hot-button issues when he asked the candidates whether they supported a bridge over the Santa Ana River at 19th Street in Costa Mesa. Rush and Mansoor promptly said "NO", but Daigle waffled and tried to give the "long" answer. What immediately followed might be best described as a dog fight, as the candidates nipped at each other and the panelists kept tossing red meat into the fight.

WHAT FUN!

Because Daigle paused with her answer Mansoor suggested she just stay on the city council until she can make up her mind about the bridge. Daigle asked Mansoor why, as a member of the Orange County Transportation Authority, didn't he get the bridge removed from the Master Plan of Arterial Highways during his tenure. Rush suggested that the bridge was dead so they should move on. It sounds pretty civilized, doesn't it? Well, it wasn't, but it was a lot of fun to watch, though.

SETTING THE SCENE

Let me pause here for a second. From the get-go it was clear that, for the most part, it was going to be the boys against the girl. Mansoor and Daigle have been taking shots at each other for a couple months and Rush has long-standing bad feelings about Daigle. And, interrogator Wu and Daigle have recently gone round and round about a recent commentary Wu wrote. As I said, it was fun to watch.

IT WAS RECORDED FOR FUTURE VIEWING - "MUST-SEE-TV"

I'm not going to try to quote chapter and verse of the meeting. The 90 minutes just flew by - it was kind of like watching a boxing match without any breaks in the rounds. I'll try to give you a few more highlights and remind you that the event was recorded for later viewing by a combined team from Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Irvine. Dane Bora and Brad Long of CMTV will handle the post-production, blending the video from the multiple cameras in the room last night and distribute the finished product for viewing on each city's television channels. That will probably be available for viewing late next week and will also be available on streaming video. I'll let you know when I know the play schedules.

BLAME FOR COSTA MESA'S MESS...

Santana braced Mansoor with a question about Costa Mesa finances, and wondered how he felt about the constant criticism being leveled by members of the current council against those that Mansoor was on, accusing them of being the cause of Costa Mesa's current financial dilemma. Mansoor denied responsibility, saying he voted against the issues that caused it, and Daigle questioned his leadership.

WHY A DEMOCRAT, RUSH?

When questioned about his recent conversion from "decline-to-state" to becoming a registered Democrat just before he filed to run for office, Rush explained that his views were moderate - not in line with the current leadership of the OC GOP, and that, because he is pro-choice, he felt there was no place for him in the Republican Party. He felt he could be much more effective in Sacramento as a Democrat.

WHAT WILL THEY DO?

Both Daigle and Mansoor were questioned about how they would make a difference in Sacramento as a member of the Republican contingent - a toothless tiger in recent years as the balance of power swung left. Neither had good answers to the question. Mansoor has a track record of basically no accomplishment during his nearly two years as an Assemblyman.

"ILLEGAL ALIENS"

One interesting moment came when the discussion turned to Daigle's very unfortunate encounter with a security guard at the Corona del Mar High School track a few years ago. She was accused of threatening to have him deported and, because he was a Latino, is reported to have said, "I bet you live in Costa Mesa". It was a nasty - and clearly unforgettable - event that will dog her throughout her political career. She didn't deny the incident and explained that sometimes things happen you would have preferred not happen. Then, though, she shifted the "anti-immigrant" focus to Mansoor, pointing out his incident with Benito Acosta when Mansoor had him removed from council chambers - a move that resulted in a lawsuit against the city.

MANSOOR CHOKES UP

Mansoor has heard this all before and, in years past, would attempt to explain that he was the son of immigrants. This time, however, he choked-up and appeared to be near tears as he told the story. He denied he was anti-immigrant, pointing out that his girlfriend is an immigrant and a person on his campaign staff is, as well. Both young women have Vietnamese ancestry. I don't doubt he felt that emotion, but that never has, and didn't last night, explain his animosity against the Latino population in Costa Mesa. It was "illegal aliens" that got him elected twice.

HOW CAN YOU GET THINGS DONE IN SACRAMENTO?

At one point Johnson, attempting to get the candidates to explain how they expected to accomplish anything in Sacramento, used Jim Righeimer and Steve Mensinger as examples of guys who "get things done" - he referred to them as "bulls in a china shop" - a truly accurate description. Rush's answer was "Send a Democrat to Sacramento". Mansoor said something about "taking special interests out of Sacramento" - like that has a snowball's chance in Hades of ever happening. Daigle said it will take someone willing to work on both sides of the aisle. That's a nice theory, but the Republicans just don't have the numbers to make that work.

REHAB FACILITIES

The discussion of Newport Beach's proliferation of rehab facilities generated some heated discussion. Rush became politically active because his neighborhood in West Newport became overrun by rehab facilities. He blamed Daigle's vote on the issue for opening the floodgates and mentioned his role in getting Newport's stricter regulations that have now squeezed many rehab venues out of town - and straight into Costa Mesa. He mentioned that a rehab facility can generate $250,000 per month - it's like printing money. Mansoor said he has legislation in the works, but didn't go into specifics. None of the three bills he authored during his term have passed.

IS BOB RUSH JUST THERE TO SIPHON OFF DAIGLE VOTES?

Rush was asked at one point just why he got into the race, because some figured he was there to siphon off votes that might be cast for Daigle, who is a much more moderate Republican candidate than Mansoor. He claimed that he's in the race to win, not to be a distraction. We'll see. We do know he's committed $100,000 of his own money to the campaign and, he tells us, he's raised another $30,000 in the past couple weeks.

ONE-WORD ANSWERS

And on and on and on we went. Finally, Venezia wrapped things up with some very specific one-word-answer questions. She polled each candidate on them and demanded that they just give one-word answers. On Medical Marijuana, both Mansoor and Rush supported it and Daigle did not. Daigle and Rush are pro-choice and Mansoor is pro-life. Mansoor and Daigle oppose gay marriage and Rush supports it.

IT WAS A GOOD SHOW

Last night's forum was much better than previous versions. The questioning was relentless, the exchanges between the candidates back and forth and with the interrogators gave you a pretty good picture of the styles of the individuals and the strengths - and lack thereof - each brings to the race. Venezia and her team are to be commended for putting on a great show. Personally, it was great to see Tom Johnson back in the mix again. His fingerprints are already all over the "new" Current and he was clearly ready for this experience. You can read Joe Serna's summary of the evening in the Daily Pilot, HERE.

MANY PARTISANS IN THE AUDIENCE

I didn't do any official polling of the audience members. There were many partisans in the room, there to support their favorite candidate. Shown here are GOP Central Committee members Jeff Mathews and Allan Bartlett. It was my gut feeling that Daigle had the fewest supporters in attendance last night. I must say, though, that the audience seemed to be quite attentive and energized. Grumblings could be heard throughout the evening as candidates attempted to present their views.

HOW DID THEY DO?

Several acquaintances and I discussed our impressions immediately after the forum. Most of us agreed that Bob Rush looked and sounded the best. He was prompt and unambiguous with most of his answers, tended to stay out of the spats and generally looked much more polished. Mansoor continues to be, well, Mansoor. He's not a polished speaker, just as he is not a consensus builder. He's not quick on his feet and some of his answers were clearly scripted. Even so, most thought he was second last night. Daigle looked the least comfortable and had the hardest time presenting crisp answers to the questions - most thought she finished last. Those were my impressions, too.

NOT MANY DEMOCRATS ON HAND...

As I looked around the half-filled room last night I saw many Republican operatives. Righeimer and Mensinger were in the room, for example. The only prominent Democrat I recognized - keeping in mind that I don't hang with those guys - was Orange County Employee's Association General Manager Nick Berardino, shown here on the left with fellow Fair Board member (and Barbara Venezia's husband), Stan Tkaczyk.

NEXT STOP, NEWPORT BEACH ON MAY 9TH

According to Venezia at the end, the only other candidate forum before the June 5th primary election will be held in Newport Beach on May 9th.