A Fun Time Ahead On Tuesday

HERE WE GO AGAIN...
Next Tuesday, January 15, 2013, the Costa Mesa City Council will meet at its regularly scheduled meeting - the final one of the month - at 6:00 p.m. in council chambers.  A closed session will precede it at 5:00.

AGENDA PENDING
This meeting promises to be short, but potentially very entertaining.  As I prepare to post this at 2:00 p.m. Friday the agenda has not yet been posted, but I got a sneak peek at it, so will whet your appetite for what's ahead. Agenda now available HERE.

COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS

The big item on the agenda, HERE,  is the appointment of new Planning and Parks and Recreation commissioners.  Originally there were to be five (5) appointments, but now there are six (6) because Parks and Recreation Commissioner Dan Vozenilek resigned suddenly Thursday, creating four (4) slots open on the Parks and Recreation Commission.

PLANNING COMMISSION ROSTERS
The Planning Commission presently consists of the following individuals (the termination of their appointments is shown in parenthesis):

• Colin McCarthy, Chair (Feb. 2013)
• Sam Clark, Vice Chair (Feb. 2013)
• Rob Dickson (Feb. 2015)
• Ed Salcedo (Feb. 2015)
• Jeff Mathews (Feb. 2015)  He's filling out the unexpired term of Jim  Fitzpatrick, who resigned last year.

This produces two (2) positions for the council to fill.
*APPLICANT RESUMES AVAILABLE HERE.


PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ROSTER
The Parks and Recreation Commission presently consists of the following individuals.

• Kim Pederson (Feb. 2013)
• Dean Abernathy (Feb. 2015)
• Vacant (Feb. 2015) - Ethan Temianka's position, who resigned following his election to the Mesa Consolidated Water District Board in November.
• Vacant (Feb. 2013) - Jeff Mathews position, who was appointed to the Planning Commission
• Vacant (Feb. 2015) - Dan Vozenilek position.  He resigned Thursday.

This produces four (4) positions for the council to fill.

*APPLICANT RESUMES AVAILABLE HERE.

ROSTER OF APPLICANTS
Here's the roster of applicants for the positions on both the Planning and Parks and Recreation Commissions.  Three people, Byron de Arakal, Devin Lucas and Tim Sesler,  have applied for a seat on both commissions and are noted by the asterisk (*) beside their names. (click on the image to enlarge)

FITZPATRICK GIVES THE AG "THE FINGER"

There are so many potentially interesting stories in this roster of folks, but the only place to begin is with the re-emergence of Jim Fitzpatrick as a candidate for a Planning Commission seat.  Anyone following Costa Mesa politics lately know most of the story of Fitzpatrick thumbing his nose at solid legal opinion and holding seats on both the Planning Commission and the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board of Directors.  It has been reported that he was advised by lawyers that he was forbidden to hold both seats simultaneously.  Eventually, the middle of last year and following legal action initiated by the remaining four members of the Sanitary District Board, he resigned from the Planning Commission.  The legal action remains and the State Attorney General, Kamala Harris, recently advised the Sanitary District that the lawsuit could continue.

ARROGANCE AND/OR STUPIDITY

And yet, here we are, with Fitzpatrick effectively giving the Attorney General the finger by re-applying for the Planning Commission seat!  One can only assume that he intends to resign from the Sanitary District Board - or else he's willing to go through with the legal action and potentially lose all he owns to legal fees.  I'm trying to figure out whether he's getting bad legal advice or is just plain stupid.  Could be a little of both.

WILL THE COUNCIL COMPOUND THE PROBLEM?

So, the question then is whether the council majority will re-appoint Fitzpatrick knowing all the drama that surrounds him in this matter.  Of course, Fitzpatrick could resolve the issue by resigning from the Sanitary District Board BEFORE the appointment process on Tuesday.  Stay tuned!

WILL THE COUNCIL OUST CLARK AND/OR MC CARTHY?
Under more normal circumstances the top question here would be whether the council is willing to dump either Sam Clark or Colin McCarthy - or both - from the Planning Commission.  Clark has been a loyal GOP foot soldier and has not done a bad job on the commission.  McCarthy managed to irritate a lot of people around town during his failed City Council campaign last year, so I'm wondering if they will cast him aside.

KRUPP IS BACK

The roster of applicants has other provocative names on it.  Marshall Krupp, for example, became the invisible man once he terminated his campaign last fall.  His background includes significant planning-related experience.

ELEANOR EGAN IS BACK, TOO
Long time activist and former city employee, Eleanor Egan has directly related experience, having been a member of the Planning Commission in the recent past.  She served with distinction during her tour and was always a voice of reason on the commission.

STEVE SMITH?  REALLY?
Columnist Steve Smith is on the list.  That's interesting, since he has zero background for this kind of an assignment.

BYRON'S BACK, TOO
Byron de Arakal applied for either commission, has been on the Parks and Recreation Commission in the past - including a tour as Chairman - and did a great job.

YOUNG LAWYERS
Two recently-active young lawyers, Devin Lucas and Tim Sesler, have applied for both, too.  Personally, it might be fun to have them on the Parks and Recreation Commission.  Sesler has proven to be pretty thin-skinned when it comes to criticism of his views as expressed in commentaries in the local media and in the comment threads online.

MORE THAN A ONE-TRICK PONY

Sue Lester applied for the Planning Commission.  She has demonstrated that she's far from being the one-trick pony most assumed she would be when she became active in local issues primarily to protect her business.  She has become a tireless activist on a variety of issues and is currently on the 60th Anniversary Planning Committee.

OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST, TOO
Other items on the agenda include the re-naming and re-tasking of the Investment Oversight Committee, HERE,  and Mayor Jim Righeimer's appointments to the Conference and Visitor's Bureau Board, the Transportation Corridor Agency and the Orange County Vector Control District, HERE. At this point the agenda is not posted on the City web site.  When that occurs the applications for all the individuals will be available online for our review.  I'll comment more at that time.

Krupp Pulls Out

HE'S OUT... Costa Mesa City Council candidate Marshall Krupp announced on the steps of City Hall today that he has decided to withdraw his candidacy effective today.

UNHAPPY WITH CM4RG REJECTION

Unfortunately, not only has he chosen to extract himself from the political turmoil that is sure to come later this summer and fall, he basically dropping out from ANY involvement in ANY community activities. Based on the items he handed out at his press conference today, and his comments to those of us who showed up to hear him, he was VERY disappointed when was not chosen by the grassroots organization, Costa Mesans For Responsible Government, as part of the group they recently endorsed.

SHORT-SIGHTED AND SELFISH

While I do believe that his presence on the ballot would have been a distraction to the voters and would likely have been an impediment to defeating the OC GOP-endorsed slate of  Gary Monahan, Steve Mensinger and Colin McCarthy, I think his decision to extract his voice from the debate of important issues is short-sighted and, quite frankly, selfish of him. I hope, upon reflection, he will change his mind and return as a participant, if not a candidate, during the upcoming campaign season.

TOO MUCH BAGGAGE?

Krupp apparently felt that, despite his considerable skills and background, CM4RG rejected him as an endorsee because of his history with The ManKind Project - the program that had him leading groups of naked, blindfolded men through the forest and sitting around speaking to a wooden dildo. I don't know if that's a fact or not..

GENIS, STEPHENS AND ...KRUPP?

When asked who he thought he should have been paired with by the folks at CM4RG, he said that he, Sandra Genis and John Stephens would be a strong slate. CM4RG chose activist and entrepreneur Harold Weitzberg.  Krupp figures that the Weitzberg choice was because he is related to CM4RG president  Robin Leffler.

PETULANT?  MAYBE...

While I understand part of Krupp's reasoning, his reluctance to be an active participant and strong voice in what he acknowledges is a critical juncture in the history of this city seems a little like a kid who doesn't get chosen near the top in a pick- up football game, so takes his ball and goes home.  It seems to me that, if he seriously had the interests of THE CITY at heart he would swallow his pride ans find another way to participate. Maybe not.

8 AND COUNTING

So, we are down to eight candidates with nine days to go before they have to make their final decision to run or not. We'll see how this plays out next week.

Sorry for no images. My computer sprained it's brain so I'm left to using my IPad.

I'm back, computer is operating again, so I added images.  That darn Ipad is too much work! 

Krupp Calls A Press Conference

AUGUST 1ST
Costa Mesa City Council candidate Marshall Krupp today announced a press conference on the steps of Costa Mesa City Hall on Wednesday, August 1st at 4:00 p.m.


HIS REASONS...
In the press release announcing the press conference  titled "Marshall Krupp Initiates Nominations Process for Election to the Costa Mesa City Council", he cites the recent Banning Ranch Mitigation Agreement, the "ill-conceived Proposed Charter" and what he calls "a continuing strategy by the current majority on the City Council to dismantle the Costa Mesa Fire Department and the Costa Mesa Police Department" as reasons for his candidacy.

 IS HE PULLING OUT?
Since Krupp has stated in the past that he would withdraw from the race if he couldn't attract broad support from within the community and since the broad-based grass roots organization Costa Mesans For Responsible Government just announced their support for Sandra Genis, Harold Weitzberg and John Stephens this week, we wonder if this press conference might be to announce his withdrawal from the race.

BRING A SNACK
Krupp has brought a lot of energy to the campaign so far and has some ideas worth considering.  However, none of his messages have been delivered with brevity, so if you plan to attend this event bring a snack... it could be a long afternoon.

CM4RG Announces Candidate Endorsements

CHOICES ANNOUNCED TODAY
In a press release this afternoon the group, Costa Mesans For Responsible Government, announced the candidates they will endorse in the Costa Mesa City Council race.  Their complete press release is at the end of this post. SOLID CITIZENS...
Although they undertook a thorough vetting process to arrive at their endorsements - dozens of their membership voted on this issue - the results really did not surprise me.  The candidates selected are former mayor Sandra Genis, attorney and long-time Costa Mesa resident John Stephens and entrepreneur and activist Harold Weitzberg.  They all are members of CM4RG.  That, in my opinion, does not degrade the importance of this endorsement. 

...FROM A SOLID GROUP

Costa Mesans For Responsible Government has been portrayed by supporters of the slate of candidates that includes two incumbents and a planning commissioner as some kind of a fringe element - a bunch of loose cannons.  That, of course, is far from the truth.  This group, cobbled together more than eighteen months ago in response to their concern for what they saw happening in our city, is made up of hundreds of residents that cover a broad range of political viewpoints - including some of my fellow Republicans.  This group may be a perfect example of the old saying, "Politics makes for strange bedfellows."  I suspect the process they went through to arrive at this list of endorsed candidates may have been very much like herding cats. 

 OPPOSITION CANDIDATES NOT VETTED

It's my understanding that Steve Mensinger, Colin McCarthy and Gary Monahan - the three candidates touted by the Orange County Republican Party - as well as newcomer Al Melone were NOT vetted by the group.  In fact, the first three are a big part of the reason CM4RG exists.

AN INTERESTING SEASON AHEAD
The CM4RG candidates, in my view, are individually strong candidates with their own special skills and history of accomplishments.  I believe they will make this campaign season especially interesting. 


WHAT OF LESTER AND KRUPP?
I'm not sure what these endorsements will do, if anything, the candidacy of Sue Lester and Marshall Krupp at this time.  Krupp has given very strong indications that if he was unable to garner wide, strong community support that he would withdraw from the race.  I guess we'll soon see.  August 10th is the drop dead date.

NO "M"s FOR ME!


From my standpoint this process got a whole lot easier today.  I simply will not vote for anyone with a surname that begins with an "M".

So, let the games begin...

*****

CM4RG PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Costa Mesans for Responsible Government Endorses Three Candidates for Costa Mesa City Council

Costa Mesans for Responsible Government (CM4RG.org), a grassroots, non-partisan organization formed to encourage and promote high levels of openness, accountability, integrity, and responsiveness in our City Government, endorses Sandra (Sandy) Genis, John Stephens, and Harold Weitzberg for Costa Mesa City Council in the upcoming November 2012 election.

"We are pleased to have three strong candidates who oppose the city charter in its current form and who have the ability to communicate the change needed in Costa Mesa city government," said Robin Leffler, President of CM4RG.  "Our endorsed candidates have strong professional backgrounds and thoughtful, common-sense solutions for Costa Mesa.  

We believe Sandy Genis, John Stephens, and Harold Weitzberg will work well together because of their common values, in-depth knowledge of the city's operations, land development, local, state, and federal laws and how they affect residents, taxpayers, local businesses, and city employees.  We understand they will focus on public services to protect the residents and businesses and promote the smooth operations of our city.  They have the experience and willingness to deal with complex budget issues in a collaborative and constructive way. Finally, Sandy, John, and Harold have proven that they will do the right thing for the right reasons.  We could not be more pleased."

CM4RG established a non-partisan, three-tier process to select quality candidates, based on several criteria.  These included prior involvement in Costa Mesa issues and institutions, education and professional experience, ability to win in a highly competitive election, and a high level of agreement with CM4RG’s mission and policy positions.

An elected committee conducted personal interviews.   A panel of dedicated volunteers observed these interviews.   Then a summary of answers from each of the candidates was prepared presented to an appointed group of CM4RG members assembled to represent our broad based demographics, including every major political party and area of the city.  The group of CM4RG's non-partisan, grassroots members was presented with a choice of 5 candidates interviewed.  After group discussion a secret ballot was cast.  The vote was unanimous for Sandy Genis, John Stephens and Harold Weitzberg. 

CM4RG was formed in early 2011 to return Costa Mesa to an open, responsible, transparent government that is responsive and accountable to its people.

For more information about Costa Mesans for Responsible Government and how you can support their efforts, go to www.CM4RG.org. Join us on Facebook at facebook.com/cmforrg and on Twitter at twitter.com/CM4RG.

- 30 -

Eastside Safety Meeting A Success

A SUCCESSFUL EVENING
My friends from the Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbors Group held an excellent forum at the Lighthouse Church tonight.  It was a rousing success.

EASTSIDE TEAM DID A FINE JOB
Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbors Group President Jeff McConville, kicked things off by providing a brief description of the mission of the group and introducing several of the other members in attendance.  He then handed it off to councilwoman Wendy Leece for a brief introduction.

PACKED HOUSE HEARD GAZSI AND HIS TEAM
The meeting played to a packed house - at least 125 of our neighbors sat and heard a team from the Costa Mesa Police Department, led by Chief Tom Gazsi, present crime statistics for the area and offer suggestions for improving the safety in the area.

SPEAKING OF WHICH...
Gazsi was joined by  Lieutenant Mark Manley, Sergeant Vic Bakkila, Officer John Elliot and civilian CMPD employee Kelly Vucinic from the Crime Prevention Bureau.

POLITICIANS, TOO...
Also attending were council members Steve Mensinger and Jim Righeimer, their little friend, Sanitary District Director and fellow Eastsider Jim Fitzpatrick and council candidates Marshall Krupp, Harold Weitzberg, Sue Lester and Sandra Genis.  Diane Hill of United Neighbors was also in attendance, handing out flyers for her organization and recruiting new participants.

FULL OF ENERGY
I must say that, of all such similar meetings I've attended over the past year or so, this one was probably the most energy-filled of them all.  The organizers took pains to have everything in place, even managing to handle the overflow crowd that filled every seat and had standing room only.

 

CRIME STATS

Chief Gazsi told us that crime is trending up - Part 1 crimes are up almost 14% city-wide.  Property crimes - car burglaries and home burglaries are also up.  Bicycle thefts are up 60% and bike registration - each bike in Costa Mesa MUST be registered - was emphasized.  He also discussed the current deployment plans, explaining to the audience just how many officers we have on patrol at any one time - most typically 7, although there are times throughout the day and night and sometimes on weekends when slightly more or slightly fewer officers are on patrol.  Because we are short of staff the tours are covered by overtime.

LOTS OF GOOD ADVICE
I cannot compress every thought, question and answer that we heard last night, but I will give you some highlights.  The emphasis was on keeping ourselves secure by being smart about not leaving anything of value visible in our cars, keeping them locked, keeping doors and windows in our homes closed and locked, keeping our homes well-lit - motion sensor lights were highly recommended - and to never hesitate to call the police if you have a concern. 

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
Establishment of Neighborhood Watch programs was strongly advised and Vucinic was enthusiastic about helping create them throughout the city.  She also told us about the re-creation of the Citizens Police Academy and the Teen Academy that provide valuable information to all participants.

RESPONDING
Patrol officer John Elliot, who has covered the Eastside for several years, took time to explain more crime prevention techniques and a little about what happens when you call 911 or the non-emergency number for the Costa Mesa Police Department - 714-754-5255 or 714-754-5252.
 
EARTHQUAKE PREPAREDNESS
One resident asked about earthquake preparedness, to which Sgt. Bakkila replied that we have on officer - a Sergeant - presently working on updating the city's Emergency Response Plan and discussed briefly that everyone should prepare to be self-sufficient for at least a week in the event of such a tragedy.

CHEERLEADER
One of the high points was when Lt. Mark Manley took his turn and began by saying, "This is what Costa Mesa does right!"  He spoke of our officers as being "home grown officers" who really care about their areas and the people in them.  In fact, as he spoke he got more and more enthusiastic to the point where I thought he might begin leading cheers any moment.  Clearly, it was an honest expression of how he feels about his job - an expression I've seen a lot among members of the CMPD these days.  I suspect it might have something to do with the leadership Chief Gazsi is providing to an organization that really needed it.

KUDOS TO ALL
Congratulations to my Eastside Neighbors for an excellent, informative evening and to Chief Tom Gazsi and his team for presenting facts, plans and a clear vision of how they are keeping our city safe.

Hearing Voices?

VOICES FROM THE COMMUNITY
As  the campaign season begins to heat up I thought it might be useful to review what some of the voices in the community are saying about some of the important issues that will certainly become part of the public discourse over the next few months.  And, no, I don't think these are the "voices" Jim Fitzpatrick keeps talking about.


JUST A SAMPLE
This listing of recent columns, commentaries and letters to the editor is NOT intended to be a comprehensive compendium, but just a sampling of what some of community leaders, council candidates and others have to say.

LINKS TO THE ARTICLES INCLUDED
I've provided links to each item - just click on their names - and have quoted a segment that might provoke you to read the entire piece.  Enjoy yourselves.  If you have fun with this we might just do it again later this summer, as the rhetoric heats up.

Jeffrey Harlan
Daily Pilot, June 23, 2012 - Annual budget needs longer-term perspective
"And while improving our infrastructure is presumably of vital importance to this council, maintaining it apparently is not. In order to patch the budget deficit to pay for more street improvements, the council eliminated the staff that literally patches our streets."

Steve Mensinger
Daily Pilot, June 26, 2012 - Costa Mesa needs to attract more families
"The fact is, violent crime is actually down. Property crimes are up by 11%, and that is why this City Council has restructured the Police Department in such a way that more officers are patrolling our streets than ever before."

Al Melone
Daily Pilot, June 28, 2012 - Fireworks hurt Costa Mesa
"Every year animal lovers who plead with the council to get in sync with the majority of cities and end this practice of sale and use of fireworks, to no avail. Many of our pets suffer greatly.  But in Mr. Mensinger's universe, that is of no consequence."

Marshall Krupp
Daily Pilot, June 29 2012 - City budget is a step in wrong direction.
"In their zeal to beautify the city, they put the city at substantial financial risk."

Harold Weitzberg
Daily Pilot, March 22, 2012 - Charter opponents are grass-roots people, not partisans
"I am getting very tired of being told that unions are controlling my actions. We are independent citizens who are against what this City Council is proposing."

John Stephens
Daily Pilot, July 6, 2012 - Court decision illustrates charter dangers
"The court's decision illustrates three of the dangers of Costa Mesa's proposed charter: delay, litigation expense and compromised public safety."

Colin McCarthy
Daily Pilot, July 10, 2012 - Candidate is wrong about charter cities.
"Stephens has opposed the proposed charter from the beginning, and his commentary is just his latest scare tactic. But fear and threats of litigation won't work any longer."

Eleanor Egan
Daily Pilot, July 13, 2012 - McCarthy's anti-union piece missed the mark.
"Costa Mesa City Council candidate and Planning Commission Chairman Colin McCarthy's commentary is chock-full of the kind of false and misleading statements and half-truths that give politicians a bad name."

Charles Mooney
Daily Pilot, July 13, 2012, McCarthy favors a flawed city charter.
"Is McCarthy saying that he is against upholding the rule of law? If so, he should check the preamble to the proposed charter he so loves."

Perry Valantine
Daily Pilot, July 13, 2012 - McCarthy spins like the rest.
"Tuesday's commentary by Costa Mesa City Council candidate and Planning Commission Chairman Colin McCarthy is another example of his and the City Council majority's well-practiced skill of fact-twisting and propaganda."

Genis Announces Run For Costa Mesa City Council

SHE'S RUNNING!

Today former Mayor Sandra Genis will trek on over to City Hall and fill out the paperwork that will permit her to begin gathering funds for a run for the Costa Mesa City Council in November.  This news will make some folks in town smile, while others will not be very happy about it.  Such is life.


A TRUE PUBLIC SERVANT
Genis has served this city with distinction for decades, including her term on the council and as mayor.  Most recently she served as the President of the Orange County Fairground Preservation Society, the organization that can take much credit for thwarting the bogus attempt by some local political appointees to get the State to sell them that jewel of a facility.


NINE!
Genis' announcement brings the presumed field of candidates for the three seats that are available in November to 9 - so far.


THE REST...
It is presumed that incumbents Gary Monahan and Steve Mensinger will team-up with Colin McCarthy to run as a slate and get the backing of the Orange County Republican Party apparatus.

Marshall Krupp announced his candidacy some time ago and has been in full-court press ever since.

Harold Weitzberg recently announced his run for a seat on the dais, too.

Lawyer John Stephens announced his plan to run last week.

Medical Marijuana activist and former council candidate Sue Lester has also announced her intention to run.

Al Melone also announced his plan to run last week.
 

IT'S GOING TO BE AN INTERESTING FALL
Even without more people in the race, this is going to be one for the ages.  The filing period begins next Monday, July 16th and extends until August 10th.  At close of business on that day we'll know who actually will be in the race - then the fun begins.

 DAILY PILOT ARTICLE
You can read Joe Serna's piece published just after 2:00 p.m. today online in the Daily Pilot about Genis' decision to run HERE.

Surprise, surprise!

MATHEWS TO REPLACE FITZPATRICK?
OK, I won't keep you waiting any longer.  The Planning Commission exercised authority it didn't really have tonight and unanimously recommended Parks and Recreation Commissioner Jeff R. Mathews to replace Jim Fitzpatrick on the Planning Commission.  Its recommendation will be forwarded on to the City Council - which actually DOES have the authority - and it will make the selection at a council meeting in August.

THE BEST LAID PLANS...
The bulk of the Planning Commission meeting agenda was pretty mundane so I chose to stay home and watch the proceedings on television.  Well, that seemed like a good idea until we lost the video feed of the meeting, so it ended up being like the old days of listening to the radio!  I did, however, dash to City Hall for the appointment item - the final one on the agenda.  I joined candidate Marshall Krupp and 5 others in the auditorium.

NOT SURPRISED
The selection of Mathews - who was number one on every commissioners short list - was no surprise to me.  Although there was some conversation about forwarding three names to the council for their consideration, Vice Chairman Sam Clark convinced Chair Colin Mc Carthy and commissioner Rob Dickson to vote to just send Mathews name forward.  Commissioner Ed Salcedo voted no, preferring to send three names forward.  The others considered on that list were Byron de Arakal and Jonathon Zich.  Mathews is a OC GOP stalwart, a member of the central committee and spreads campaign donations around like a farmer sewing seeds in a field.  That fragrance in the air was not fertilizer on those seeds, although it did smell like it.  No, it was pure partisan politics.

WILL THEY REPLACE MATHEWS?
Now the council will make its decision next month.  Once that's done - there is no reason to assume that Mathews WILL NOT be chosen - that leaves an opening on the Parks and Recreation Commission.  I won't be surprised if one of the remaining candidates from this recruitment are chosen for that opening.   However, there are other considerations.  The Parks and Recreation Commission only meets every other month.  If he is appointed to the Planning Commission in August that leaves only the September and November meetings until Mathews' term will have expired in January, 2013.  Assuming an actual recruitment effort is undertaken - usually a month - by the time the candidates are sorted out and qualified for consideration we will probably be in October.  I think it's unlikely that an interim commissioner will be appointed under these circumstances.  This council has been known to bend the rules, though, so nothing will really surprise me. 

CRONY POLITICS
So, crony politics is alive and well in Costa Mesa.  More on that in another post soon.