Contemplating The Election

CONTEMPLATING
With two hours before the polls close here in Orange County and national media beginning their non-stop avalanche of news about the big election, I find myself with a few things on my mind about our local elections.

DON'T GET EXCITED ABOUT EARLY RETURNS
As you all know, in the last two council elections seats were captured with fewer than 200 votes - 155 votes blocked John Stephens and 47 blocked Jay Humphrey.  For this reason I doubt anyone will be calling the council election tonight.  It will likely take a couple days to get all the votes tallied and the celebrating will begin.

IMPACT OF ANTI-SOCIAL MEDIA?
I find myself wondering what impact, if any, social media - actually, the "anti-social media" - will have had on this election cycle locally.  The evolution of the Costa Mesa Public Square and other sites makes me curious about just what real impact they will have.  The CMPS is a closed site, so proponents of the existing power elite in Costa Mesa - the council majority and their sycophants and other appointees - jabber back and forth with each other on important issues but other residents with opposing viewpoints are blocked from participating.  That fact makes me question the value of the site.  They claim more than 8,000 members, but more than a few of those are outside Costa Mesa - outside the state, for that matter.  And, since some of the primary participants on that site are proven liars, I wonder how much you can trust the stuff being spewed there.

IMPACT OF PRECINCT WALKERS?
I wonder about the impact of the hundreds of volunteers who have walked the precincts for the past couple months in support of the slate of candidates opposing the Mensinger/Mansoor/Ramos slate - John Stephens, Sandy Genis and Jay Humphrey?  I wonder how the firefighters participation in those precinct walks will be interpreted?

IMPACT OF POLITICAL COWARDICE?
I wonder about the impact of the candidate forums this year.  How will the voters interpret the absence of the MMR candidates?  Will they presume they were afraid of being required to answer questions important to specific segments of the electorate?

IMPACT OF LYING?
I wonder about the impact of the decision by Judge Dunning that Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, candidate Lee Ramos and three other residents who signed it actually produced misrepresentations and flat-out lies on the rebuttal argument to Measure Y, the Smart Growth Initiative?  Will the fact that they have been adjudged as liars impact the election?

IMPACT OF THE BOGUS, CONFUSING INITIATIVES?
I wonder about the impact of the placement of expensive, confusing, competing ballot measures to try to defeat Measure Y, Measure AA - the Preserve Fairview Park Initiative - and the two medical marijuana initiatives.  In theory, Measure X competes with Measures V and W, but it has no retail sales element.  I wonder how the electorate feels about paying $8,500 each for mailers to promote those issues?

I WONDER IF THE ELECTORATE WILL BE FOOLED BY MEASURE EE?
I wonder if the pubic will be snookered by Righeimer's hijacking of the vote-by-districts issue when he demanded, and got, Measure EE - the 6-districts and directly-elected mayor - placed on the ballot instead of the resident-preferred 5-district choice?  Will the the voters see through that scheme and vote Measure EE down and let a judge choose the districting map for us?

I WONDER IF THE ELECTORATE WILL BE FOOLED BY MESA WATER?
Will the voters see through the plan by the Mesa Water District Board to implement a hostile takeover by the financially solid Costa Mesa Sanitary District?  Despite all the money spent by Mesa Water - estimated by election day to be in excess of $400,000, including a couple misleading mailers - will the voters reject Measure TT?

WILL THE ELECTORATE RETURN PROVEN LEADERSHIP TO CMSD?
Will the electorate re-elect proven leadership for the Costa Mesa Sanitary District by returning Jim Ferryman and Art Perry to the board, or will they decide to select addiction providers Gary Monahan and our village idiot, defrocked board member, marijuana advocate and campaign cheater, Jim Fitzpatrick?

WILL THE VOTERS TOSS FISLER FOR REICH?
Will the voters toss out Mesa Water District Director Jim Fisler in favor of a really smart, dedicated breath of fresh air, Alex Reich?

CHECKING BEGINNING AT 8 P.M.
Tonight I will check the Registrar of Voters site, HERE, to see what the early results are and, depending on what happens, report on them.  However, history in Costa Mesa tells us that it may be a couple days before we know who was successful in winning seats on the City Council and which of the eight ballot measures will pass and fail.

COULD HAVE SAVED TIME
If my vote was the only one that was counted tonight Genis, Humphrey and Stephens would win, Measure Y and Measure AA would win and all the rest would fail.  We could have saved Neal Kelley a lot of time and trouble if we'd just go with my vote.

 

NO SINGING YET...
More later...  Since it's unlikely that the critical council races will be finally determined until later this week, those who know her can tell Jami Joanne Russell that she doesn't need to limber up her pipes until later.

Why I'm Voting No On Measure TT - The Hostile Takeover

INFORMATION YOU MAY FIND VALUABLE
I know many of you have already been hovering over your sample ballot and voter pamphlets, contemplating how you will vote on the many critical issues facing Costa Mesa voters this year.  Well, let me help you with one that's particularly onerous - MEASURE TT.

MISLEADING THE PUBLIC
This issue was placed on the ballot as an advisory measure by the Board of Directors of the Mesa Water District... in theory no biggie... just taking the pulse of the community on the issue of possible consolidation of Mesa Water and the Costa Mesa Sanitary District (CMSD).  Well, apparently Mesa Water thinks it IS a biggie because, according to reports, they've spent over $300,000 on this issue!  They've plastered our local newspapers and mailboxes with ads for this measure, all of which are VERY misleading - the kindest way I can put it.

HERE ARE VIDEO LINKS
I attended the Town Hall CMSD President Mike Scheafer held last week and wrote about it HERE.  I provided you the link to the recording of that event HERE.  Today the CMSD provided an abbreviated version of that video - just over 6 minutes long - which may be very helpful to you as you consider this very important issue.  You can view it HERE.

SIMPLY A POWER GRAB
In my view, Measure TT is simply a power grab by the Mesa Water District Board - a hostile takeover attempt.  There is no compelling reason that these two special districts should be combined.  Quite the contrary, there are many excellent reasons why they should NOT be combined.  This issue is just a quick-pitch by the Mesa Water Board to stampede the voters into making a decision that will then be used to convince the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) that the community wants the combination.

WATCH THE VIDEO(S) - VOTE NO!
Take a few minutes and watch the short video.  I think you'll then choose to watch the full version to give you more information.  I know how I'm voting on this issue... a resounding NO!  I suspect you may feel the same way once you familiarize yourself with the truth of the issue.