An Interesting Day In Costa Mesa

A few interesting things will happen here in our little neck of the woods over the next 24 hours.

TURNING NEIGHBOR AGAINST NEIGHBOR
Tonight, during its regularly scheduled meeting, the Costa Mesa Planning Commission will consider how to deal with the numerous bootleg buildings around our town. This pimple of an issue festered to a head recently when a neighbor on Costa Mesa Street was planning to remodel his home. His property included an outbuilding constructed in the 1960s without the benefit of permits. Apparently this is not the only such structure in our town. Big surprise!

Our city, established in 1953, was a collection of communities before it was incorporated. It was remote enough from the county seat in Santa Ana that, when a guy whose property backed up to a bit of agricultural land, decided he wanted to build a shed for his tractor or tools or his model train set he just built it.

Progress has created a whole new cadre of scofflaws - usually older folks who have lived in their home for 50 years or so. Now those folks are moving on - one way or another - and younger folks are buying those big lots with bootleg buildings tucked back into a corner hoping to build the home of their dreams. Unfortunately, they're going to have to deal with the building before building their castle.

Based on reading the staff report, it looks like you'll finally be able to get even with your neighbor - just call Code Enforcement and report a "problem" with your neighbor's outbuilding. They'll be over lickety-split to cite your offending neighbor and require him to "fix" the problem.

I find myself wondering if there are not many more important things for our municipal bureaucrats to be worrying about. You can "credit" carpetbagger Jim Righeimer for this one - he wants to make Costa Mesa look like Irvine and getting rid of the bootleg buildings is a good place for him to start.

CASPA'S BOOK TOUR
Dr. Humberto Caspa will appear on radio station KPCC (FM 89.3) with Larry Mantle Tuesday, June 10th at 10:30 a.m. to discuss his recent book, "Terror in the Latino Barrio: The Rise of the New Right in Local Government". He will also appear in person at two events at Libreria Martinez in Santa Ana this month. He will appear on June 12th at 6:30 p.m. (English) and on the June 22nd at 1:30 p.m. (Spanish).

NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN
It is assumed by those who are watching this situation closely that tomorrow, Tuesday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors will finally select a new Sheriff to replace the disgraced and indicted Mike Carona. The nearly 50 candidates have been distilled down to two - Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters and retired Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Division Chief Sandra Hutchens. This is going to be very interesting. Walters has the local profile while Hutchens has a resume and command experience in a very big department that was second to none among the candidates. Some folks in Santa Ana are already lining up to find a Latino replacement for Walters, feeling that the predominant demographic group - 75% of Santa Ana residents are Latino - has not been fairly served for the more than two decades Walters has been their top guy.

Red-Light Cameras, Paranoia, Nosy Leece and a Female Sheriff (Maybe)

COUNCIL TONIGHT
No doubt tonight's Costa Mesa City Council Meeting will provide us with some blog fodder. There appears to be nothing particularly earth-shattering on the agenda, but one never knows what kind of controversial rabbit the members of the majority will pull out of their hats these days.

NEW RED-LIGHT CAMERAS PLANNED
One item on the agenda is the vote to add red-light cameras a more Costa Mesa intersections. Although some think it smacks of "Big Brotherism", I'm for the red light cameras. As a society we seem to have gotten much too lax when it comes to driving intelligently, particularly during rush hours. Costa Mesa has some of the busiest intersections in our county. If the red-light cameras can rein in the inconsiderate among us, that serves us all well.

MORE JOY IN MY HEART
On that subject, another Costa Mesa-based blogger doesn't think it's a good idea. Of course, these new lights being proposed are mainly in his end of town. One can logically assume that this fellow is among those inconsiderate jerks who regularly run red lights as he scampers from crime scene to crime scene in his "pressmobile". Snagging him a few times with a red-light camera would have the added advantage of bringing a smile to my face.

PARANOIA IN MESA NORTH
Speaking of him, which I don't do much any more, he seems to be going off the deep end these days. Several of his most recent posts reflect a man with a whole lot of paranoia going on. Now he complains of being stalked, for goodness sake! I assume he is feeling the pressure brought on by the challenge by another relatively new blogger, CMTRUTH, who takes none of his bullying and guff. Perhaps he'll be feeling better tonight when, as is his practice, he sits on his "Perch of Pontification" back in the last row of the council chambers and awaits his sycophants to pass and offer homage to him while he waits, like a hawk atop a pole, to swoop down to the speaker's podium and attack whatever issue, person, council member is his victim du jour. One can only feel sad for this fella - who seems to be in early-onset dementia.

WENDY CONTINUES TO SKULK AROUND SENIOR CENTER
Speaking of older people - I can do that because I am one myself - it seems that councilwoman Wendy Leece continues to harass the staff of the Senior Center with her little nit pick in hand. Some have said that Leece should just keep on nosing around the Senior Center, stirring up controversy where none exists. Horse Manure! That's not her job! Her job as the council liaison is to be just that - a liaison between the City Council and the Senior Center Board of Directors. They, the board, are the ones responsible for running the show at the Senior Center, NOT Ms. Leece. Her role is a NON-VOTING role. She seems unable to distinguish important issues from those brought up by one or two disgruntled patrons of the center. Rather than help things at the Senior Center, her actions have been the cause of much strife and that certainly doesn't serve the patrons well. My suggestion to Leece is to get a life, woman!

A FEMALE SHERIFF - MAYBE
Finally, I noted today that the county Board of Supervisors has winnowed the candidates for Sheriff from nine to two, with Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters and retired Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Division Chief Sandra Hutchens left standing as the final two. Looks like Riggy's prognostication about Ralph Martin and Walters being the final two is only half-right - pretty good for Riggy. As I've said before, on paper and as a result of the interview process, Hutchens looked like the strongest candidate. Do I think a woman can fix the Orange County Sheriff's Department? Well, not ANY woman, but I think THIS woman can. Everything in her background demonstrates that she has the kind of intelligence and leadership that it will take to get the job done. I don't care about the "political correctness" of this situation - I want the best person for the job, male or female, period. Let's see what kind of cojones the Board of Supervisors have on this one...

RIGGY'S WRONG - AGAIN

RIGGY'S TAKE ON THE SHERIFF JOB
In his Daily Pilot column May 24th, "Martin has advantage of sheriff", HERE, Orange County Republican activist and carpetbagging Costa Mesa Planning Commissioner Jim Righeimer presents us with his views on the selection process for the position of Sheriff-Coroner of Orange County. As I type this the Board of Supervisors is going through an exhaustive interview process today with the final nine candidates - eight men and one woman - who made it through the initial cuts from the original 48 people who tossed their hats in the ring. They are now in the midst of a dinner break and will interview the final two candidates this evening.

PEGGY LOWE ON THE BALL
Peggy Lowe, co-blogger at the Orange County Register's Total Buzz blog has been doing a masterful job of covering the interviews and providing an almost real-time report on the blog. You can read it HERE.

POSERS LONG GONE
Long gone are such luminaries as the electrician from Garden Grove, the police chief from Duck, North Carolina and the Executive Director of INTERPOL. Also not making the final cut is Orange County Deputy Sheriff Erik Mansoor, brother of our Mayor Pro Tem, Allan Mansoor. I'm curious why he thought he could make the jump from jailer to sheriff. Another example of that "Mansoor judgment" in action, I guess. Eclectic doesn't even begin to describe the group from which our next Sheriff will have been chosen.

POLITICS VS. COMPETENCE?
In his column Riggy makes some good points as he sorts the final candidates for us, distilling them down to a Final Four - apparently an homage to the recently completed college basketball season. Primary in his reasoning for his ultimate selection is that the person chosen by the supervisors to replace the disgraced and indicted Mike Carona must be able to be elected in 2010. He tells us that, in a contest between his final two, Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters and Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Commander Ralph Martin, the nod goes to Martin because he has been a lifelong Republican and Walters has shown some ambivalence about his party affiliation in recent years. As Riggy says, "This is an elected position, and politics matters. The supervisors do not want to have a sheriff with political trouble in two years. Therefore, in handicapping this pick, the advantage goes to Ralph Martin."

I'M TICKED-OFF
I'm trying to decide whether I'm angry at the system that creates this dilemma or at Righeimer for so clearly demonstrating why it's a problem, or both. I don't necessarily think it's bad that Walters, for example, has shown displeasure with his affiliation with the Republican Party. Who could blame him - except those in charge of the party itself.

SHERIFF'S BEHOLDEN TO US, NOT THEM
The position of Sheriff-Coroner of our county is an elected position so the holder of that office will not be under the thumb of the Board of Supervisors - he will be beholden only to the voters of this county. I'm comfortable with that arrangement. However, in this situation, Riggy would have the supervisors select a person who passes muster with the hacks that currently control the Orange County Republican Party. He conveniently neglects to mention that Carona was one of "their guys", too.

SUPERVISORS SHOULD PICK THE BEST COP
In my view, the Board of Supervisors has a unique opportunity before them next week - one that transcends "politics as usual". From the remaining pool of candidates they may be able to select a person with impeccable credentials in law enforcement leadership - a person with a background of exemplary performance leading large law enforcement organizations - the kind of person with the command presence and leadership needed to rebuild the morale and reputation of our Sheriff's Department. And, they can do this without worrying about an election more than two years away.

LEADERSHIP, NOT A LACKEY, NEEDED
The new sheriff will have more than 24 months to demonstrate that he or she is the right person for the job. Just as interim sheriff Jack Anderson has done in his few months holding that "temporary" job, the new sheriff can jump in immediately and begin making the reforms so necessary to "fix" the department. This job requires a top cop, not a politically connected back-slapper who will immediately begin to ingratiate himself with the political movers and shakers in this county.

SEVERAL GOOD CHOICES AVAILABLE
I read through all the application material available online for each of the candidates and was impressed by many of them. As a recruiter for most of my working life, I know that information is just the starting point, and that the interviews today will be the deciding factor in the process. Based on what we see in their background information, most of the remaining candidates could probably do the job. Deciding which one will be able to do it best is up to the supervisors.

PERFORMANCE, NOT BOOT-LICKING, WILL COUNT MOST
The new sheriff will be under intense scrutiny, so his or her performance in the next two years will be much more important to the electorate than whose boots he or she is willing to lick to get elected in 2010. Regardless what Riggy and his pals in the Orange County Republican Party think, the supervisors should do the job we elected them to do and give us the best law enforcement leader available for the job of Sheriff-Coroner of Orange County. If they do that, and the person selected demonstrates the right skills over the next two years, the 2010 election will take care of itself.

Searching for Carona's Replacement - A Comedy

THE SAGA CONTINUES
The on-going drama of the Orange County Sheriff's Department continues. Last week the 47 candidates dredged up by the consultant hired by the Board of Supervisors to replace ousted Sheriff Mike Carona was announced. The list makes for some very interesting reading.

DEPARTMENT IN DISARRAY
Whomever the Supervisors select will fact a department in disarray. In addition to Carona himself, top aides George Jaramillo and Don Haidl are covered in scandal and the recent death of a prisoner in custody reeks to high heaven. Of course, the exclamation point last week was the allegation that deputies may have tasered a cat to death at a jail just for fun. The "new sheriff in town" will have to wear some pretty large boots, because there's a need for a whole lot of butt kicking right now.

A WARM BODY AND...?
Go to the county's site, HERE, then click on the link to the "candidates". As you scroll down the list you can't help but chuckle. Scattered among the serious candidates - top law enforcement officials from venues local and remote - there are some names and backgrounds that make you shake your head in amazement and cause you to wonder exactly what kind of a job specification the Supervisors gave their consultant. Looking at the list, one might think that profile required only a warm body who was interested in the job - period. Heck, we're not even sure some of these guys are warm!

IRS GUY?
The list is alphabetical, so you just never know when a surprise will pop up. For example, there's a guy named Roderick Fletcher who works in "Compliance Support Assistance - Internal Revenue Service". Yeah, that's a fit!

LOOK OUT!
A little further down we find Alan Hamilton, the retired Chief of Police from the town of Duck, North Carolina. where he oversaw a staff of 6 sworn officers and one tracking dog. Actually, he might just fit in here because, for the past several years, most of Mike Carona's senior staff have been yelling, "Duck!" whenever a new scandal broke.

BOOZE PEDDLER?
Further yet we find Nicholas Paros, who lists his qualifications as "Owner & Managing Member, Paros Liquor, LLC" in Baltimore, MD. Why am I not surprised that a guy who sells booze applied for the job of top cop of Orange County?

SHORT CIRCUIT!
A couple entries further down the list we find Ion Petrinca, an "Electrician's Assistant" from Garden Grove. Geez!

THE "USUAL SUSPECTS"
Among the REAL candidates there are many of the "usual suspects", Paul Walters, Chief of Police for the City of Santa Ana; Jack Anderson, acting Sheriff; Ralph Martin, Commander in the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and Bill Hunt, recently retired from the Orange County Sheriff's Department following his demotion by Carona after challenging Mike Carona in the last election.

COTTON FIELD "SWAT" TEAM?
The range among the "others" is fascinating. For example, in addition to the above-mentioned Mr. Hamilton from Duck (!), we have Tommy Tunsen, the Chief of Police from Arvin, California. Many of you know of Arvin - a little burg of 16,000 souls deep in the belly button of the Central Valley agricultural area. It's just off Interstate 5 on the way to Bakersfield. In Arvin, "SWAT" means what you do to fend off the gnats hovering over the cotton fields.

WHY THE O.C.?
At the other end of the spectrum we have a couple very interesting applicants. There is Robert Peppler, Assistant Director, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Kim Brian London, Executive Director of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL). How's that for some horsepower? My question to these guys is, "Why would you want to come to Orange County? Did the consultant tell you that you'd get a chance to be on "The Real Housewives of Orange County?"

FAMILIAR SURNAME - SAME LACK OF SKILLS
However, for me, the most interesting applicant on the list is near the middle. There we will find the name of Erik Mansoor, a Deputy Sheriff in the Orange County Sheriff's Department. You may know of Mansoor - he's the brother of our young jailer/mayor pro tem and, based on my information, is also a career jailer. How this guy, with limited academic credentials and even more limited law enforcement experience, hopes to be seriously considered for the job of top law enforcement official in Orange County is way, way beyond me. He may be afflicted with the same malady as his brother - delusions of grandeur on a monumental scale.

DEMAND SOME MONEY BACK!
Now the sorting process begins. In my opinion, the first thing the Board of Supervisors should do is demand a fee reduction from their consultant for wasting their time with some of those "candidates".

TOP COP OR POLITICIAN?
One of the first problems faced by the successful candidate - the person the supervisors choose to fill Carona's shoes - is that he is going to have to immediately begin raising funds and start campaigning for election to the job in 2010. Sadly, we need a great law enforcement leader and we're going to end up with a politician. Such is life in Orange County these days.