The Home Stretch!

MY MAILBOX OVERFLOWS WITH CAMPAIGN EFFLUENT
With the elections only a couple days away and the finish line in sight, not much that happens regarding the local campaigns surprises me. My mail box continues to overflow with the effluent of political campaigns, each one more blatant than the last, extolling the virtues of one or more candidates, trying to convince undecided voters that their guy (or gal) is the best, hands down.

I HATE POLITICS
I really do hate politics because of what it does to people during campaigns - which sometimes begin immediately after they are elected the first time. It makes some of them even more brazen than they've been in the past. Minor character flaws seem to get amplified, much like the old Steve McQueen horror movie, "The Blob". Their audacity just seems to grow and grow and grow until it threatens to envelope everyone and everything around it.

WHENCE THE "GOOD OLD DAYS"?
I don't much like what it does to me, either. Sometimes I long for the good old days - those nearly three decades when we first lived in Costa Mesa and paid only peripheral attention to local politics. I just knew that we were in good hands - or so I assumed. Unless someone tried to take my home via eminent domain or the public safety folks failed to respond, I thought things were just dandy. I suspect I was not unlike most folks, even today.

I BEGAN PAYING ATTENTION
However, at the beginning of this decade I began paying attention and, much to my chagrin, found many things that seemed curious - including some of the folks that were running for office. So, I began paying attention more closely and began writing letters to the editor when I thought something was particularly strange. That's how this whole "blog" thing began - with letters to the editor.

MY VIEWS PUBLISHED
Cut to this year. We have a very, very interesting race for the Costa Mesa City Council this time around. I've discussed this previously several times. I formed opinions about all the nine candidates and recently wrote a letter to the editor to the Daily Pilot providing my views and choices for this election - nearly 1500 words worth of opinion - and the editors published it last week. I'm always very grateful when the editors of the Daily Pilot deem anything I submit worthy of publication. Sometimes they will eviscerate my submissions - this time they published every word and made it better, to boot. That letter is HERE.

FULL "MAILBAG" TODAY
Sunday they published eight letters in their Mailbag section, including a couple that addressed the local city council race, one of which was directed specifically at me. That entire section may be read HERE.

"IMPROVER" DUO PENS RETORT
The letter in question was penned by long-time residents and Westside "improvers", Kathleen and Christian Eric. Both are lovely people. Chris has lived in this city all his life. Both have been leaders in the self-named "improvers" group that has taken over our city government this decade.

CITY TAKE-OVER BY SELF-NAMED "IMPROVERS"
They, the "improvers", have boasted about getting their candidates elected to the city council, including current members Allan Mansoor, Wendy Leece and the incumbent mayor Eric Bever. They neglect to tell their readers about their first "victory" - the perpetually inept Chris Steel. Old Chris - I can call him that because he's my age - ran unsuccessfully for city council nine, count 'em, nine times before the angry knot of "improvers" snatched him up and made him their candidate. While no evidence exists to prove it, many suspect bullet voting achieved what the wisdom of nine previous electorates had fought off - Steel was elected.

STEEL'S TERM A DISASTER - ALMOST
His term was a disaster. He demonstrated the wisdom of those previous electorates when he showed up at council meetings completely unprepared for the agenda items. Not only was he a clumsy politician, he was incompetent, too. However, he did do one thing right - he turned his back on one of his biggest supporters - the racist who authors the CM Press blog. That move got him "un-elected" the next time around - a fact that the aforementioned author gloats about frequently. More on him later...

$7,000 STILL UNRESOLVED - WHY?
In their letter the Erics take me to task for supporting Katrina Foley, Jim Righeimer and Bill Sneen for the three open seats this year. The focus of their rant is to bolster support for Bever and twelve-term councilman Gary Monahan. I've explained at length here and in my Daily Pilot commentary just why I think neither of these men should be returned to the dais. In Monahan's case, that decision became even stronger recently when the story of his apparently mis-applied $7,000 consulting fee ended up as a line item on his Form 460, Campaign Contributions list. That story has still not been satisfactorily resolved.

MONAHAN IS IN IT FOR HIMSELF - PERIOD!
The Erics paint a word-picture of Bever and Monahan that would have the readers believe those men can actually walk on water. Nothing could be further from the truth. Monahan has evolved from an unskilled, politically inept neophyte when first elected 14 years ago into a cunning, conniving political operator who is in it for what he, personally, can get out of it. The $7,000 fiasco is a perfect example. When termed out of the city council two years ago he successfully ran for a seat on the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board and immediately initiated a move to give that board a pay raise. A year ago, when it looked like he might be angling for a way to get back to the municipal trough again, he stood before the city council as a private citizen and lobbied long, loud and hard for the issue of a directly-elected mayor to be placed on this ballot we face in two days. Although that move was vigorously supported by then-mayor Allan Mansoor, the council chose not to present the issue to the voters. Monahan's plan would not have placed the directly-elected mayor under any kind of a term-limits rule - I assume he viewed himself as "mayor for life". Monahan has worn out his welcome and should not be considered again this time around. He's in it for himself, not for the city.

BUFFOON IN MAYOR'S CLOTHING
Bever has demonstrated time after time that he's a frustrated stand-up comedian. He has played fast and loose with the rules of conduct imposed by the Brown Act - passing notes around on the dais to influence votes, for example. He is arrogant almost beyond belief, as witnessed by his flagrant disregard of public opinion when he didn't show up for the Daily Pilot interviews of the candidates - the only one who didn't show up - and failed to make the final two candidate forums. He continues to feel he is above the law by displaying illegal campaign banners throughout the city, refusing to remove them when contacted by the city code enforcement officials. The rules apparently are for someone else.

SHOVING THE MINORITY ASIDE
The arrogant Bever and his "improver cohorts", Mansoor and Leece, have overtly taken steps to marginalize the voices and opinions of both Katrina Foley and Linda Dixon - the two highest vote-getters four years ago. They not only consistently ignore them, they voted to physically shove them off to the side so they don't even have to look their way during debates of issues.

"LIVELY"? - PUH-LEEZE!
The Erics frame the resultant frequent rancorous discussions as "lively". Give me a break!

WHY DID THEY IGNORE RIGHEIMER?
I found it very interesting the Erics failed to mention Jim Righeimer's name at all in their little rant. Righeimer, Bever and Monahan are running as a de facto slate this time around, with many, if not most, of the heavy hitter endorsers supporting all three of them. I wonder why that Kathleen and Chris ignored him?

MR. U. KNOW-WHO IS BACK
I also must mention that another letter among the eight in the Mailbag was apparently penned by that self-same author of the CM Press - one M. H. Millard. Yes, old Mensa Marty once again appears on the pages of the Daily Pilot and, once again, rips his comments directly from the pages of his blog.

MENSA MARTY SAYS "ANYONE BUT FOLEY"
Old Marty makes no bones about his choices this year - he recently posted a blog entry that said, basically, "anyone but Foley", who he has ridiculed and denigrated non-stop since she was elected four years ago. Old Marty is an influential guy here in town. He was again named to the Daily Pilot's DP 103 - number 93 this time as he slides down the list and, hopefully, into oblivion next year. It's too bad the editors of the Daily Pilot didn't include the caveat that nominees for it's list must be a "positive influence", instead of simply "influential". It's truly sad that so many of our local elected and appointed politicians take their marching orders from a nationally notorious White Supremacist - a man who uses the fact that the former head of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke, considers him "one of the most brilliant writers and analysts in the European American civil rights movement" to market his pathetic books.

THE FEAR-MONGERER
Old Marty continues to try to scare the voters by using falsehoods, fabrications and flat-out lies in his publications and public pronouncements. Unfortunately, some folks will believe him - he's a persuasive guy - until you understand his underlying motivation, that is.

MY CHOICES - FOLEY, RIGHEIMER AND SNEEN
So, dear friends, I will tell you one more time. I voted for Katrina Foley, Jim Righeimer and Bill Sneen because, as I've said in the past, I think the combination of skills, experience, and leadership they individually and collectively bring to the dais may go a long way to moderate the divisiveness and rancor that has existed over the past few years. The challenges that face Costa Mesa in the near future will require a city council that can set aside individual bias and make decisions that serve all the stakeholders - residents, business owners and visitors, alike. I think Foley, Righeimer and Sneen can be the nucleus of that team.

OK, Now It's My Turn...

STRAP YOURSELF IN...
Fasten your seat belts and get comfy... this is going to be a long one... I had planned to publish my choices for Costa Mesa City Council a little closer to the election, but the Daily Pilot forced my hand today. Originally, I thought I would wait until after the next two candidate forums on the 22nd and the 28th, but many will be mailing absentee ballots soon and - unless one of the candidates really steps in it over the next couple weeks - I already know how my votes will be cast, and why.

DAILY PILOT CHOICES
In the Sunday, October 19, 2008 edition, the Daily Pilot editors provided readers with their choices for the open City Council seats in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. In both instances there were surprises. I'm not going to address the Newport Beach selections - I've only followed them peripherally and I don't have a dog in that hunt. Costa Mesa, however, is another question.

READ THEIR VIEWS, SEE THE VIDEOS
The Daily Pilot editors chose to endorse Katrina Foley, Jim Righeimer and Gary Monahan from among the nine candidates for three seats available. You can read the reasons for their selections HERE. You can also view the video of portions of their interviews HERE, which may help you with your own decisions on November 4th.

BEVER REJECTED - WISELY
The editors, wisely, chose not to support first-term councilman and current mayor, Eric Bever for re-election. Some will speculate that they did so because he snubbed them during their interview process. I seriously doubt that's the case, but even if it is, it would be understandable. Bever has proven to be a petulant, arrogant and capricious member of the city council, more concerned with providing a smug quip for every event than exercising sound judgment in the administration of our city. I concur with the editor's choice to ignore Bever . I will not vote for him because our city deserves much better.

KATRINA FOLEY FIRST
I agree with the Daily Pilot that Katrina Foley, through her citizenship and service to this city as both a planning commissioner and council member over the past nearly a decade, has earned the right to be returned to the dais for another four years. As the editors stated, she seems to be omnipresent, representing our city government at almost every event of significance throughout her term - the only council member to do so. Foley has clearly been the smartest, best prepared of the current council members and, although consistently outnumbered on important votes, she nonetheless has provided solid reasoning and an essential counterpoint to the sometimes-irrational views and votes taken by the current majority. As the candidate who captured the most votes four years ago, she has done an excellent job of insuring that all sides of an issue were heard, giving voice to many residents who's opinions would otherwise have been ignored by the majority. As a business owner/lawyer, wife and mother, she has demonstrated boundless energy and a very special ability to juggle the demands of job, family and city. I whole-heartedly support returning Katrina Foley to the city council.

EXTRAORDINARY POOL OF CANDIDATESFrom here on it gets a little sticky for me. This cycle the voters have had an especially unique group from which to choose their next leaders. In my more than three decades in Costa Mesa I don't recall a panel with so much relevant experience. This year we have three previous council members, including two with mayoral experience, and an uber-operative of the Orange County Republican Party who makes the word "connected" sound strangely inadequate. Combine those with a previous candidate who has become a dedicated activist, two mature, solid citizen business leaders and two bright young men with strong futures in civic affairs and you have an extraordinary group from which to choose.

RIGGY AND MONAHAN
I have been, and continue to be, critical of both Righeimer and Monahan, but for very different reasons. I'll discuss them individually, even though they are being presented to the voters, along with Bever, as a de facto slate. As a check of your mailbox each day will illustrate, the three of them are beneficiaries of mountains of money being spent by the OC GOP on their campaign.

A CARPETBAGGER AND SO MUCH MORE
I have described Jim Righeimer as a carpetbagging opportunist and well-connected political operative who chose Costa Mesa as a safe haven in which to perch awaiting a higher office to open up. I have described him as impatient, to the point that he has verbally abused applicants before the planning commission during his brief tenure. I have described his appointment to the commission by Allan Mansoor, after having resided in Costa Mesa for only a few months, as an act of political payback for the help Congressman Dana Rohrabacher gave to Mansoor and Wendy Leece two years ago in their campaigns. Did I mention that Righeimer is Rohrabacher's campaign manager? I have also said that I don't really believe he has a long-term commitment to Costa Mesa. I still believe all of the above.

PART OF OC GOP PLAN
I also don't like the fact that he appears to be a big part of a grand plan by the Orange County Republican Party - my party - to take over the government of Costa Mesa and use it for an incubator in which their cadre of political fetuses will grow.

ON THE OTHER HAND...
All that being said, there can be no dispute that Righeimer brings almost unprecedented experience for the voters to consider. As a developer, he has a very special perspective on those kinds of issues that is especially valuable in our city at this time. Beyond that, he has exceptional experience in regional organizations and all the important contacts that go along with them. He is an articulate, clever guy who knows how to "sell" his point of view. He's a personable fellow with plenty of charm and a beautiful family, which we've all seen in the numerous political mailers stuffing our mailboxes these days.

CROSSING MY FINGERS AND VOTING
So, keeping my fingers crossed until they turn white due to lack of circulation, I'm prepared to vote for Jim Righeimer and hope he will, as he promises, become a voice of mediation on the council. I'm prepared to vote for him, then stand back and hope it doesn't blow up in my face. I'm prepared to vote for him, then call him out if he strays from the promises he's been making to the voters in our city. Ouch, my fingers hurt!

WHAT ABOUT MONAHAN?
I understand why the Daily Pilot editors chose to support Gary Monahan's return to the City Council. Simple logic tells you that someone with a dozen years on the City Council previously, including a third of that as mayor, should be a good move for our city, right? During his campaign Monahan has consistently touted his vast experience on various agencies and boards that were part of his previous council terms. That should be important, too, right?

I REMEMBER GARY...
Well, I watched Gary Monahan during most of his previous tenure on the council and those memories have left a very unpleasant after-taste. I've watched him evolve from a rank neophyte with limited political skills into a cunning, and sometimes conniving, operator with a very unbecoming streak of vindictiveness. I saw him become the very reason the voters of this city passed a term limits ordinance.

MAYOR FOR LIFE?
I also watched as he stood before the city council a year ago as a private citizen and lobbied hard to get them to place the issue of a directly-elected mayor - without term limits - on the ballot this November. As he stood and spoke as if he was still a council member, pushing hard for this issue, I found myself thinking that he was attempting to become "mayor for life". Allan Mansoor supported Monahan, but Eric Bever's choice not to support this subject killed it - for the time being. There is no doubt in my mind that, if re-elected to the city council, Monahan would quickly launch yet another move to have the position of mayor become directly-elected, and without term limits. In my view, this would encourage corruption, perpetuate mediocrity and would certainly be bad for our city.

WHY RUN AGAIN?
Having watched Monahan at the end of his previous term, it was clear that he had lost interest and he stated, as he stepped aside from a leadership role to make room for the Mansoor/Bever team, that he needed to spend more time with his prodigious family and his business. All of us can understand that, but I wonder what has changed? The size of his family has not, and his business - like many today - probably needs even more of his attention in light of the downward spiral of our economy.

HOLDING A GRUDGE?
I remember Monahan during the rancorous days when his restaurant was being picketed by activists opposing Mansoor's bogus immigration screening plan. He's bitter to this day about that, as evidenced by his comments at candidate forums this year. I wonder how that animosity toward Latinos in our city will translate into even-handed governance in the future?

WEARY OF THE PROCESS?
I also remember Monahan's growing impatience with the process of governing - something that happens to folks that have become weary of a "job". I recall with crystal clarity one evening when he admonished his peers on the council, while discussing the subject of annexation of portions of the county coveted by both Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, that they should "play hardball" with Newport Beach representatives, even though Newport Beach held all the cards in that game. That's the kind of attitude we can no longer afford as we deal with our neighboring cities. We need cooperation, not confrontation, as we move forward on issues like John Wayne Airport, the SR-55 solution and Banning Ranch, just to mention a few.

BACK TO THE MUNICIPAL TROUGH
It is my understanding that, if elected to the city council, Monahan will remain on the board of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District, where he will be entitled to draw over $1300 per month, depending on the number of meetings he attends. Combine that with the honey pot he will have as a council member - $952 per month, plus expenses and the availability of excellent medical benefits for his family and the opportunity to pad his pension, and I just cannot help but think that he's in this for Gary, not for the city.

THANKS, GARY, BUT NO THANKS...
I will not support Gary Monahan for re-election because I think he's weary of the job. He has worn out his welcome and is just trying to elbow his way back to the municipal trough. Thanks for your prior service, Gary, now please step aside.

THE REMAINING FIVE
This leaves us with five candidates for the remaining choice on my ballot - Lisa Reedy, Chris McEvoy, Nick Moss, Chris Bunyan and Bill Sneen.

NOT REEDY'S TIME
I think Lisa Reedy - a woman with excellent business and leadership skills - has not gotten serious enough early in her campaign and it shows in her performance at forums. I hope she decides to run again in two years. I'm grateful to her for making this run and hope she will do so again soon. I cannot vote for her this time around.

MC EVOY SHOWS ENTHUSIASM AND PROMISE
Chris McEvoy is a delightful, refreshing young man to whom the future of this city belongs. He has some unique ideas about solutions to city issues and promises to stay involved in civic issues following the election. I hope he does, and that he returns as a candidate again soon, but I cannot vote for him this time.

MOSS IS STILL LEARNING
Nick Moss is another young man who is still on the steep part of the learning curve on municipal issues. I hope he finds a way to stay involved, but this is not the right time for him on the council. He won't receive my vote this time.

BUNYAN AND SNEEN
That leaves us with Chris Bunyan and Bill Sneen, both of whom I like very much as individuals and as candidates.

BUNYAN'S BACK AND FOCUSED
Chris Bunyan ran two years ago and finished last. This year, with saving the Banning Ranch as a cornerstone of his campaign, he seems to be working much harder and has been making inroads. His comments at the recent forums consistently drew the best responses, so he does strike a chord with voters. I think he can continue to make significant contributions to our city. Should he somehow manage, in the face of such stiff competition this time around, to round up enough votes to land a seat on the council I would not be unhappy, but I will not vote for him this time.

SNEEN HAS THE SKILLS, SMARTS AND ATTITUDE
As he said at a recent forum, Bill Sneen has lived in Costa Mesa twenty years longer than Jim Righeimer and is a business executive, community activist and family man. He is the husband of recent school board member, Linda Sneen, and the father of two college-age sons - both Eagle Scouts. He and his wife have been active in school issues for many years. He possesses excellent business leadership experience and the intelligence, maturity and work ethic so necessary to make solid decisions for our city. He has worked harder than any other new candidate trying to prepare for the forums this year, interviewing many senior city staffers and former municipal leaders and residents. From all I can discern, his slogan, "Costa Mesa First", accurately describes his commitment to improving our city for all residents ahead of any personal political ambitions. By any definition of the phrase, Bill Sneen is a "solid citizen" and precisely the kind of person we should hope to elect to our city council. For all of these reasons he has earned my remaining vote.

FOLEY, RIGHEIMER AND SNEEN
So, there you have it. I will mark my ballot for Katrina Foley, Jim Righeimer and Bill Sneen because I think the combination of skills, experience, and leadership they individually and collectively bring to the dais may go a long way to moderate the divisiveness and rancor that has existed over the past few years. The challenges that face Costa Mesa in the near future will require a city council that can set aside individual bias and make decisions that serve all the stakeholders - residents, business owners and visitors, alike. I think Foley, Righeimer and Sneen can be the nucleus of that team.

REMEMBER "44 VOTES" - MAKE AN INFORMED CHOICE
Don't take my word for it. Do your own homework. Watch the video clips of the three forums available to you on CMTV or the city web site and view the individual clips on the Daily Pilot web site. Read what the candidates have written, consider their backgrounds and motivations. If you use comments offered by bloggers like me, remember to consider the source. There's one guy in town who has very clear ulterior motives - something that should be important to you as you weigh his words. With apologies to my cousin Jerry for the use of his jersey as an illustration, remember that in the election four years ago only 44 votes separated Eric Bever and Bruce Garlich. Whatever you do, make an informed choice when you mark your ballot. Two weeks to go and counting...

Mansoor and The Three Amigos

IRONIC JUXTAPOSITIONING
In an amazing twist of irony, Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Allan Mansoor's commentary in the Daily Pilot on September 11, 2008, "Three candidates will continue changes", HERE, appears in the same edition as the article by Joseph Serna entitled, "Costa Mesa loses appeal in Acosta case", HERE.

LEGAL GAFFE AFFIRMED
According to Serna, the Orange County Appellate Court upheld the lower courts decision to dismiss the criminal charges against Benito Acosta because the prosecutor from Jones & Mayer had not been sworn in as a public prosecutor - an oversight that turned out to be a major gaffe.

PUNITIVE CHARGES
Acosta was charged with the crimes involved only after he filed a civil action against the city for the events that occurred January 3, 2006, when he was dragged bodily from the courtroom by members of the Costa Mesa Police Department after he protested then-Mayor Mansoor's decision to forbid his friends from standing to show their support for Acosta after having given Minuteman Grand Pooba Jim Gilchrist permission to do that very thing earlier.

MANSOOR'S TO BLAME
I'm not happy that the city had to spend precious resources on this whole Acosta affair - the civil trial is still pending - and lay the blame directly at the feet of Allan Mansoor for his decision to attempt to cross-designate every Costa Mesa police officer as an immigration screener. That move turned this city upside down and pitted Mansoor's supporters, including Gilchrist and other outside agitators, against the Latino population - roughly one-third of our residents. It also made Mansoor the poster boy for the anti-immigrant movement in this country and even got him anointed as an honorary Minuteman by Gilchrist and his mob. That notoriety made Costa Mesa look to outsiders like a teeming cesspool of illegal immigrants - not the kind of image one expects the mayor of your city to project to others.

LATINOS WALK IN FEAR
Today this is a very different city than it was just three years ago. Because of Mansoor and his ilk, Latinos in our community walk the streets of this city in fear. Today we have men riding to work being stopped by the CMPD for riding an unlicensed bicycle and, if unable to provide identification, are hauled off to the jail and screened by the ICE representative for deportation. Three years ago this kind of stop was unheard of.

THE THREE AMIGOS
Now Mansoor, in his commentary, touts his three buddies in the city council race, Jim Righeimer, Eric Bever and Gary Monahan, as men who will "continue the change". Just what we need - more anti-immigrant moves fostered by the radical right!

CARPETBAGGER RIGGY
Righeimer - a smart and very politically connected fella - moved to Costa Mesa at the beginning of Mansoor's re-election campaign just over two years ago and was given a plum assignment on the Planning Commission by Mansoor after residing in our city for seven months as pure political payback for the support Righeimer's buddy, Congressman Dana Rohrabacker, gave to Mansoor and Leece during their campaigns. Righeimer is Rohrabacker's campaign manager this year.

ARROGANT BEVER
Mansoor stepped aside as mayor early so his buddy, Bever, could assume that high-profile position to facilitate his re-election campaign. During Bever's tenure he has demonstrated that he's not big enough for the job many times over, including some precarious dances with Brown Act violations.

RE-TREAD MONAHAN
Monahan, to his credit, headed off Mansoor's original immigration screening debacle, but later supported his moves that have gotten us into this fix now. He and the Latino demonstrators have gone toe-to-toe at Monahan's restaurant not too long ago. If his bored, lack-luster performance at the first candidate forum is any indication, Monahan is simply trying to shove his way back to the municipal trough. His responses at the forum were half-hearted at best and more than a few of them showed that he was focused on two-year-old issues, not the current problems the city faces.

DENIGRATING THE OPPOSITION
In his commentary Mansoor goes on to denigrate councilwomen Katrina Foley and Linda Dixon - the two highest vote-getters in the election four years ago who the Mansoor-majority literally shoved aside on the dais by juggling the seating arrangement to put them completely out of the picture when issues are discussed. Dixon, of course, has chosen not to run again this year. Foley, though, is running to retain her seat and certainly poses a great threat to Mansoor's pals in this election.

SLAMMING THE NEWBIES
Mansoor also chose to disparage candidates Bill Sneen and Lisa Reedy. Mansoor must think Sneen - a business leader with strong community service credentials who has been working hard since filing his papers to get up to speed on the important issues facing us all - presents a threat to the stranglehold he plans to impose on our municipal government by getting his three amigos elected to join him and Wendy Leece to form a de facto junta.

Similarly, he mis-characterizes the position Lisa Reedy holds on important issues. Reedy, president of the Mesa Del Mar homeowners association, has long been a community activist and has exceptional business and leadership skills. Again, these are threats to his favored troika on the ballot.

DIRTY TRICKS A WAY OF LIFE
As the election season now swings into high gear you can expect Mansoor and his cronies to attempt to discredit any and all candidates by hook or crook - just as they did two years ago with Bruce Garlich and Mike Scheafer.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR MANSOOR?
Each voter should ask themselves what Mansoor has to gain with his commentary. His term expires in two years, at which time his buddies in the OC GOP hierarchy may have big plans for him - something that might pry him out of his cushy job in the Orange County Jail.



FORMING A JUNTA
If Mansoor and his pals are successful in achieving a 4 (or 5) person majority on the council they will have absolute control of the city. It won't be a council, it will be a junta. With four members in it's pocket will have a super-majority - the votes necessary to cast aside previously appointed commissioners, for example, and fill those slots with cronies.

VOTERS BEWARE!
The voters of our city deserve to have a city not controlled by the Orange County Republican Party, as will certainly be the case if any of Mansoor's pals are elected, much less all of them. The voters of this city owe it to themselves to make an informed choice when they step into the voting booth on November 4th.

DAILY PILOT?
I submitted a nearly identical commentary to the Daily Pilot the night I read Mansoor's, but I doubt it will see print. It's too long and too true...

Target of the Day

ZEROING IN ON A THREAT
It certainly didn't take long for the "improvers" to decide just which candidate represents a threat to the stranglehold they have on the City Council.



SMITH PRAISES SNEEN
Tuesday Daily Pilot Columnist Steve Smith - with whom I've had more than my share of disagreements - published a commentary about the recent Candidate Forum in which he praised newcomer Bill Sneen.

MESA NORTH MOUTH ON THE ATTACK
Almost before the ink was dry and the newspaper hit our driveways in the wee hours, the Mesa North Mouth jumped into this issue with both rear cloven hooves. He issued his "#467" a several times today. In the first version he simply ridiculed Smith and Sneen. In the second version he added a snide Obama comment. In the third version - after a comment thread began to form on Smith's commentary - he made a little telephone call to Sneen, apparently to find out if he, Sneen, was a closet Return to Reasoner.

MISPLACED TRUST HURTS
Now, Bill Sneen is a neophyte in Costa Mesa politics or he would have known better than to take that telephone call. Anyone who has been paying close attention the past few years knows that the Mesa North Mouth has only ulterior motives in this kind of a situation. He sees a man with strong credentials who poses a real threat to his chosen slate of Monahan, Bever and Righeimer and is looking for ways to discredit him. It was like opening the door to a rabid pit bull.

GETTING HIS LUMPS
Sneen, gentleman that he is, apparently took the call on face value - big mistake - and paid the price in the form of yet another revised edition of good old #467, which further ridiculed him. Sometimes you just have to get some lumps to learn in politics.... Bill Sneen has a big goose egg on his cranium now - a lump he won't soon forget... and this is just the beginning!

CHARMING LITTLE PIT YORKIE
Oh, yes - that comment thread I mentioned above... Much of it was generated by the petite "improver", Judi Berry, the smart half of the Judi and Mike Berry duo that frequently speaks before the council. She went after Smith for his support of Sneen in her own little old Southern Belle way. What she conveniently forgot to mention to Smith's readers is that she is Eric Bever's campaign treasurer this year. So, in one venue you have the Mesa North Mouth, frothing all over himself trying to tear Sneen to shreds and in the other you have the Westside Pit Yorkie yapping away, also trying to discredit him.

I'M WAITING...
I don't know yet whether Bill Sneen deserves one of my votes in November. I do know that he's a pretty smart fella who appears to be trying to go about this campaign the right way - taking the high road. He's making the rounds of folks who play an important role in how this city runs and trying to learn from those who have been there before him. How quickly he gets up to speed on the important issues that face our city now and in the future, and what kind of solutions he sees for them, will help me make up my mind.

"IMPROVERS" WORRIED
One thing is very clear, though. The self-anointed "improvers" who hold this city firmly in their grip must really be worried about Bill Sneen. That fact, alone, is enough for me to give his candidacy serious consideration.

EXPECT DIRTY TRICKS
A word of warning to Sneen and all the other candidates running against the "improver" slate... I've learned from personal experience that dirty tricks are to be expected from this group. There are no "innocent" questions from this mob - they always have an agenda. As was the case two years ago, they will misrepresent the facts about their opponents and resort to flat out lies to achieve their goals. Perhaps one day I'll write about my experiences with them... it will make for fascinating reading.

Time to Break This Game of Nine Ball!

OK, folks, one last reminder...

FIRST CANDIDATE FORUM THURSDAY NIGHT
Tomorrow, Thursday, August 21st, the first Costa Mesa City Council Candidate Forum will be held at the Neighborhood Community Center at Lions Park. The event, hosted by our good neighbors of Mesa Verde Community, Inc., the Mesa Verde homeowners association, commences at 6:00 p.m. with an opportunity to meet and greet the candidates, followed promptly at 7:00 for the formal forum program. The moderator of the forum will be former council member Jay Humphrey, who still keeps his oar in the water on important civic issues.

This forum, which in years past has consistently been the best-attended, best-run and most enlightening, should be a worthwhile expenditure of a few hours of your time.

UNIQUE FIELD OF CANDIDATES
This year's field of candidates is very special and, in many ways, unique. There are three seats open this time around, those of Mayor Eric Bever and Councilwomen Katrina Foley and Linda Dixon. Dixon has decided not to run again, even though she is eligible for another four-year term. Bever and Foley will be fighting to retain their seats on the dais.

Joining them on the forum dais will be twelve-year councilman (and multi-term mayor) Gary Monahan; Planning Commissioner Jim Righeimer; Business executive Bill Sneen; Mesa del Mar homeowners association President Lisa Reedy; Hair salon owner Christopher Bunyan; Teacher Christopher McEvoy and Computer guy Nicholas Moss.

Of these, Sneen, Reedy, Moss and McEvoy are neophytes, having held no elective office that we know of. Bunyan ran previously in 2006 and finished last in that race.

CANDIDATE'S STATEMENTS - OR LACK THEREOF
Moss, McEvoy and Bunyan have apparently chosen not to provide a candidate's statement for the voter's pamphlet. It's hard to imagine anyone running a serious campaign choosing not to present their qualifications in the only document guaranteed to land in the hands of every voter.

FOLEY
Katrina Foley has served on the council since elected in 2004 and served with distinction on the Planning Commission prior to that, including a tour as Chair of the commission. She's a wife, mother of two sons, successful owner of a law firm and involved in so many community activities that it makes one's head swim just thinking about it. As a member of the minority on the dais with Dixon for the past four years, she continued to present positive initiatives even though many were guaranteed to fail for lack of support from the Bever/Mansoor/Leece majority.

MONAHAN
A review of the candidate's ballot statements has proven to be interesting. For example, on Gary Monahan's statement he lists himself as "Father/Restaurant Owner", and goes on to list the name of his restaurant as, "Skosh Monahan's Family Steakhouse". When I visit the web site I find the name listed as "Skosh Monahan's Steakhouse and Irish Pub". I guess old Gary decided that the voters might get the wrong idea and not return him to yet another tour at the municipal trough if he listed himself as a pub owner. But, then, it's politics, where you're warned to believe very little of what you see and none of what you hear.

BEVER
Similarly, Eric Bever's statement provides some interesting fiction, too. He tells us that he "initiated many continuing improvement projects." He begins with this statement: "Developing solutions for the SR-55 terminus and associated cut-through traffic." Well, that, of course, is hogwash. He and his buddy, Allan Mansoor, ginned up this issue so Bever would have at least one plank in his campaign platform. Nothing of consequence is going to come of this activity for a generation - if then.

HALF-TRUTH
He then takes credit for the Residential Remodeling Incentive Program (RIIP), which waved fees for home improvements and, he says, resulted in $35,000,000 in improvements since 2005. What he doesn't tell you is that it also resulted in a loss of revenue to the strapped city coffers of well over $1 million!

BOGUS CLAIM
Then he takes credit for "plans to create a new 10 acre sports complex". This is also a bogus claim. He jumped the gun with a press release of a program initiated by officials in Newport Beach which has almost certainly made it more difficult for Costa Mesa to do business with our contiguous neighbor. There is an essential element of trust necessary between city officials - he violated that trust.

TAKING UNDUE CREDIT
Bever then takes credit for the Westside overlay zones. What a crock! Those were the result of thousands of hours of hard work by several dozen residents, hammered out over nearly a decade by several city committees of which he played a tiny part! Again, truth is in short supply in a campaign.

SHOVELING IT!
Finally, he says he "increased residential street paving". Will someone please call me if they've seen our mayor out spreading asphalt lately?

ATTENTION TO DETAIL?
One more thing... Bever lists several very recognizable people as those who endorse his campaign. Among them he lists past mayor "Hammet". I'm sure the honorable Jack Hammett would have preferred to have his name spelled correctly. Oh, yes... his web site link doesn't work, either.

RIGHEIMER
Jim Righeimer presents us with a pretty generic Conservative statement, the cornerstone of which is his statement that he will "never raise your taxes". Riggy's statement is not a problem - his history is, though. He moved to Costa Mesa just 25 months ago and was, amazingly, appointed to the Planning Commission by Allan Mansoor a few months later in an obvious act of partisan political payback for the help Mansoor got from Dana Rohrabacher during the campaign two years ago. Riggy is Dana's buddy and is running his re-election campaign. In my opinion, Righeimer is just using Costa Mesa as a place-holder until a slot further up the Orange County GOP food chain opens up - maybe Van Tran's State Assembly slot, for example. He's a smart guy, but I'm just not comfortable with him using Costa Mesa as a temporary stopping point.

SNEEN
In his statement, Bill Sneen tells us he's a resident of Costa Mesa for more than 2 decades and a happy family man. He lists for us several organizations in which he has been active in our city since 1981. He also tells us about a career involving more than a quarter century of successful business leadership. His credentials are solid, but the competition is tough.

REEDY
Lisa Reedy is a name familiar to many folks who have followed civic issues for the past couple decades. She is presently the President of the Mesa Del Mar homeowners association and has a long and diverse history of volunteerism in our city. She, too, is a successful businesswoman and would bring some much-needed maturity to the dais. Again, the competition is tough this time around.

THE FIRST CHANCE TO CALIBRATE CANDIDATES
This forum should be a very interesting event and will be the first time we, as voters, can calibrate the individual candidates and begin to form opinions about just which three of these nine will serve the interests of all Costa Mesa residents the best over the next four years. It will be a chance to sort truth from fabrications. See you there.

IF YOU MISS IT...
If you miss the forum, I'm told that the city will tape the proceedings for replay on Channel 24 on Time-Warner Cable. I suspect it will also be available for viewing on streaming video on the city web site. There's a link to it on the right side of this page.

Riggy And Bunyan Make It Nine!

NINE FANNIES FOR THREE SEATS
In this wonderful game of musical chairs we play every two years, Planning Commissioner Jim Righeimer and businessman Chris Bunyan today tossed their hats into the Costa Mesa City Council race this fall, to make it a nice, uneven 9 candidates for the three seats available. This might change if some folks who pulled papers earlier fail to return them by Friday. And, of course, there's still time for more candidates to surface. Until then, we now have three times the number of fannies than seats available.

FOUR VETERANS ( INCLUDING THREE MAYORS)
The way it stands right now, incumbent council members Katrina Foley, Linda Dixon and Eric Bever have pulled papers, along with former three-term council member Gary Monahan, who will look like an incumbent to many voters because of his previous long, long, long tenure on the council. That gives us three current or former mayors in the mix.

FOUR NEWBIES PLUS BUNYAN AND RIGGY
Additionally, newcomers Lisa Reedy, William Sneen and Nicholas Moss will be joined by 2006 also-ran Chris Bunyan and Righeimer (if you can actually count him as a "newcomer" with a straight face) in the race for a seat at the big table in November.

WILL RIGGY SPOOK THE NEWBIES?
It's assumed that the new candidates understood that Foley, Dixon, Bever and Monahan were running, but I find myself wondering if Righeimer's presence will cause any of the newcomers to reconsider their candidacy. His high-level connections in the Orange County GOP will certainly make him anything but a run-of-the-mill newcomer. He's a seasoned politician, has access to lots of potential big donors and is a pretty smart guy. I suspect there's no chance of him entering the race unless he seriously thinks he can win one of the seats available. A loss in this race might make his viability for future higher office suspect.

ANY VOTES LEFT?
With Riggy in the mix now, along with Foley, Dixon, Bever and Monahan, it seems to me that there simply are not going to be many votes left for the new folks. All of these experienced campaigners have solid name recognition, a record of accomplishment (whether you agree with it or not) have access to big campaign bucks and know how to run a campaign. Of these five, Bever is probably the least proficient campaigner... After spending around $50,000, he edged out Bruce Garlich by a mere 44 votes when they ran in 2004.

INCUMBENT MAYOR OUT - AGAIN?
In fact, this may be another of those campaigns where the incumbent mayor gets knocked off - just as Allan Mansoor did to Linda Dixon not too long ago. So formidable is this field that it's entirely possible that Bever could be left without a place to sit when the music stops in November.

FRIDAY'S THE DAY - OR NOT
So, friends, Friday we will know if all these fine folks will actually stay in the race. If any of the incumbents fail to return their papers by that date the filing period extends into next week for any non-incumbent candidates to make their decisions. Then the door slams shut and the games begin.

FIRST FORUM IN TWO WEEKS
The first candidate forum will occur around the 20th of August. I've heard conflicting dates, so I'll get back to you on the actual time and date - which is when all the fun begins.