THE FUTURE OF JOURNALISM - BY THOSE WHO KNOW

THREE AMIGOS

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a forum hosted by the activist group, Speak Up Newport, at the community room at Newport Beach City Hall.  The program consisted of a panel of experts on journalism, and local journalism in particular.  It included former Daily Pilot publisher and current publisher of StuNews Newport, TOM JOHNSON; former Los Angeles Times reporter, Daily Pilot Editor, podcast host and award-winning author, BILL LOBDELL and former Daily Pilot Editor, public relations expert,  college journalism instructor and current Public Information Officer for the City of Costa Mesa, TONY DODERO.

THE CROWD

Among the 80 or so people in attendance were current and former Newport Beach council members and commissioners, Daily Pilot columnists and a wide array of community activists.  Among them were folks who had, in the past, been named by the editors of the Daily Pilot as among those 103 most influential in the community - like yours truly, who was named on that fun array of movers and shakers 8 times (but who’s counting?).

THE INTRODUCTIONS

President of Speak Out Newport and former Newport Beach Mayor ED SELICH kicked off the evening, then turned the discussion over to Johnson, who moderated the conversation among his friends at the table with him.  He introduced his staff - his former wife, LANA JOHNSON, who is the editor of Stu News Newport and the person who actually gets things done, and SHAENA STABLER, his partner in the publication.

THE REMINISCENCES

The panel recalled their early days at the Daily Pilot.  When Johnson and Lobdell took over the newspaper in the early 1990s it was a struggling, poorly-run operation, described as probably the worst community newspaper in the state.  They built it into a profitable operation, recognized as the best in the state.  When they ran the operations, and later with Dodero at the helm of the news operations, the publication did outstanding work.  According to the discussion, when the Los Angeles Times acquired the Daily Pilot and several other local community newspapers the wheels began to come off.  The Daily Pilot is the last one standing and it’s teetering on the brink.

KEEPING IT REAL

Johnson shared some of the strategies that helped them become successful.  He said they “had to keep thinking of new things” to keep the Daily Pilot on the cutting edge of community engagement.  He cited the creation of the Daily Pilot Cup - a youth soccer tournament that exists  to this day, although no longer under the auspices of the Daily Pilot.  He also mentioned the Jones Cup, a women’s golf tournament.  And, of course, he spoke of the almost capricious creation of the “DP 103” - for which Lobdell, chuckling, took full credit.

WHAT HAPPENED?

According to the panelists, large newspapers, like the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register, were very slow to react to the digital realities on the news business.  The only large publications that have figured it out are the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.  Social media, with all it’s faux urgency and rampant inaccuracy, have become the go-to source of “news” by many in our society.  The iPhone has replaced the daily newspaper. According to Lobdell, there are 60% fewer journalists today than there were just a few short years ago.  They also cited mismanagement of many smaller newspapers.  The management of those operations were slow to react to the financial realities of the competition for advertising dollars in the digital world.  The failure of the Santa Barbara News Press was cited as an example.

DAY-TO-DAY AT STU NEWS…

Johnson gave us a brief tour of what it’s like at Stu News Newport, which produces a new product every Tuesday and Friday for both the Newport Beach operation and their sister publication in Laguna Beach… that’s four digital newspaper editions a week with a shoestring staff.  As I mentioned earlier, he gives LANA JOHNSON full credit for pulling off those four small miracles each week. One acknowledged shortfall is the production of true investigative reporting.  They are successful selling advertising for the “good news” they produce twice a week, but ramping up to produce a more hard-hitting product is expensive.  A discussion was held about the possibility of using interns - but that really doesn’t provide the skill set necessary for the tough reporting.  In our area there really is only one source of investigative reporting - the non-profit Voice of OC, published by former Orange County Register reporter NORBERTO SANTANA, JR.   They do an excellent job of digging up the dirt on issues, although sometimes they anger folks - a byproduct of tough reporting.

RE-BRANDING IN THE FUTURE?

There was a brief discussion of the possibility of “re-branding” Stu News - to give it a change of look.  Specifics were briefly discussed, and a January 2024 date was mentioned for a possible “new look”.

Q&A

At the end of the evening Johnson entertained questions from the audience.  Fewer than a dozen people stepped to the microphone.  One person mentioned the curiously fortuitous timing of a column published that very day in the Daily Pilot by columnist PATRICE APODACA on the subject of the decline of local newspapers.  Another speaker  complimented them for their work on the Daily Pilot, and described how family members always visited those pages for family members names in box scores and social events.  Others spoke of the need for strong investigative reporting and the fun that was had when one’s name appeared in the DP 103 list.

THAT’S ALL, FOLKS

So there you have my summary of the highlights of the evening.  I did not provide you with a word-for-word account, but it was a very worthwhile event.  The three

panelists are my friends.  Each one nurtured me as a 50-year-old fledgling writer who offered commentaries to the Daily Pilot pages before launching my blog in 2005 - and later, too.  I admire each of them for their positive contributions to my community over the past few decades. I suspect that they may put their collective experiences to work to continue finding workable solutions to the evolution of credible digital media.  I hope so.

A RACIST? WHO, ME? (AMENDED)

DECLINING CIVILITY

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the subsequent economic collapse and the civil unrest as a result of George Floyd’s death under the knee of the Minneapolis police officer, I’ve seen a significant change in civility in our society.

IT’S NOT JUST FACEBOOK

I won’t use the shift of tone on social media alone for this observation.  Every single night for the last couple months on the news - any news - we’ve seen the breakdown of civility all across the country, which is certainly exacerbated by the fear of the illness and compounded by so many folks being out of work and all the stress that alone brings.

FRACTURING OF OLD RELATIONSHIPS

What I have observed, however, is the willingness of some people to engage in nasty, vindictive, accusatory discussions with folks who express a differing opinion on some of the pithy social issues of the time.  I admit that I base this largely on my own personal experiences recently, but also of experiences shared - or that I have observed - as it affected others.  Sadly, some of those discussions have been between me and friends - not just Facebook friends, (I expect rancor from some on Facebook - it goes with the turf) but actual, honest-to-goodness long-time friends.  These real friends are those with whom we have never had these kinds of conversations in the past.  Our bond has been based on a shared life experience - growing up together and maintaining close relationships over the years.  Never in the past have we found the need to sit down and have a serious discussion about race relations in our country - it just never came up.  The discussions we shared revolved around the fun times in our lives, our siblings and parents and shared friendships with others.  We enjoyed hearing with great joy about the lives of their children and their accomplishments and families.  Never did I find the need to say to any of those friends, “I don’t know any black people, nor do I understand what their lives are like.”  It just never came up…. until now.

DEVALUING MY OPINIONS

I have come to realize lately that, as an old white guy, raised in a life nearly completely devoid of contact with black people, my opinions are being challenged by friends and others for what they apparently feel is my inadequate background and understanding of  racial diversity issues, thus negating my opinion.  Since almost all of those people do not really know all of my background their condemnation of my opinions are, at the very least, disappointing.  We ALL are entitled to opinions on issues, whether we have lived them or not.

A SHORT PRIMER

So, let’s talk about my limited background with black people.  Although I have known many Latino and Asian people in both my personal and professional life,  never knew a black person until I entered the United States Army late in 1963 - shortly after John F. Kennedy was murdered.  In Basic Training I had no “buddies” that were black, although there were a few in my training company.  In my first duty station, in the Army Pictorial Center in Long Island City, Queens, New York, one of my very best friends for the short 6 months I spent there was Hayes Manning, a black man from California.  He had a college degree.  His father went to Harvard and his mother attended Radcliffe.  His Aunt Joyce was married George Wein, the producer of the Newport Jazz Festival.  We used to jump on the subway and go to their home on Central Park West and just hang out.  We met legendary jazz musicians who wandered through.  That was the first place I ever smelled marijuana.  During that summer of 1964 there were riots in Harlem so Hayes and I, ignorently, decided to jump on the subway and go see what it was all about.  Huge mistake!  We stepped onto the city streets, recognized this was like a pre-lynch scene in an old “B” western movie and immediately left - both of us petrified from the experience.  He became a lifelong friend until his death in his early 50s.

FLIGHT SCHOOL

During my time at the Pictorial Center I applied for, and was accepted into, the fledgling Warrant Officer Rotary Wing Flight Training program - the  Army was gearing up for the need for more “bus drivers” in Vietnam - and spent the last few months of 1964 and early into 1965 attending an abbreviated Officer Candidate School and learning to fly helicopters in northern Texas.  I had no black friends during that time.  Although an eye ailment eliminated me from flight school, I was reassigned to the Advanced School at Fort Rucker (one of those bases the angry masses now scream about re-naming) and spent the remaining part of my enlistment at that location as a company clerk while my classmates completed their training.  87 men in my class (of the 142 who began) graduated in July of 1965 and all of them, including the 80 assigned to the legendary First Cavalry (Airmobile) Division at Fort Benning, GA (another of those bases the screamers would have us rename), were in Vietnam by September.  Six of those men did not make it through their first tour, having been killed in action in Vietnam.

THE WATTS RIOTS AND CHANGE

During my time at Fort Rucker the Watts Riots occurred back home in Los Angeles.  My very best friend in life was a rookie cop with the LAPD at that time and was involved in that chaos.  In fact, he was doubly involved because he was also in the Army National Guard and his unit was activated and assigned to riot control at the very location he had been working at with the LAPD.  Yes, I was interested.  And, I saw that societal event change things at Fort Rucker.  Before that event men of all races would mingle and enjoy each other’s company in our company Day Room - a place with television, pool tables and a library plus comfortable chairs - a kind of living room for our barracks.  When the Watts riots occurred I saw a polarization occur - blacks sat with blacks and whites sat with whites.  When the television showed blacks looting stores in LA, the blacks in the Day Room would stand and cheer.  When the National Guard fired  on them, the whites would cheer.  Nothing was the same on that post from that time forward in the summer of 1965.  In fact, three weeks before I mustered out in December, there was a cross burned on the lawn of a black sergeant, where he and his family lived in his on-post housing domicile.  Keep in mind that Fort Rucker is located in the armpit of the South, where the “N Word” was used in casual conversation by the civilian populace.  In Dothan - the biggest town near our post - there were drinking fountains marked for “coloreds” and black folks were required to buy tickets at the local theater on the outside of the ticket booth and take an outside stairway to the balcony - they could not sit with the white folks downstairs.  Yes, this was a tough time to be a black person in the South.

TENSION IN THE SOUTH

As my best friend from flight school and I drove from the Primary School outside Fort Worth, Texas to the Advanced School in Alabama we drove past Philadelphia, Mississippi, the location where, just a few months earlier, three civil rights workers were murdered.  Also on our route we crossed over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, the day before the big march.  We were clueless about that stuff, but did wonder why there were 200 State Police cars staged on the north side of that bridge.  We found out the next day after we arrived at Fort Rucker.

THE ’N-WORD”

Following my military service I worked for a national insurance company in progressively responsible assignments that took me to Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Hartford, Houston, Hartford and San Francisco over a period of seven years, until I resigned and we returned home to Southern California and bought the home we’ve lived in for more than 46 years.  During that time, and in subsequent jobs I’ve had, I had very limited experience working with black people.  I had no long-term relationships with any black people during that time.  The only significant experience I had with black people was during my time in Houston when we attempted to hire young black women - graduates with liberal arts degrees from all-black Texas Southern University - into entry-level clerical jobs to which they had applied.  We were unsuccessful.  These women showed up woefully unprepared for the jobs and it is likely that the societal chasm they found themselves in made it hard - impossible - to achieve success.  My first day at that office, where I held a senior management position, I heard the “N-Word” spoken in casual conversation by the woman who worked for me and did most of the applicant preliminary screening.  That was the last time the word was spoken in my presence.  Regardless, it was indicative of the systemically hostile environment that young black women were exposed to in that office.  I tried to overcome that terrible bias by working hard with supervisors and managers, but was unsuccessful in single-handedly buffing off a century of racial bias.

NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS

In my last assignment with the insurance company I worked in San Francisco and lived in Concord, in the east bay.  Our next door neighbors were a mixed race couple.  He was a black man and a Captain in the United States Navy.  We established a relationship that has lasted for nearly a half century.  Both parents are gone, but we still have a relationship with their kids.

RACIAL DIVERSITY WAS NEVER A CONSIDERATION

In subsequent jobs I had virtually zero exposure to black men and women.  The companies I worked with were mostly white, with some Asians and Latinos in the population.  I did not seek them out because of that lack of racial diversity - I just never considered it in my job searches.  Most of those assignments involved some part of the recruitment process.  We never specifically targeted any racial group when trying to fill positions, although occasionally we would hire black people.  When I struck out on my own early in the 1980s and created a consulting practice that specialized primarily in Executive Search, the issue of racial diversity never came up.  In no case did a client company charge me with finding a woman or man of color - nor did we sort any out that appeared as a result of that search.

NO RACIAL EMPHASIS ON THE BLOG

During the past couple of decades when I wrote this blog and wrote commentaries elsewhere, none involved specific issues of race.  During this time I got to know a couple black Costa Mesa officials.  Judge Karen Robinson was a terrific leader, our mayor for a time and is an effective judge.  Rick Francis was a really good Assistant City Manager and just a good guy.  But that’s about it.  My focus has not been about racial issues.  Is that good or bad?  It is what it is.  

NOTE: A couple days after I published this piece an old friend, who has followed this blog from the very beginning, reminded me that I did, indeed, address race.  He reminded me that in my frequent jousts with another blogger in town who has written extensively on racial issues - I called him a racist, but he defined himself as a "racialist" - I did take the issue on to refute some of his putrid prose.  He has shriveled into insignificance locally, but still fouls the ether with his drumbeat of intolerance.  Sorry for the misstatement - he is something most are happy to push back in to the corners of our memories.

A LACK OF DEPTH, BUT NO REMORSE

So, as I read back over this essay I realize that, although I’m a pretty smart fella, I DO NOT have a background with any depth of experience with black folks.  I DID see how blacks were treated in the deep south in the 1960s - a pretty awful experience for them.  I have had a solid relationship with a couple black friends, but none lately.  A friend asked me the other day if I had any black friends - my answer was NO - not counting the Concord neighbors mentioned above since we only hear from them once a year.  As I contemplated that fact I realized that I don’t have any particular remorse about not having any close black friends - I don’t have feelings about it one way or the other.  Does that make me a racist?  If you think so I’d like to hear about it.  Because I’m ambivalent on the issue, am I considered a racist?  Because I’m VERY angry about the behavior of the current crop of demonstrators, those who are threatening to burn down our society, do you think I’m a racist?  How is it wrong for me to want to protect those I love and their personal wealth?  I don’t get it.  Is it wrong for me to refuse to just step back and say to those rioters “Go ahead - take everything I’ve worked for just because somewhere in your history - four generations ago - there may be slavery in your ancestry.”?

I LEARNED, BUT NEED MORE

Recently I listened on the radio to an excellent discussion moderated by my friends, John Stephens and Tom Johnson, with four black men of a variety of backgrounds, but each with a local connection to my city, and came away with a much better understanding of their plight.  I have a better understanding of “systemic racism” and want to learn more.  I understand a little bit better about how things like red-lining and inequitable school funding have so adversely affected black men and women in this country and I want to learn more - to more fully understand the issue and what possible solutions there might be.  If you feel the urge to educate me on these issues, go ahead.  I’m a good listener and sometimes actually ask good questions.   Otherwise, please keep your caustic, holier-than-thou comments to yourself.  If you don’t like what I write, just don’t read it.  If you think you can offer constructive observations, go ahead.

…BUT, DON’T THINK YOU CAN JUST TAKE IT!

But that doesn’t mean I’m willing to have my state, California, decide to use my tax dollars to pay billions (trillions?) of dollars in reparations to every black man and woman in this state for alleged mistreatment of people of their race generations ago.  There is a move afoot to create a commission to study that very issue and I don’t like it one bit!  I didn’t do it and I don’t want to pay for it.  If that happens it will be the final straw.  It will mean to me that California - the state I love for her natural beauty and as the home to so many of our relatives - will become unlivable for a guy with conservative values.  I will just pack up and move elsewhere - look out, Texas!  

IS CHANGE NECESSARY?  PROBABLY…

Do I want to see that systemic racism eliminated?  Of course!  Do I want to hand the fruits of my lifetime of labor over to someone who just wants it because he thinks he’s entitled to it?  Nope - not gonna happen!  If a mob shows up on my porch demanding possession of my home and all I own, I will do all within my power to resist that criminal act.  When I say all, I mean ALL!  

LIKE IT OR NOT, THERE IT IS.

So, that’s a couple thousand words about how I feel on this issue.  I don’t really care if you like it or not - it is what it is. You cannot comment here - comments are disabled.  If you want to rant about it you must go to my Facebook page HERE.  Or, you can communicate with me privately. It’s your choice.  

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, MY FRIENDS

In any event, I wish you all well and hope you are having a wonderful Independence Day holiday.  How’s that for irony - Independence Day in the middle of a catastrophic pandemic, economic collapse and social unrest not seen in this country for more than 40 years?  Oh, well…

Fairview Developmental Center, The Chargers, And More

 AN INTERESTING MEETING AHEAD
The Costa Mesa City Council meets again tomorrow night, Tuesday, March 21, 2017 beginning at 6:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers.  That meeting will be preceded by a Closed Session beginning at 5:30 p.m.  which will be recessed to Conference Room 5A immediately following being called to order and the two issues read into the record.  You can read the full agenda HERE.

FAIRVIEW DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER IN PLAY?
This Closed session takes on a special meaning because an item was added to that segment of the agenda this morning.  That is Item #2, "Conference with Real Property Negotiator" for 2501 Harbor Boulevard... that's the address for the Fairview Developmental Center!  Yep, it does appear that the ball in now rolling on the possible sale of that 100 acres by the State of California to the City of Costa Mesa, and Assistant City Manager Rick Francis is the negotiator for The City.

THE WARRANT
The Consent Calendar has some interesting items on it, again.  Item #2, HERE, is Warrant 2573, which shows us how The City has spent nearly $3 million of our tax dollars.  I'm not going to give you a long list of items we purchased, but that link will help you review it.  We continue to spend tens of thousands of dollars on consultants and temporary employees throughout City Hall.  Scroll down the list and you'll see them clearly defined.

NEW SIDEARMS FOR THE CMPD
Item #7, HERE, is interesting.  This involves the complete re-arming of the Costa Mesa Police Department to the tune of nearly $85,000.  Currently the CMPD officers are issued Heckler and Koch (HK) .40 Caliber service pistol.  After extensive testing - that discussion can be found HERE - the committee recommended purchasing the Sig P320 for a price that roughly equates to the trade-in value of the current firearm.  You can read the Purchase Requisition for 230 guns and related equipment HERE.

DE NOVO HEARING ON PLANNING COMMISSION DENIAL OF A 1-YEAR EXTENSION, 2068 MAPLE AVE. 
Public Hearing #1, HERE, is a de novo hearing - meaning that they start from scratch - on the denial of a one-year time extension on a development at 2068 Maple Avenue.  This development was approved by the previous commission in 2015, changed hands in 2016 and the request for the time extension was denied by the current Planning Commission.  This is an appeal of that request.

CHARGERS TO USE JACK HAMMETT FOR TRAINING CAMP
New Business #1, HERE, is an agreement between the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League to use two of the six fields at the Jack Hammett Sports Complex on Fairview Road as a facility for their annual summer training camp.  The staff report outlines the particulars, but basically the Chargers would use two fields during the period when the entire sports complex would be dormant - roughly 5 weeks in July and August.  For that use they would pay the City a little over $150,000 per year for ten years.  In addition they will pay $50,000 towards the recently-approved mobile recreation van and $10,000 to AYSO 120 for dislocation the first year.  I did notice that The Chargers will rehab fields 3 and 4 each June.  I wonder if the kids that will be playing on it from August through June will be playing in the divots created by 400 pound linemen digging in?  Guess we'll hear about that tomorrow.  Read the staff report.  And, if you wish, you can take 30 minutes to view Barry Friedland's Costa Mesa Brief coverage of Tom Johnson's StuNews Sunday radio program yesterday, HERE, to see City Manager Tom Hatch and Councilman John Stephens discuss this plan in detail.  An interesting sidebar is the fact that Mayor Katrina Foley must recuse herself from this discussion because her home backs up to the site.

NEW SPORTS FACILITY GRANT PROGRAM?
New Business #2, HERE, the consideration of a Direct Partnership with the Newport Mesa Unified School District for the Sports Facility Improvement Grant Program.  This is VERY interesting because it appears to cut Costa Mesa United out of the funding loop.  Plus, it changes the terms to include, on an alternating-year basis, ALL Costa Mesa Elementary Schools, too!  In fact, if you look at the items below, one wonders what role Costa Mesa United will continue to play, if any.  This should be interesting.

NEW COSTA MESA COMMITTEES
New Business #3, HERE, is a discussion of new Costa Mesa Committees.  The staff is asking for direction from the City Council on the following committees:

• Fairview Park Steering Committee
• The Youth Sports, Open Space & Recreation Advisory Committee
• The Youth Sports Committee
• Open Space and Recreation Advisory Committee

The staff report contains all the particulars... read it.

AN INTERESTING MEETING, FOR SURE
Tomorrow's meeting should be VERY interesting.  There's plenty of cool stuff - The Chargers, for example - to draw folks to the chambers or watch on television or streaming on their computer.  Regardless, we'll be watching from somewhere and report later.

Costa Mesa Council Candidates Spar On Radio Sunday

TOM JOHNSON HOSTS CANDIDATES
Former Daily Pilot publisher Tom Johnson hosted six of the seven candidates for Costa Mesa City Council this morning on his StuNews radio program on KOCI-FM, 105.1 on your FM dial.  Only Al Melone - who has really not conducted a campaign, was absent.

COSTA MESA BRIEF ON THE CASE!
I heard only snippets of the broadcast due to family obligations but, to the great benefit of the public, Barry Friedland had his Costa Mesa Brief cameras on the scene to capture the just under 90 minute broadcast.  He did yeoman duty and got the finished product up late Sunday night and I've had a chance to watch the full product.  Wow!  Everybody should view this video if there is ANY question in their minds about how they will cast their three votes this week!

So, I invite each of you to watch and hear this excellent public service presentation.  Listen as the issues are batted around by Allan Mansoor and Sandy Genis.

Listen as Steve Mensinger and John Stephens spar on pension issues.

Listen to Jay Humphrey correct the record on issues.

Listen to Lee Ramos try to stay abreast of the issues and attempt to explain his views with only limited success.

WATCH, LISTEN AND LEARN
I think each of you will learn a lot about the candidates and their opinions.  You'll learn that Mansoor doesn't have a clue about issues unless someone has provided him with a script.  He, for example, didn't know the number of the City Fairview Park measure and only mumbled the party line.

GRACIAS, TOM AND BARRY..
Thanks to Tom Johnson for this excellent opportunity to hear these candidates on the cusp of the election and special thanks to Barry Friedland for capturing this event for us all to view.

Spirited Discussions Marked Costa Mesa Feet To The Fire Forum

LIVELY DISCUSSIONS AND LARGER CROWD
Well, we could almost guarantee that the Costa Mesa Feet To The Fire Forum last night - the 11th in the series so far - would be just a little more spirited than the Newport Beach event the evening before.  It was.  And, it played to a crowd much larger than Wednesday night's gathering.  Last night I'm estimating the number of people in the audience to be around 175 or so.  Once again the heavy lifting on the reporting was done by another of those bright, young reporters from the Daily Pilot. Luke Money covered the event for the Daily Pilot.  You can read his article HERE. 

SCHMOOZE-FEST
The actual forum was preceded by a "meet and greet" opportunity outside the auditorium.  Here are a few random images from that hour-long opportunity to gather literature and schmooze with would-be politicians and others.

 (Daily Pilot reporter Luke Money surveys the crowd)

 (Mansoor and daughter surrounded by CMPSrs)

 (Barry Friedland taping an interview)

 (Legendary Mary Hornbuckle - moderator of next weeks Mesa Verde forum - chats with a Mensinger supporter)

 (Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, who never met a camera he didn't like, is interviewed for Costa Mesa Brief)

(Steve Mensinger chats with Costa Mesa Public Square Queen Julie Mercurio)

(Alex Reich, candidate for a seat on the Mesa Water District Board, oversees signatures)

(Jim Fitzpatrick, would-be pot czar in Costa Mesa, attended with other CMPSrs)

 BARBARA LAID DOWN THE LAW
Again, Barbara Venezia and her co-moderator, Tom Johnson, did a good job of keeping the questions and answers moving.  Prior to the actual taping of the event Venezia laid down the ground rules - clapping and cheering was OK but shouting-out and interrupting the program was not.  And, she reminded us that OCC had security on hand to escort unruly audience members out of the venue if necessary.  I smiled.

SIX OF THE SEVEN CANDIDATES ATTENDED
The panel of candidates included Jay Humphrey, John Stephens, Sandy Genis, Lee Ramos, Allan Mansoor and Steve Mensinger.  I list them in that order since that's how they appeard on stage.  However, as it turned out, there was a natural adverserial relationship established early-on, pitting the first three against the other three.  Money didn't talk about that.  Oh, yes.. candidate Al Melone - the Dog Park guy - was invited to participate but opted out.  Instead, he sat near the back of the auditorium and watched with the rest of us.  It's a shame he chose to run again - votes have proven to be precious in the past two elections and his mere presence on the ballot will suck up a few.  Not many, but a few.

NOT QUITE AN EVEN MIX
And, the mix of fans in the audience was interesting.  Early in the forum Humphrey, Stephens and Genis seemed to evoke the most enthusiastic response from the audience.  Ramos, Mansoor and Mensinger certainly received applause from the crowd, but it wasn't as loud.  Later that faction ramped it up and, while their numbers seemed smaller, they made much more noise.  It was fun.  At one point, as the crowd cheered and clapped a response not favorable to his position, Mensinger remarked that it was just like a council meeting.  He doesn't like criticizm.

WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES - AND ATTACKS
As mentioned in Money's article, the range of issues discussed was broad, and they evoked some interesting reactions.  Mensinger, Mansoor and Ramos each chose to attack Genis and Humphrey on issues, trying to tie their former tenure on the council to decisions made that they said were problems.  Ramos was so ham-handed that he couldn't pull it off.  None of the attacks were successful.

STEVE, THE INTERRUPTER
Mensinger interrupted  Genis a couple times - just as he does on the dais.  She had to remind him he "was not the mayor" on the stage.  I smiled.  He just can't help himself.  As others have said, Donald Trump's presence in the political arena seems to have coarsened political discourse, even down here at the local level.

RAMOS, ER, DUH...
Some general impressions... Ramos just didn't seem to have it figured out.  His comments and answers to questions seemed lethargic and his points seemed almost irrelevant to the issues.

CAN'T GRASP MULTIPLE ISSUES
Mansoor apparently continues with his characteristic of getting one issue locked in his skull and attempts to tie everything else back to it.  Last night it was "motels".  Apparently, in his mind, there is no problem in the city that is not tied to motels.  He has not gotten any smarter since he last served on the council - except that he married a lovely woman who has given him two beautiful children, all of whom were in attendance last night.  It's going to be very interesting to see how he campaigns this time around.  From what I saw, he's tightly locked-in with the Costa Mesa Public Square mob, so we will see how that plays out.

STEVE BEING STEVE
Mensinger was just - how did his wife put it when he was first sworn-in? - "Just Steve being Steve".  He reminded us that, under the current regime, more than 60 miles of roads have been paved, lots of curbs and gutters have been replaced and alleys renovated.  When the discussion turned to police staffing, and the relationship with the police association, he came unglued.  He angrily denounced Humphrey for his criticizm of the lawsuit Mensinger and his pal, Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer (who was in the audience) filed against the police association.  It was a low spot in the program.

JAY WAS STEADY
Humphrey was steady with his responses and responded respectfully.

SANDY'S STILL SMART
Genis continues to demonstrate why she's such a strong, positive, intelligent force on the council.

STEPHENS WAS STRONG
Stephens probably looked the best of any of the candidates.  His experience as a lawyer has prepared him for the jousting.  He knows how to negotiate and would be a very valuable presence on the dais.

OPEN MOUTH, INSERT FOOT
During the discussion Ramos made the unfortunate reference to "your union pals" to Stephens.  He then did a backward tap dance, trying to extricate himself from that mess... not very effectively.

THE ISSUES
Issues discussed included the Smart Growth Initiative; Banning Ranch; marijuana; Prop. 57, the latest boneheaded plan coming out of Sacramento to put more convicted criminals back on the streets; Public Safety staffing; Staffing in general; Unfunded Pension Liability; rehab homes; ending daylight savings time.

NBTV AND KOCI WILL PROVIDE COVERAGE
I'm not going to try to regurgitate every word spoken in the 100 minutes of the meeting.  You'll be able to watch (and hear) it in context yourselves when Newport Beach Television finishes the production and provides it to Venezia for placement on YouTube and on her site, http://www.feet2thefireforum.com/.  And, KOCI, 101.5 FM will be broadcasting the audio feed soon.  When the specifics of the video and audio products are available I'll post about them.  And, Barry Friedland of Costa Mesa Brief was at the event and, I suspect, will produce his version for public consumption within the next day or so at his Costa Mesa Brief YouTube channel.  You will recall that earlier this year Costa Mesa Television was forbidden to cover any of the candidate forums, even though it has a long tradition of doing them, and doing them very well.  I guess Mensinger and Righeimer didn't want stupidity and falsehoods archived in city records for posterity.

STEVE MAKING IT UP AS HE GOES ALONG
During the discussion of police staffing Mensinger told us that we should be back up to authorized strength - either 136 or 140, depending on which number you want to believe - in "6 months to a year".  Well, right now they're down to just over 100 and, as Genis reminded us, even if we COULD hire 40 more cops quickly from the academies, we don't have enough training officers to manage that influx.  Mensinger was just blowing smoke.

FORGOT ABOUT HUY PHAM
Similarly, when talking about the staff shrinkage since he's been on the council - it's gone from around 605 employees to 440 - he said, "we didn't lay off a single person".  He conveniently forgot that as soon as he joined the council, he, Righeimer and Gary Monahan decided to lay off over 200 "miscellaneous" employees - and that fiasco resulted in a lawsuit and the death of Huy Pham, a young maintanence worker who leaped to his death from the City Hall roof.

THIS IS IT FOR STEVE...
Before the meeting Mensinger sought me out to inquire about my health, so we chatted a little.  He told me he's not attending the remaining two other scheduled candidate forums - next week with the Mesa Verde, Inc. organization and in October with the Eastside Neighbors group.  He cited a schedule conflict with the first and just said flat out that he won't go the Eastside event.  Instead, he plans to have a series of "coffees" to spread his message - including one right across the street from my house.  Well, that brightened up my day.  Maybe I can get the valet parking concession for all the Ferraris and Maseratis driven by his developer-buddies that will show up.

...AND APPARENTLY HIS PALS, TOO
Later I was told that neither Mensinger, Mansoor nor Ramos will attend the remaining forums.  If that's the case, what does that tell the voters of this city?  Are these men afraid to face voters and answer questions about their policies and plans?  If so, why?  If true, it sure does reek of political cowardice. I hope they change their minds.  The voters deserve to learn more about them and their views in a public forum.  I've heard a rumor about a proposed Costa Mesa Public Square forum, but it's only that - a rumor.  I'm not on their mailing list.

IT'S GONNA BE A LONG FEW MONTHS
So, off we go as the campaign season is officially launched.  We have seven candidates on the ballot and eight initiatives to sort out, too.  And, that doesn't count the bogus "advisory" measure the Mesa Water District is placing on the ballot to test the communities feeling about their proposed hostile takeover of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District nor the state-wide recreational marijuana issue.  Yikes!