A Sad State Of Affairs

QUITE A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE

For more than a decade I've written on this blog and elsewhere about Costa Mesa and the politics of this city.  During that time there have been many, many highs and certainly a few lows, too.  For example,

EVEN CLOWNS ELECTED
We've seen people like the chronically-inept Chris Steel elected to City Council after trying nine times before.

THE SEWER OF RACISM
We've seen the political discourse driven, from time to time, by a notorious racist.

BENITO ACOSTA
We've seen a Latino activist dragged from a City Council meeting and arrested.  The costs for the ensuing lawsuit continue to show up on Warrants to this day, ten years later.

THE LEADER OF THE TAKEOVER
We've seen a carpet-bagging political opportunist move to town and almost immediately be appointed to a prestigious commission in repayment for campaign support by a re-elected council member.  That provided him with the political platform to be elected and re-elected (barely) to the City Council.

PROFITS BEFORE SERVICE

He led a cadre of wrong-thinking individuals in a take over city government and attempt to "run it like a business", forgetting that a municipal government IS NOT a business - it exists only to provide services to the populace, not produce a product for profit.

ACTIONS RESULT IN LAWSUITS
That group immediately created chaos in City Hall by attempting to - illegally - layoff nearly half of the members of the Costa Mesa City Employees Association - the so-called Miscellaneous Employees.  That act resulted in one young distraught employee to leap to his death from the roof of City Hall and a lawsuit that remains unresolved to this day, more than 4 years later.

ANTI-PUBLIC SAFETY BIAS

We've seen the two top elected city officials actually sue the men and women of the Costa Mesa Police Department, while gutting that once-proud department by imposing unrealistic staffing levels and spending hard-earned tax dollars filling potholes instead of providing public safety.  The toxic atmosphere they created caused experienced officers to retire early and/or seek jobs with other venues.  They forced the delay in replacing those officers, putting public safety in jeopardy by reducing staffing levels unseen in this city in more than two decades.

UNNECESSARY COMMITTEES

We've seen those same men create a list of unnecessary new committees and stack them with cronies as payback for political support.  These unnecessary committees sucked up thousands of valuable staff hours performing analysis and reports at a time when their skills were required elsewhere.

THE CHARTER, TWICE!
We've seen them attempt to change the basic structure of municipal government by jamming a Charter down our throats, only to have that scheme overwhelmingly rejected TWICE by the voters.

PLACING BLAME, BUT TAKING NO ACTION
We've seen them vilify municipal employees because unfunded pension liabilities have created fiscal complications, but they refuse to take any positive steps to resolve that issue.

GREASING DEVELOPMENT SKIDS
We've seen ordinances passed that dissolve protections for the residents in favor of greasing the skids for developers, who will build projects then never been seen again, leaving residents to deal with the aftermath of overtaxed infrastructure.

SQUEEZING OUT BUSINESSES
We've seen ordinances passed that penalize business owners for calling public safety organizations to receive protection from unsafe and/or illegal situations at their establishments.  The goal, as stated unequivocally by elected officials, was to force those business owners to take a more "realistic" view of the value of their businesses by pummeling them with fines to encourage them to sell out to developers.

PITTING NEIGHBOR AGAINST NEIGHBOR

We've seen ordinances passed that almost seem designed to turn neighbor against neighbor.  Simultaneously, they have created and implemented a smart phone app that encourages that same behavior.  In fact, one of our top elected officials may be the biggest proponent of this app and regularly snaps photos and reports folks who have allowed their lawn to grow too long and other similar minor infractions.

SPECIAL ENFORCEMENT CADRE

They created a cadre of special Code Enforcement officers outside the normal structure who report directly to the Executive Offices, and they've been used as a personal enforcement unit by the City Council majority.

VILIFICATION AND THREATS

During recent years we've seen political discourse sink to, perhaps, the lowest level in any one's memory.  We've seen critics increasingly step up during meetings to present opposing views, only to be chided by members of the City Council.  We've seen members of the public admonished and threatened by officials for speaking out.  We've had members of the public warned against speaking out by staff members.

FREE SPEECH QUASHED

We've seen Freedom of Speech placed in jeopardy by procedures implemented which are specifically designed to discourage participation by the public.  They have institutionalized stifling of dissent.

STRANGLING DISCUSSION
And, this stifling of dissent has spread beyond the walls of City Hall.  A social media site has been created that crows about being the "best source of news about Costa Mesa" and invites all-comers to join in the discussion.  Several elected and appointed community leaders actively participate in the discussions, expressing their opinions on important issues and openly criticizing opposing views.  But the out-of-town rabble-rousers - with no vested interest in the future of Costa Mesa - who administer it block dissenting voices by either refusing to admit them to the site or by ousting those already on board if they dare to express an opposing viewpoint.  In addition, they troll other competing sites and expel members from their site if they dare to post a critical comment.  And, despite their claim of being a superior news site, non-members may not even observe and read that "news", much less particpate in the discussions.  It is a site for insiders only, where like-minded individuals chatter back and forth, agreeing with each other and presuming their views on important issues are the correct views.  This kind of strangulation of public discussion reeks of WWII Germany.  It shouldn't be too surprising, since the aforementioned racist is a major driver of conversations on the site.  How very sad for those folks who joined up expecting more, only to find discussions framed by an internationally notorious Nazi sympathizer.

A NEW LOW
This weekend, though, we may have seen the bar set at it's lowest point.  It has been widely reported that during what has historically been the City's favorite family event, the Lion's Club Fish Fry at Fairview Park, two prominent members of the public - one a former elected and appointed official and the other an activist and former candidate for City Council - got into a heated disagreement that ended with one spitting in the face of the other after being mocked about his disability.  The other man then retaliated with what was described as a "sucker punch" to the face.  We are told that it ended at that point.  To our knowledge, although there apparently were several witnesses to the event, no charges have been filed.

A SAD COMMENTARY

From what I know of this situation, there likely was fault on both sides and was the result of long-simmering animosity between the two participants, but there is no excuse for that behavior.  Unfortunately, this only further demonstrates how the political process and attendant discourse has declined in our city during this current regime.  The incivility on social media comment threads, including the threads on our two local newspapers, seems to have emboldened bad behavior on both sides of the important issues facing our city.  That bad behavior finally manifested itself in physical confrontation this weekend.  It's a sad, sad commentary on political life in our city.

Not Much Happened While I Was Gone.. Yeah, Right!

MISS ME?
Well, didja miss me?  I missed you!  Well, kinda missed you...  Anyhow, I'm back...

AH, THE ROCKIES!
While my sweet, loving and VERY patient wife and I were enjoying a much-deserved and much-needed vacation for the past couple weeks - celebrating our 47th wedding anniversary and my birthday, too, I tried to keep track of what was happening back here in good old Costa Mesa using only marginally satisfactory technological tools.  Because of the distances we covered and the wide open spaces we saw, cell and internet service was sparse and spotty.  However, we did manage to carve out some time late at night using my trusty Iphone and my first generation hand-crank Ipad.  What I read made me VERY happy I was away, enjoying the magnificant Rocky Mountains along with tens of thousands of foreign tourists driving rental cars - not very well.  More on that later...

LOTS OF NEWS
I took some time to go back over the coverage of local events in the Daily Pilot for the two weeks we were away and learned that:

• The City of Costa Mesa will need to do a better job of protecting the vernal pools in Fairview Park, HERE
• The de-throned Costa Mesa Senior Center Board will remain active for a year, HERE
• Local politicians went berserk when CalTrans decided to ignore local cities and proceed with a toll road concept on the I-405 Freeway from Costa Mesa to the Los Angeles County line, HERE
• The Costa Mesa City Employees Association approved a new contract, HERE
• After spending loads of valuable staff time without approval or consultation with his fellow-council members, Gary Monahan failed to get a second to his scheme to put a Medical Marijuana Ordinance before the voters in November, HERE
• The Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee, which saw a record crowd at their meeting the first week of the month, decided to delay any decisions on the Southeast Quadrant of the Park, HERE
• After failing to receive the endorsement of the Costa Mesans For Responsible Governent, candidate Harold Weitzberg pulled out of the race for one of the two City Council seats, HERE, leaving eight (8) candidates in the race - too many, in my opinion.
• Wendy Leece decided to run for a seat on the Orange County Water District Board, HERE
• Katrina Foley received some powerful endorsements for her run for a council seat, HERE
• Congressman Dana Rohrabacher endorsed Jim Righeimer for city council, HERE, after giving a lukewarm endorsement for his employee, Tony Capitelli.
• Councilwoman Sandra Genis called the scheme proposed by Righeimer to place a toll-lane measure on the ballot political, HERE
• Costa Mesans For Responsible Government (CM4RG) held a General Plan fair before an overflow crowd, HERE

COMMENTARIES HOT AND HEAVY
And, if that was not enough news, politicians and their supporters stacked the Forum pages with commentaries on a variety of issues:

• Leece addressed the "miracles" on the Westside, HERE, and the Medical Marijuana issue, HERE
• Righeimer addressed the toll road scheme, HERE and the new labor agreement, HERE
• Allan Mansoor joined Righeimer condemning the toll road scheme, HERE
• Andy Smith told us the Charter would give us "Home Rule", HERE
• Terry Koken refuted Smith's assertions, HERE
• Tim Sesler told us the ballot argument about "cronyism" was false, HERE
• Fellow lawyer John Stephens defined and defended the "cronyism" label, HERE
• Brian Burnett told us developing Fairview Park is wrong, HERE
• Candidate Al Melone demonstrated his limited view of City government, HERE
• Assembly candidate Matt Harper told us he is the "dependable conservative", HERE
• His opponent, Keith Curry, chimed in on the toll roads, HERE
• Sue Lester opined that a thinner candidate field would serve the city better, HERE
• And Mary Ann O'Connell rebutted her position, HERE

 AND ROBIN DIED.....
All that and Robin Williams died of an apparent suicide while I was gone, HERE.


 

"End Of Watch" - See It!

 PART OF MY R & R
As part of my self-imposed relaxation regimen we sat the movie, "End Of Watch" today.

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?
I hope you'll find time to see this film and then contemplate just what must be in the minds of those folks in our city who seem determined to destroy the lives of the men and women of the Costa Mesa Police Department.

LIARS...
Some of your elected, and appointed, so-called leaders seem willing to let no despicable tactic go unused as they attempt to paint the CMPD as a corrupt organization, filled with slackers who are only in it for the overtime and retirement.  They've even taken to vilifying individual retired police officers by lying about their perceived political activities and attempting to make them seem like greedy, lazy individuals who are bleeding the city dry with their pensions, all of which is just flat untrue.

HERE'S THE TRAILER
See the movie and think about it.  Here's the trailer.

Lots Of Hats In The Ring

LARGE GROUP - QUALITY CANDIDATES
Yikes! I just read the City Council agenda for Tuesday, January 20th and saw that way, way, way down at the end of the program the council will decide which candidates will fill the openings on the Planning Commission and the Parks and Recreation Commission. This time around there are 37 candidates who've thrown their hats in the ring - it's like graduation at a service academy, for goodness sake!

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW...
There are 22 candidates for the two slots open on the Planning Commission, including the incumbents, Eleanor Egan and Donn Hall. There are 15 candidates for the two positions open on the Parks and Recreation Commission, but only Bob Graham has asked to be re-appointed. Unless long-time commissioner Mark Harris has a late change of heart, he will not be on the commission again this time around.

Here's the list of good folks who have asked to be considered for one or both of the commissions:

2009 COMMISSION APPLICATIONS

Planning Commission
1. Robert ((Bob) Banka
2. Ted Butch
3. Scott Clements
4. Gary Craig
5. Eleanor Egan
6. Leah Ersoylu*
7. Donn Hall**
8. Matthew Hoyt*
9. Brittany Koper
10. Maryann Marks
11. Steven Martinez
12. Jeff Mathews
13. Diane McCardle
14. ColinMcCarthy
15. Christopher McEvoy
16. Stephen Mensinger
17. Joaquin Sahagun
18. Burt Sirota
19. Dan Skahill
20. Gabriel Teran*
21. Dan Worthington
22. Jonathan Zich*

Parks and Recreation Commission
1. Dennis Crane
2. Robert Dickson, Jr.
3. Leah Ersoylu
4. Jim Fitzpatrick
5. Robert Graham
6. Jeffrey Harlan
7. Matthew Hoyt
8. Jeff Mathews*
9. Kim Pederson
10. Marnie Primmer
11. Cliff Raits
12. Barbara Steck**
13. David Stiller
14. Gabriel Teran
15. Jonathan Zich

* Individual identified this Commission as first choice preference
** Late application: 1/12/09

STRONG CANDIDATES AVAILABLE
Pretty impressive numbers, and that's just the beginning. I don't recall such strong fields of candidates in years. I've gone to the attachment which lists the resumes/letters of interest for each of the candidates and reviewed every one of them. There are many very impressive resumes to be considered - folks with just the right kind of education and experience to prepare them for positions on the commissions. Plus, there are a few familiar names, too.

PLANNING - EGAN AND HALL OUT?
For Planning Commission, in addition to incumbents Egan and Hall, I see that young Chris McEvoy - a city council candidate last year - has asked to be considered. At the other end of the spectrum, I see that Minuteman Dan Worthington - long-time community activist - has also asked to be considered. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the "inside money" is betting on Colin McCarthy and Steve Mensinger to be chosen to replace Egan and Hall. McCarthy is a neighbor of The Mouth From Mesa North and has frequently been heard to echo much of his mantra. Mensinger is a business buddy of current commissioner Jim Righeimer and has spent a lot of his career under the wing of George L. Argyros, former Ambassador to Spain, head honcho at Arnel Development and big time political fund raiser.

PARKS - OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW ENERGY
In the case of the Parks and Recreation Commission, it's unlikely that Graham will be re-appointed. He's proven to be intractable on issues regardless of what the facts or common sense dictate. Long time community activist David Stiller has asked for consideration. He has a long history of solid community involvement and is never reluctant to voice his opinion on issues. Among the others are Jeff Harlan and Marnie Primmer, both of whom have become active in the fledgling Eastside Homeowners Group. Both have solid credentials, too. And, Rob Dickson - a name familiar to those who read the Daily Pilot blog and other blogs around town, including this one - has stepped up for consideration, too. He's an interesting young man with strong views and a tenacity to dig into issues that could be welcome on the Parks and Recreation Commission. This is a real opportunity to re-invigorate what has been a pretty boring, leaderless commission over the past two years.

WILL POLITICS PREVAIL?
As always, I look forward to next Tuesday's meeting. It will be interesting for those of us willing to stay up late to see whether the current council will opt to place cronies on the commissions, or if they will choose those with strong credentials and fresh views. I will be fascinated by the choices they have to make for the Planning Commission, in particular. Will they cast aside Egan and Hall - experienced, hardworking, skilled practitioners who have also been loyal "Westsiders", too? If so, will they replace them with McCarthy - another strident voice - and Mensinger - another politically connected guy? It's going to be a very interesting evening.

Triangle Square Resurrected - Again?

OXYMORONIC MUSINGS
The local media is all a'twitter with reports that the most recent ownership consortium - in a long line of owners - of Costa Mesa's municipal oxymoronic white elephant, Triangle Square, is all ready to present to the city a plan for the revitalization of this near-dead shopping mall. It's about time! This thing has been brought back from the grave way too many times, only to resume the dying cockroach position because of misguided management and/or a lack of action on the part of the ownership.

UNFULFILLED EXPECTATIONS
Those of us who have lived in this town for awhile recall that this was the first big redevelopment project - one that promised a wonderful shopping venue in a rehabilitated downtown. It was to be anchored by major retailers and have a market in the lower reaches - a plan that turned out to be a disaster. Few women returned to the market, even though the vendors changed a couple times. They were uncomfortable about the dark, dank parking venue and just plain afraid to go back.

BUSINESSES BAIL OUT
Ownership changed again and again but there never seemed to be a clear vision for the mall. In the past couple years the major anchor retailers - Niketown, Virgin Megastore and Barnes and Nobel Booksellers - all bailed out. Other smaller, yet prestigious, retailers like North Face had pulled out earlier. The family-oriented shops and restaurants left and the Edwards theaters have limped along, probably not making enough to cover their overhead. According to the reports, the mall is only 40% occupied now.

UNDERMINING THE PLANS?
So, as I read the media accounts of this latest plan I found myself with more than a few questions. For example, how does the Great Tunnel that Mayor Mansoor and his majority are proposing to bore under Newport Blvd. from the terminus of the 55 Freeway to the Newport Beach city limits to take most of those 100,000 cars each day that pass the intersection of Newport Blvd. and 19th Street underground figure in the plans of the Triangle Square ownership? Are the businesses they hope to locate in their building going to be dependent on those potential shoppers? If so, is the plan viable without them?

BRIDGES PLANNED?
The rendering provided showed no bridge across Newport Blvd. If bridges were built - similar to the bridges that link South Coast Plaza across Bear Street and Bristol Street - to span both Harbor and Newport Blvd. from Triangle Square to the adjacent shopping areas, it might eliminate concerns about the traffic problems.

DRUNKS AND ROWDIES?
What kind of businesses are going to be compatible with the current mix of businesses located there? These include three gin mills, one of which apparently has one of the highest calls-for-service rates by the Costa Mesa Police Department.

CHILDLESS DWELLINGS?
The new owners plan 120 dwelling units, a few of which will be live/work units. I find myself wondering just who will live in this place. Certainly, no families with children will choose to try to raise them in a cramped place with no area to play, surrounded by three of the busiest streets in Orange County. It seems likely that the residents will be single people or childless couples.

RENT OR OWN?
And, are these proposed to be rental units or owner-occupied condos? The location seems perfect for apartments, except our city leaders say they want to reverse the upside-down renter vs. owner ratio in our city. It will be very interesting to see how this shakes down.

CLOGGING ARTERIES
Also, adding 120 residential units - which will likely dump 200-300 trips per day out onto Newport, Harbor and/or 19th Street - will only exacerbate the pending traffic snarl to be created by the nearly-complete 147 units at the 1901 Newport Plaza condo development across the street. What's the plan for this additional traffic at one of Orange County's busiest intersections?

POLITICAL POPPYCOCK
Another interesting sidebar of this process will be the position the mayor takes. He and his cronies were highly critical of Mike Scheafer and Bruce Garlich for their position on the aforementioned condo development during the campaign last year. Will they support this project at Triangle Square when they feigned such opposition to a similar development? Or, was all that rhetoric last year pure politics? I'll bet we can guess the answer to that one.

SMART ENOUGH TO MAKE IT WORK?
Don't get me wrong. I'm all for a change at Triangle Square to finally make it the thriving entity once anticipated when it was conceived almost 20 years ago. If the new ownership can pull this off, Triangle Square could become the perfect gateway to a revitalized Westside - something most Costa Mesa voters hope for. What remains to be seen is whether our current city leadership is smart enough to figure a way to make this work. Keep your fingers crossed, but don't hold your breath.