Another Late Friday Pronouncement From City Hall
STEALTH MOVE BY THE MAYOR
Shortly after close of business the City of Costa Mesa issued an announcement about a letter sent by Mayor Steve Mensinger to two California Legislative leaders opposing an apparent move by Governor Jerry Brown to remove local safeguards and control over affordable housing, HERE.
HERE'S THE LETTER
When you go to that link you'll find a direct link to the letter from Mensinger - a letter I'm told was sent without any prior notice to all members of the council! You can read his epistle to the legislative leaders HERE.
UH, OH...
This certainly appears to be a political ploy - campaigning from his office at City Hall - and this letter has phrases that he's going to have a very hard time living with as this campaign season moves forward.
"...DISTRUST IN GOVERNMENT"
For example, there is this paragraph:
"Eliminating opportunities for public review of these major development projects goes against the principles of local democracy and public engagement. While it may be frustrating for some developers to hear concerns about traffic, parking and other development impacts, those affected by such projects have a right to be heard. Not having such outlets will increase public distrust in government." Well, Mr. Mayor... what the heck do you think is driving the Smart Growth Initiative? Precisely those issues you wrote about above! Lack of public trust in elected leaders and their decisions has caused the creation of that initiative.
"...RESIDENTS WHO DESERVE A VOICE..."
He ends his letter with this sentence:
"On behalf of the residents who deserve a voice in the future shape of their communities, the City of Costa Mesa respectfully states our opposition to this measure." Yep, he actually wrote those words!
TRANSPARENCY IS ONLY A WORD IN COSTA MESA
I find myself wondering where his concerns for the residents have been for the past half-dozen years? He and his pal, Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, have institutionalize quashing public comments and have taken measures to discourage views that disagree with them. I find his letter to the legislature disingenuous, at best. What a hypocrite! And, of course, this letter was released - without prior notification to other council members - after the close of business so there are no city officials available to discuss this. So much for transparency.
REMEMBER...
We deserve much, much, much better than this. Remember in November.
Labels: Jerry Brown, Jim Righeimer, Steve Mensinger, Transparency
5 Comments:
Did you really mean to say "He actually wrote those words," or "he told his PR guy at city hall to write those words."
Political move - his handlers may see him as more electable if he pretends to care about what the citizens think.
So Mensinger wrote this letter, on behalf of the council, without letting them know about it? Didn't Gary attempt this same thing regarding the fairgrounds? And then again when he spend $25,000 taxpayers' money to set up his marijuana initiative? This council seems to have a habit of taking off on their own and doing their own thing under the guise of "the council". Last I checked there were five, not one.
How else are you going to build a Mansion on $904.40 a month?
...and we thought he wasn't listening! He is saying the same things to the Governor that he hears at Public Comments.
"...Thank you so much...next speaker..."
After some research I found that CM belongs to League of Cities and another similar organization. These organizations frequently request letters of support from their members when it comes to the state usurping local control. A sample letter may even be sent, so what Steve did was routine. (Did he even read what he was signing?)
That it was announced was not routine, but political.
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