Mailbag: Costa Mesa City Hall chose the wrong man

I am sad today because of Tuesday night’s City Council decision.

The council voted to appoint Stephen Mensinger over Chris McEvoy to fill Katrina Foley’s recently vacated seat.

This action was taken despite the overwhelming number of speakers who asked that the council honor the wishes of Costa Mesa voters and seat McEvoy.

We were told by council members that with Jim Righeimer and Mensinger on the council, we would finally have a council worthy of representing Costa Mesa — a council with vision and real leadership ability.

Well, as an example of this new vision and leadership, consider the parking and traffic flow layout at the new In-N-Out Burger on the corner of Gisler and Harbor. This project was approved while both Righeimer and Mensinger were on the Planning Commission.

If that is the kind of vision and leadership our two newest council members are going to provide, the near-term future of Costa Mesa looks very bleak indeed.

Jim Mansfield

Costa Mesa

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Mensinger is right man for job

Let’s all get one thing straight: [Steve] Mensinger wasn’t a coach! He’s a leader.

His work in the community is incredible. Some of the speakers were those who he’s made an impact on. Steve is a hard and direct approach kind of guy but that’s how you get things done!

Perhaps Mr. McEvoy should have brought his students. Those football players were not asked to come and speak. They came to support a great citizen of our community and mentor to our youth! To take on two youth programs as president, work close with Costa Mesa United, support a family and sit on the Planning Commission is no small task.

I dare any of the citizens of our great city to attempt this. I understand concerns of Mr. McEvoy coming in third but what kind of chance would he really have had? Being a math teacher, working well with kids and being a really nice guy really isn’t enough. It’s all about putting the right people in place, executing and moving forward.

That’s what Steve does. I’ve worked very close with Steve for the past eight years and I challenge anyone who wants to really get to know him just talk to him. Want to attract the 30-year-olds to come to our city? Make it a great place for their children. See what happens for the next two years. If you’re not satisfied, then perhaps Mr. McEvoy will get more than just 10% of the city’s votes. Until then, move on, people....

Murtha, via DailyPilot.com