EDITORIAL

On Monday, America will honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

But in Costa Mesa, while there was much to celebrate as the city

elected its first African American councilwoman, Karen Robinson, we have

cause to worry that the memory of the slain civil rights leader and the

ideas he championed have faded away.

We worry that when new Councilman Chris Steel asks that city officials

consider screening commission applicants for citizenship, that he may be

tapping into an undercurrent of anti-Latino sentiment.

Steel says it was an issue he was elected on and one he’s “obligated

to follow up.”

But we are also obligated to respond that we see no logical reason for

such screening, other than to create division and point fingers. It is,

as some of Steel’s council colleagues pointed out, a nonissue.

We’d like to take it a step further though and note that it also

doesn’t serve any legitimate purpose.

A citizen is not necessarily more committed to the community than an

immigrant, legal resident or even illegal immigrants, whom Steel has

targeted again and again.

Two Costa Mesa residents illustrate that point.

The first is Paty Madueno. For more than a decade, Madueno has played

an important role in the community as a spokeswoman for St. Joachim

Church, as a member of the Orange County Congregation Organization and

the city’s Latino Community Advisors group, as well as one of the

founders of the Shalimar Learning Center.

She clearly cares deeply about her community, and -- yes -- she’s not

a citizen of this country, merely a legal resident.

The second example is Steel himself.

While Madueno embraced her community and tried to better it, Steel on

the other hand was a member of no active community groups during the same

period.

He wasn’t out trying to improve the Westside. He didn’t attend council

meetings. Yes, every two years he would emerge to run for City Council,

but that shows no sustained commitment to the city.

Steel, unlike Madueno, is a U.S. citizen. And now as a councilman, he

wants to keep caring people such as Madueno from being able to serve the

city.

To her credit, Madueno has said she does not object to a screening

process, adding that she has long wanted to run for an office but has

been waiting to receive her citizenship papers first.

But we certainly see Steel’s action for what it is -- a shameful act

targeted against Latinos, who have, with Steel’s help, become the

scapegoat for every problem in Costa Mesa.

Instead of perpetuating these biases and stereotypes, it is time

residents of all backgrounds, beliefs and birthplaces work together to

improve the community.

Instead of tearing the community apart, Steel should feel the

obligation to bring people together, not find ways to alienate them from

the process.

As a councilman, he is in an official position to make such

discussions happen.

In the spirit of Dr. King, we hope the politics of exclusion will be

abandoned and, instead, political leaders will work to create a city free

of name-calling and finger-pointing.

Now that would be a dream we all can share.