Improvement group steps out with ad

Jennifer Kho and Stephanie Frith

COSTA MESA -- A group of residents that helped organize support for

Councilman Chris Steel’s election has taken out a full-page ad in Costa

Mesa High’s play program, its first bit of community outreach.

The organization, Citizens to Improve Costa Mesa, is dedicated to

improving rundown areas in the city.

Members favor ideas such as using eminent domain to create more

expensive housing on the Westside and cracking down on illegal

immigrants, which they say would improve property values, schools and the

overall quality of life in Costa Mesa.

“We want people to be aware of CICM because it is activists from all

over the city,” said Janice Davidson, chairwoman of the organization.

“Plus, we’d like to get our Web site going. A lot of people sign on, but

we don’t know who they are. Apparently, they agree with us, so we would

like them to show up and let us know who we are. We’re hoping that people

who agree with us and who want to help improve the Westside will give us

some ideas.”

The advertisement, which invites the high-school play audience to join

“Costa Mesa’s improvement movement” to bring in “responsible city

leadership, less crime, better schools and a higher quality of life,” is

the organization’s first community outreach, Davidson said.

The school sold advertisements in the play’s program to raise money.

“We just support the community generally and all the folks thought it

was a good idea to put an ad in to say that we’re here to help support

the community in any way we can,” said M.H. Millard, a member of the

organization. “We decided by general consensus that this would be the

first outreach kind of ad and then we would just take it from there,

trying to use other sources to reach people who may not be into the

political mainstream.”

Parents and community members who attended the “Wizard of Oz”

performance at the school on Thursday night had mixed feelings about

advertisement’s debut.

“Each of the students had to come up with $60 in ads themselves,

private or business,” said Sandra Cortez, a Santa Ana resident whose

daughter was in the show. “So the students sold to whoever they could. As

long as the group is not doing anything illegal or wrong, then I think

it’s OK.”

Peggy Engard, a Costa Mesa resident, said the advertisement is a bold

effort that is helping the actors and actresses get more money and Jackie

Pendleberry, who sold tickets for the play, said that seeing the

advertisement made her interested in going to the Web site to find out

more.

Although Bob Biggio, a Costa Mesa resident, saw nothing controversial

about the ad, his wife, Susan Biggio, disagreed.

“I don’t think they should have it in the ad that people should

improve the schools and run it in a school program,” she said. “It’s an

improvement in the school just to have the play here. This is part of the

community where kids and parents are involved. The only ads that should

be running in a [school play] program are the ‘good luck’ ads.”

Mike Rafferty, a Costa Mesa resident, said the ad didn’t have enough

information.

“For all we know . . . they could be brilliant or they could be

idiots,” he said. “I don’t think the ad says enough. It’s pretty vague. I

won’t trust them until I see their whole platform.”