What’s up? -- Steve Smith

In case you missed it, Costa Mesa Councilman Chris Steel was arrested

Wednesday and charged by the district attorney with election fraud, based

on evidence that he allegedly obtained illegal signatures on past

nomination forms.

The form requires the signatures of only 20 registered voters.

That afternoon, as fast as you can say “Who, me?” Steel’s supporters

were declaring their first line of defense.

Sadly, it’s the old absence of criminal intent rationale, the thought

being that since Steel didn’t mean to break the law, he must be innocent.

You know the lines by now: “I’m not responsible for my own actions,”

“Someone made me do it” and the classic “I’m the victim here!” Oh, that’s

so ‘80s.

It’s hard to believe that some Steel supporters have actually trotted

out the lack of criminal intent argument to help get him off the hook. If

we were to apply that standard to our criminals, we’d have to empty the

jails of half the occupants.

Tell that reasoning to a second-grader who got a zero-tolerance

suspension for bringing a butter knife to school to spread his cream and

you’ll get an earful.

Tell that reasoning to Sid Soffer, who sits in voluntary exile in Las

Vegas for alleged building code violations. Soffer probably would claim

only that he’s not the tidiest guy around and certainly did not

intentionally break any laws. Who would argue with Soffer’s slob defense?

But there’s something else that worries me. It has nothing to do with

any laws or ethical or moral violations; it’s just a curiosity. If the

district attorney’s charges are true, why on earth was Steel so desperate

for 20 good signatures that he had to get even one bad one?

Yes, I have heard that his was a last-minute decision and he was in a

hurry, but for Pete’s sake, I think even Soffer could get 20 good names

in about 15 minutes just hanging out at the Bark Park.

Steel may or may not be guilty as charged. I’ll leave that to Judge

Judy or whomever is assigned to his case (I’d nominate Dr. Laura) but it

cannot be denied that absent any criminal wrongdoing, Steel is quite

guilty of extremely bad judgment.

This would not be Steel’s first case of cloudy thought. He has been

pounding on the theme of Costa Mesa’s decline for years, even though

there are qualified people and sufficient statistics to prove him wrong.

During his campaign, Steel told us that property values were

declining, the crime rate was “abnormally high” and that schools were

declining. His supporters were marching to the same tune.

Read the reports, however, and you’ll draw a different conclusion.

Readers of this column know I’ve taken several opportunities to prod the

Newport-Mesa school board into concentrating more of its efforts on the

Westside in an effort to improve both test scores and school conditions.

So it could safely be assumed that I’d be the first one to call the

board on the carpet for failing our kids. But I’d also be the first one

to cheer its successes, which I’ve also done. Test scores are up, and

although we still have a way to go, I’m cheering the direction in which

the scores are headed.

It also has been revealed that crime in Costa Mesa is not “abnormally

high” as Steel has been claiming.

Police Chief David L. Snowden laid that argument to rest in an

outstanding commentary a few weeks ago. At the City Council meeting after

that column, even Steel had to back down, stating in so many words that

crime was not as bad as he’d made it out to be.

And those property values? A recent independent survey of Costa Mesa’s

two ZIP codes, 92626 and 92627, shows that property values are up 19%

over a year ago.

So, just where is the problem? The problem is the psychosomatic

condition of a handful of residents whose tunnel vision, self-centered

proclamations and bad judgment are preventing the city from making real

progress on Westside redevelopment.

My beefs with Steel are not personal, despite attempts by some to

prove otherwise. I just think he’s out of his league.

Anyone who would offer in a City Council meeting to trade funding for

Huscroft House for an elimination of the job center has not and will not

learn what it takes to make realprogress in Costa Mesa.

Guilty or not guilty, whatever, I’d just like to see Steel make a few

more friends before he circulates his next petition.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and freelance writer. Readers

may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at (949) 642-6086.