READERS RESPOND -- What’s in a name?

In my opinion, it looks to me as if a defeated and disgruntled

candidate spent many hours trying to get even and finally found a couple

of small indiscretions to hang on Steel.

If you run a man out of office for helping someone sign her name on

the proper line and a husband sign for his wife, then we’ll get the kind

of government we deserve. I’d be a lot richer if I had a dollar for every

person who had signed a paper for his or her spouse.

Keep Steel in office. We need honest people on the council who are

honest in their opinions whether we agree with them or not. Steel should

remain on the council and get a much lesser punishment for his

indiscretion.

PHILIP E. ARNOLD

Costa Mesa

“Oh, I am sorry, your honor. Forgetting to file my income tax is just

an oversight, not with criminal intent.”

“I drove 85 in a 55-mph zone. Just an oversight, not with criminal

intent.”

“I forgot my driver’s license at home. It’s in my other purse, and is

just an oversight, not with criminal intent.”

Gary Monahan’s comments regarding Steel’s alleged intent or that the

crime was a mere oversight would not be admitted in court.

FLO MARTIN

Costa Mesa

This charge against Chris Steel is ridiculous.

When hasn’t a husband or wife signed their spouse’s name on a document

that they knew the spouse would approve? I think I read that the district

attorney’s office spent six months investigating this.

Seems like people using false identities to get driver’s licenses to

cast votes and to ruin other people’s credit would be higher priorities.

It sounds like vindictiveness to me. I am sending Steel $100 to help in

his defense. I hope others will step up also to help him.

RICHARD T. DURKEE

Corona del Mar

I am pleased that the Daily Pilot covers the local news thoroughly,

and the story of Chris Steel has been very interesting. With my interest

in politics, I have often obtained signatures for individuals and

propositions I support.

When you carry a petition, you know it must be done with complete

honesty and care. If you are intent upon honestly following the law, you

will take the time to go back to obtain legal signatures.

I feel Steel should be prosecuted for his intentional act. It is

neither a small infraction nor one that should be overlooked. He was

wrong, and he knew it.

As a Costa Mesa resident now, I do not believe he should be making

decisions in my city.

JANIE ARNOLD

Costa Mesa

I did not vote for Chris Steel, nor do I agree with most of his

actions as a sitting council member. In my opinion, he is not the best

council member we have ever had. But a lot of people voted for him, and

Lord knows he seems to be trying hard to do his darndest. Having said

that, I strongly disagree with this misplaced effort to remove him.

Assuming Steel committed these heinous crimes, I guess I should be

thankful that someone has decided their life’s mission should be to

expose this master criminal and save the good citizens of our fair

community from further acts of deceit, debauchery and shame. But somehow

I am not thankful.

This uproar is truly much ado about nothing. Was it wrong? I suppose

so. Should it have been done? Of course not. It is difficult to imagine

such a dangerous crime. If convicted, a potential three-year prison

sentence for these dastardly deeds hardly seems an adequate safeguard for

society. I gotta believe there are more important fish to fry.

Who has not committed some little sin which would be punishable if

caught?

Have these saviors of our great city never crossed a street except in

a crosswalk? Have these ministers of justice always come to a complete

stop before turning right on a red light? Has this posse of truth always

paid their taxes, never taking a slightly questionable deduction? Have

these pillars of society, finding they weren’t charged for an item,

always returned the item to the store asking, no, not asking but

demanding to pay for it? Somehow, their righteousness has a rather hollow

sound to me.

I suggest if they are really concerned about the danger Steel

represents to our community, they could more than compensate for this by

spending the same amount of their time and effort assisting some charity

or school. This effort to get Steel on America’s Most Wanted list

represents nothing more than petty bickering seen daily on any

kindergarten playground at recess. “Teacher! Teacher! Chris is bothering

me.” “Am not.” “Are too.” “Am not.” “Are too.”

This is nothing more than an exercise in egotistical bullying and will

cost our city time, money and effort, all of which could be better spent.

It seems to me this Sherlockian effort to expose the horrendous criminal

activity really serves no greater purpose than to act as a salve upon

some personal wound completely unrelated to the issue at hand. Come on,

do something productive.

MIKE DUNN

Costa Mesa

Obtaining the few signatures required for nomination papers is little

more than a mere technicality, the purpose of which escapes me. It might

have had a purpose a century ago, but in today’s election process, it has

little meaning.

It is absolutely incredible to me that someone would be facing prison

time for making a mistake by helping a person sign her name or that a

husband signed for a wife that had no problem with his doing so. To

remove the man from office after 10,000 people voted for him is a far

greater sin.

Whatever happened to common sense?

TERRY BLACK

Newport Beach

There seems to be no question that the signature is invalid. Now, do

we disenfranchise all the voters who voted Steel in? Do we lose the

precious diversity he brings to the council? Is not Richard Noack guilty

of a crime as well.

We must punish him also if we go after Steel. It is not as if Steel

stole any votes in order to win. How about an amnesty deal here?

JIM FISLER

Costa Mesa

I was one of the candidates who ran against Chris Steel in the last

election -- and of course, I didn’t win. I think he should stay on the

council because he earned the right with the votes. He made a mistake,

but he shouldn’t be kicked off. I believe it would not be a problem to

see him fined just to make him pay better attention to what he’s doing.

It was just a technical mistake, but he should be fined so that he is

penalized so that he’ll remember next time to be more careful.

MICHAEL CLIFFORD

Costa Mesa

I’m calling to add my name to the list of people who would encourage

Steel to step down and avoid us having to have a recall election and

further embarrassment to the city of Costa Mesa. Our city needs to move

forward on many issues. He is not my representative, and I would like to

see us push him behind us.

SHARON BOUDREAU

Costa Mesa

I believe that Steel should lose his council seat. He would be a bit

of a hypocrite given all of his stated beliefs as far as illegal

immigration, illegal immigrants and his ability to speak so openly about

it.

His intolerance and his supporters, from what I believe is a very

hateful Westside group, seem to teach intolerance of any sort when

talking about following the law. I think it would be important for him to

basically practice what he preaches. Therefore, given that he did not

have enough signatures at the time, given that it was a last minute or so

before he had to turn in these papers, he basically didn’t follow the

law. If he doesn’t want to appear as hypocrite, I think he should just

step down.

RUSS RAMIREZ

Costa Mesa

Chris Steel should definitely lose his seat on the council. For

Councilman Gary Monahan to say it was an oversight is absolutely

ridiculous. When you ask Joe to sign Mary’s name, that’s not an

oversight, that’s intentional. This man knew what he was doing. He just

wanted that council seat. The people of Costa Mesa should not be

represented by a man who goes to such fraudulent lengths to get his name

on a slate. We shouldn’t wait for him to resign his seat; we should make

him do it immediately.

LYNN MERLES

Costa Mesa

The reason that we have to address it is simple; It’s the law, and we

either abide by the law or we don’t. It’s not a technicality; it’s the

way the law was written that the rest of us have to abide by.

MARSHA REBNEY

Costa Mesa