Editorial

When Costa Mesa Councilmen Gary Monahan and Chris Steel suggested a

few changes to the council’s structure -- adding two members, allowing

the voters to directly elect the mayor and creating city districts -- the

council considered it. Just not for long.

By a 3-2 vote -- Monahan and Steel obviously the dissenters -- the

council killed the motion that would have sent the issue to a citywide

vote. To a certain degree, we believe the council was too hasty in its

decision.

Mayor Libby Cowan opposed the idea of an elected mayor, saying all

council members should be elected on the same footing, and she said the

city is too small to accommodate seven council members. Further, she said

the city is too fragmented to create districts.

We think Cowan and her two fellow council members, Linda Dixon and

Karen Robinson, were correct on two of the issues.

The council should consider dividing the city into districts. Ask any

knowledgeable resident where the power comes from in Costa Mesa, and

they’ll say Mesa Verde. Historically, that community has played a major

factor in the council’s makeup.

To make it fairer, we suggest the city draw up five districts:

Westside, Eastside, the central sector near College Park and the

fairgrounds, Mesa Del Mar and the northeast end near South Coast Plaza,

and Mesa Verde on north toward the Sand Diego Freeway. That way, all the

city’s residents will have a chance to have their voice heard.

But Monahan and Steel also had it partly right. Put the idea up for an

advisory vote. Let the citizens of this community decide how they would

like to be represented.

After all, their opinions count more than anyone else’s.