Officials call for committee member’s removal

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- County human relations officials are calling for the

removal of a city committee member who they suspect is trying to sabotage

the group’s goal of bridging gaps between differing cultures.

But leaders closer to home see the resulting controversy as an

opportunity to finally delve into “tough issues” that are often glossed

over.

Rusty Kennedy, the executive director of the Orange County Human

Relations Commission, said it appeared that Costa Mesa Human Relations

Committee member Allan Mansoor regularly posts comments on a Web site

that are offensive to Latinos, homosexuals and immigrants and that he

should be removed from the committee.

Kennedy and members of his staff started to monitor the Costa

Mesa-focused Web site, located at

groups.yahoo.com/groups/ConcernedCostaMesaCitizens, after an organized

group of residents called to question the appointments of three Costa

Mesa Human Relations Committee members based on allegedly racist and

homophobic posts.

Resident Mira Ingram spoke at both last week’s Human Relations

Committee meeting and Monday’s City Council meeting regarding posts by

committee members Mansoor, Joel Faris and Janice Davidson, which she

called offensive and intolerant.

Mansoor, Faris and Davidson have consistently denied those

accusations.

Judging from Mansoor’s posts -- which include copies of articles that

condemn the homosexual lifestyle and original contributions that tout

immigrant assimilation -- the city committee would have more success

without him, Kennedy said.

The most important role of a human relations committee is to establish

a rapport with various communities to protect their rights, Kennedy said,

adding that Mansoor does not appear to have that same goal in mind.

“It appears that, unfortunately, the City Council has appointed the

kind of person who is more interested in fanning the flames than

extinguishing them,” Kennedy said.

Human Relations Committee member John Rule, who founded the Gay

Community Center of Orange County 30 years ago, agreed with Kennedy and

also asked that Mansoor step down. If not, Rule said he will formally

request that the City Council remove him.

“We don’t need anyone on a city committee that promotes hate to our

community or any other group of people in our city,” Rule said.

Mansoor, who was appointed to the committee in April and is a

candidate for City Council, defended his involvement with the group,

saying he offers a more conservative viewpoint that should also be heard

and appreciated by those with differing opinions.

The point of the Human Relations Committee is to “encourage the

interaction, sharing, and understanding of each culture’s riches,”

Mansoor said, quoting from the city’s Web site, and adding that he thinks

he is simply bringing another opinion to the table.

“I don’t feel that expressing my viewpoints is grounds for removal,”

Mansoor said. “Where is the tolerance and understanding for my point of

view?”

Councilwoman Libby Cowan, who is a lesbian, said she is the first to

disagree with some of Mansoor’s more conservative opinions but said he

can support the committee’s mission, albeit by different means.

“I think you have a group of people who are very conservative in their

social views and others who are more progressive,” Cowan said about the

members of the committee. “It is my belief that every single person,

regardless of their legal or economic status, race or ethnicity are

valuable members of the Costa Mesa community, and we need to embrace

everyone.”

Mansoor’s membership on the committee, and the resulting controversy,

will ultimately be good for the community because it has sparked an

essential dialogue about diversity, Cowan said.

Cowan added that the Human Relations Committee has been ineffective

for the past six years -- so ineffective that the council considered

cutting it two years ago. As a result of Ingram speaking out, the

committee is finally scratching the surface of a number of social issues

that have plagued the city.

“If we can get past the rhetoric and the hurt feelings -- if we can

get past this initial blow up -- I think that, in the long run, this will

be a good thing for our community,” Cowan said.

Cowan said she hopes that not only members of the committee but the

community as a whole will embark upon dialogues and open their minds to

differing opinions.

She cautioned residents about using inflammatory labels such as

“racist” or “homophobic.” She also said that those whose views are being

questioned should not react in a knee-jerk fashion, rather ask what about

their behavior has been perceived as “racist” or intolerant and work to

eliminate that perception.

“It is not a debate. There is no right or wrong. It is simply a

conversation,” Cowan said. “You don’t have to agree with [the person], or

even accept [the person], but you do have to understand that [they] are a

person of value in this community.”

* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .