We’ll just have to get by with less this year

For a time, it seemed this fall’s Costa Mesa City Council election

would be a highly charged, highly combated fight. Much like two years

ago, a dozen or so residents were weighing possible runs. Debate

about the Westside, redevelopment, the city’s support of charities,

code enforcement and other issues was starting to swirl.

But come last week’s filing deadline, much of that promise

disappeared. In the end, just five candidates chose to run for two

seats: Council members Linda Dixon and Gary Monahan, who are seeking

reelection; Planning Commissioners Katrina Foley and Bill Perkins;

and Westside activist and Human Relations Committee member Allan

Mansoor.

Instead of an election with a varied cast of voices, Costa Mesa

residents now have to choose among candidates who all have some

degree of City Hall ties. Mansoor is closest to “outsider” status,

but just weeks ago he was nominated for the chairmanship of the Human

Relations Committee, a post he declined.

Instead of great choice, voters are going to have few decisions to

make. The wide range of issues that might have been highlighted by

“fringe” candidates or those running with a focused agenda is likely

to be replaced by a narrow “marketplace of ideas” that rests with

just a handful of hopefuls. Clearly, parts of Costa Mesa are not

going to have a candidate speaking for them this election.

Ultimately, the discussion will be limited to what these five want to

debate.

Certainly, there is benefit to having a smaller field of

candidates.

The cacophony that often follows a large crowd of council

aspirants won’t be missed. Debates promise to be fuller, more

detailed, especially in comparison to the rapid-fire forums that had

to be held two years ago in order to give all the candidates equal

time. It also is possible that the two candidates who win will have a

clear mandate from voters, rather than rising to the top in a crowded

field where, we have seen, a few votes can make a dramatic

difference.

But those benefits are sadly overwhelmed by what voters have lost

by the decisions of Joel Faris, Heather Somers, Bill Turpit and

others to be non-candidates this fall.