Costa Mesa mayor found her swan song in Huscroft House

Doug Sutton

Costa Mesa Mayor Linda Dixon might have been successful in

convincing the city to buy the Huscroft House, but she sure wasn’t

able to convince the community to support it. Her vision was to make

the Santa Ana home the cultural cornerstone of a restored Fairview

Park.

Although I didn’t agree with her house selection, I thought her

idea was a good one. Last week she gave it up, recommending the City

Council kill the project, which it did.

But then, after the vote, Dixon stopped the council meeting to pat

herself on the back and lash out at the very same council that voted

to tack on $200,000 to Segerstrom’s Home Ranch development fees to

kick start her pet project.

“It saddens me,” she said, “that the Huscroft House will not be

moved to Fairview Park. It would have made a great addition to the

community, but a lot of community members lost interest because there

was no support from the council.”

The Huscroft House was Dixon’s dream from the start, not the

council’s, and certainly not the community’s. Because it was her

dream, it was her responsibility to educate the community about its

value and to find a resident to lead the effort from the community

side. For three years, she touted the project as a volunteer-based,

community-unifying effort, but never advanced the project beyond

rhetoric.

Did she expect the city to foot the entire bill? And if so, how

would that have acted to “unify” the community? This project failed

solely because it was leaderless. Does anyone have an idea how much

money (including staff time) the city spent on this leaderless,

failed effort? In chastising the council, she didn’t say.

The important issue here is not the city funds spent. Anyone who

follows the poor job the council has done overseeing our $100-million

budget knows this project waste is manageable. My concern is why

Dixon went out of her way to blame her cohorts for her failure.

Does she think so little of her constituents that she can

reconstruct any argument and we won’t be the wiser? Does she believe

she deserves a blank city check to prioritize and spend as she sees

fit? Or does she just believe anyone who challenges her is personally

out to get her?

I voted for Dixon the first time around because she’d put in years

of service on the Planning Commission, earning her council seat

against a field of lesser qualifieds. Her council tenure has been

disappointing; she takes credit where little is due and denies

responsibility for what is due.

Personally, I feel she’s focused too much on the pomp and ceremony

of the job and not enough on the opportunity we gave her to make her

dream a reality for all of us. I’m glad she had her chance, but I’m

sorry she didn’t do more with it.

Now it’s time to give Katrina Foley a chance. She’s earned it.

* DOUG SUTTON is a Costa Mesa resident.