No easy solution to Westside issue

It was with great interest that I read the letters in the Daily

Pilot responding to my commentary on the Westside (“Focus on Westside

must be for all who live there,” Oct. 11). Michael W. Berry, Judith

M. Berry and Robert M. Beard had interesting views on the issue. I

also enjoyed Maj-Gun Mansoor’s letter very much.

One cannot disagree with Beard’s contention that otherwise

undocumented individuals might find a greater sense of community if

allowed to utilize the Mexican Identification Card to open bank

accounts and conduct business with those banks. I’ll not attempt to

tell the bank managers with whom they should do business, but since

Beard personally observed the rejection he mentioned, it must be

assumed that such a decision was made at the highest levels of that

particular bank.

Is this good business? Maybe not. Is it good public relations?

Definitely not. Should voices be raised on this issue? Certainly --

but by whom? If the Latino community stands mute on the issue, who

will speak for them? That, of course, was one point in my article.

Mr. and Mrs. Berry -- I’m assuming they are a couple -- have a

much different vantage point than I do from which to view and

experience the Westside. Mr. Berry is one of the many hard-working,

vocal, frustrated activists I mentioned in my previous article. I’m

not sure he and I necessarily disagree on the nature of the problems

on the Westside, but view them with a different perspective and

emphasis.

Contrary to his comments, I was aware that many voices in the past

have bemoaned the perceived shortchanging the Westside has gotten, in

their view, when it comes to maintenance of the infrastructure of the

city.

However, one has only to drive down East 17th Street to understand

that infrastructure dollars are lacking throughout the city. I am

also aware that city officials have repeatedly addressed this issue

as respects the Westside over the past several months and are, in

fact, spending a great deal of our money to place the utilities

underground in the heart of that area.

I’m not sure what to make of his comments about the Westside

having no elected official living, working or schooling their

children there in the past 10 years. How can he forget Councilman

Chris Steel? Does he not live on the Westside? If memory serves me,

during the last election there were many candidates from the Westside

running for City Council. Is he suggesting that council seats should

be elected by districts? It’s an interesting notion which has been

rejected in the past. Clearly, the Westside has benefited from a much

larger, more motivated, more organized and more vocal cadre of

activists than any other section of our city in recent years. If

these bright, passionate, articulate spokespersons for their portion

of the Westside have been unsuccessful in sponsoring candidates

sympathetic to their views, perhaps they need to reevaluate their

selection criteria and/or their tactics.

The Latino/social services question is kind of like, “Which came

first, the chicken or the egg?” Were the social service entities

built to serve a need, or were they built to create a need? I don’t

have that answer. At this point it doesn’t really matter. The

agencies are there, the people they serve are there and nothing on

the horizon will change those two facts. My point was that they do

exist and must be part of the equation when considering “improvement”

of the Westside.

Mr. Berry refutes my allegation that the Latino population is

predominant on the Westside, stating that it is approximately 34%.

According to the numbers provided to me by city officials, there are

34,574 Latinos living in all parts of our city, representing 31.8% of

the total population. While I didn’t personally conduct a headcount

on the Westside, anyone who drives the streets of this city realizes

that the Latino population is not evenly dispersed throughout our

town. I suspect the percentage of Latinos living on the Westside is

much closer to 60%. Given the time and tools I imagine an analysis of

the census data could resolve the point, if necessary.

He also implied that I felt the Latino population was the root

cause of all the Westside ills, which is not the case. The

predominant, under-represented and under-educated Latino population

of the Westside is an issue that must be considered in any plan for

that area, but certainly not the only issue. Mr. Berry has me stumped

when he implies that “all the politicos citywide” could somehow “fix”

the problem, but choose not to do so. By “fix” does he mean evict the

social services entities from within the borders of the city? Sounds

like it. Does he assume that “the problem” would then go away? Sounds

like it. I’m not sure there is a politician anywhere in the state,

much less the City of Costa Mesa, that would advocate such an action

-- except, perhaps, Chris Steel.

Mrs. Mansoor’s letter was a very poignant tale which pointed out

the success that is possible for immigrants when placed in an

environment that requires them to learn the language of the land. Our

burgeoning Latino population can learn much from her example.

GEOFF WEST

Eastside