Good ol’ conventional wisdom

Costa Mesa City Hall on Monday provided ample reason why the

hackneyed “conventional wisdom” is often far from the truth.

The conventional wisdom had Councilman Gary Monahan elevated to

the mayor’s seat by the end of the meeting. His experience, coupled

with an expected grouping of him, Councilman Chris Steel and newcomer

Allan Mansoor, seemed to ensure Monahan would lead the city in 2003.

Or not.

It turned out that a phone call or two from now Mayor Karen

Robinson to her colleagues was the magic bullet. And, after Steel was

elected to vice mayor, suddenly Monahan was completely out of the

leadership picture.

It will be interesting to see where this unexpected turn of events

leads. Perhaps it is the start of a better working relationship on

the dais, at least among Robinson, Steel and Councilwoman Libby Cowan

-- who supported Steel’s mayoral nomination of Robinson.

Robinson and Steel, certainly, cannot claim any feelings of being

“outsiders.”

Much will fall on Monahan’s shoulders, as well, just not as he

expected. Instead of leading the council, it is up to him to put

aside the political, though polite, slap and work with his

colleagues.

The challenge for Robinson and Steel is to step up their

leadership of the city -- above and beyond what they have done during

their first two years in office.

The issues facing the council -- the Westside, redevelopment and

housing, among them -- haven’t changed, just the face of the council.

Could Newport Beach Councilman Steve Bromberg be sweating a little

more than expected? His assumed posting as mayor is scheduled for

Tuesday.

WITHER GREENLIGHT?

In one of its early campaign mailers, the Greenlight committee

quoted lines from this column, saying:

“Given the safe bet that the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce,

along with a number of development interests, will back [Tod]

Ridgeway, [Gary] Adams and other candidates running against the

Greenlight ticket, Newport Beach residents will have the most

clear-cut council decision in recent elections. The can essentially

vote one way or another on the city’s future.”

With Dick Nichols carrying Greenlight’s banner into City Hall, it

seems fairly clear that voters weren’t as enthusiastically for slow

growth as earlier votes had suggested. And having come out on the

short end of that decision, it’s no surprise that Greenlight’s

leaders have backed away from the spotlight since Nov. 5.

But, if they continue their silence, their advocacy for a more

restrained city is at risk.

Expect to hear from them soon, in one form or another.

* S.J. CAHN is the managing editor. He can be reached at (949)

574-4233 or by e-mail at s.j.cahn@latimes.com.