Congratulations, with a few regrets

Mayor Karen Robinson’s appointment by Gov. Gray Davis to a Superior

Court judicial seat is definitely reason to celebrate.

We congratulate Robinson on her appointment and wish her well in

her future endeavors.

We just have one wish: that she would have given Costa Mesa a

little bit more of her time.

It was a little more than a year ago that Robinson joined a

growing cadre of legal professionals vying for a write-in candidacy

to replace former judge Kenneth Kline, the embattled Irvine jurist

who was and still is under suspicion of possessing child pornography

and molesting minors.

With barely one year into her first term, Robinson’s decision to

run as a write-in brought criticism from these editorial pages as we

urged her in a January 2002 editorial to make a choice:

“Either she should be honest with her Costa Mesa constituents, let

them know that she no longer has an interest in representing them and

step down now to let them find someone who does,” we wrote. “Or, the

better answer -- and the one we favor -- is to acknowledge there will

be plenty more opportunities to be a judge down the road.”

She did neither and instead continued the write-in campaign,

finishing fourth with 5.2% of the vote.

Still, the opportunity to become a judge did arise again.

Let’s be clear. We don’t begrudge Robinson the opportunity to move

on and pursue her dream of being a judge. We just kind of feel like

the people of Costa Mesa have been a bit used.

When Robinson was elected in 2000, the voters favored her over

incumbent Heather Somers. There was a clear message that they wanted

someone who would work hard to improve their community. Instead, we

can’t help but wonder if they got someone who worked hard to use that

election victory as a way to secure a bigger prize.

And why would Robinson, who has been lobbying behind the scenes

for an appointment, have accepted the largely ceremonial post of

mayor, if her heart wasn’t in it?

The people of Costa Mesa really deserve better and Robinson should

know that.