Deadlocked council to wait a week

Deirdre Newman

Welcome to Deadlock, USA -- a forlorn, frustrating place where

compromise is not part of the vocabulary.

For the second time, the City Council was unable to break a

deadlock between Mike Scheafer and Eric Bever as a replacement for

former Mayor Karen Robinson. Robinson resigned April 15 to become an

Orange County Superior Court judge.

Monday, the only thing the council could decide -- on a 3 to 1

vote, with Councilwoman Libby Cowan voting no -- was to continue the

discussion to May 12. During its already scheduled Redevelopment

Agency Meeting, the council will consider a range of options,

including appointing an interim replacement until a special election

is held in November.

The council members’ intransigence resulted in more deadlock on

other issues they considered Monday, and makes the specter of a

special election more likely.

“I don’t necessarily want to spend the money for a special

election, but if it comes to that, that’s what it comes to,” said

Councilman Allan Mansoor.

The debate started innocently enough with Bever and Scheafer

presenting statements to the council about their desire to serve the

city. Standing at opposite ends of the dais, the pair looked like

bookends in their similar dark-colored jackets.

In their statements and responses to questions, the two seemed

more similar than different, both emphasizing their commitment to the

entire city. Both also have resigned from prior city commitments --

Scheafer from the Parks and Recreation Commission over a skateboard

park and Bever from the Community Redevelopment Action Committee

because he didn’t like the direction it was headed.

The preponderance of public comment supported Bever, but that

became moot when the council deadlocked first in support of Bever and

then in support of Scheafer. Cowan evoked boos and hisses when she

proposed former Planning Commissioner Walt Davenport as a compromise

candidate. Her peers on the council weren’t any more supportive.

After a short break to regroup, Councilman Gary Monahan suggested

the interim appointment, for which a special ordinance would have to

be drafted. Monahan said he mentioned the proposal to give the

council one more alternative.

“I don’t know that’s necessarily the best way to go,” Monahan

said. “It’s just another option. It’s quite obvious to me that we

have to get someone in that seat.”

Staff will outline a few different processes to the council on May

12, which will include blind, numerical rankings, City Manager Allan

Roeder said. Some of the other 26 hopefuls that originally applied to

replace Robinson may also be considered.

If a special election is part of the process, it would cost the

city around $95,000 and would take place on Nov. 4, said City Clerk

Julie Folcik.

Since no fifth council member was appointed Monday, it wasn’t

clear that the council would chose a new mayor. But once the council

moved past the appointment debate, Mansoor immediately nominated

Monahan. That decision turned out to be the easiest one of the night

as the nomination was swiftly approved unanimously.

“I was surprised,” said Monahan, who has served as mayor before.

“I’m honored to do it. It’s going to be difficult timewise, but I’ve

been there before and I have a pretty good handle on what’s

involved.”

Monahan said one of his top priorities would be ending the

notoriously long City Council meetings at a “decent hour.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.