Big city hall plans

S.J. CAHN

They are, in many ways, city halls’ minor leagues.

Planning commissions, where many projects go to die and many

political careers are born, handle some of the most arcane, detailed

issues to worm their way through city government.

And for many commissioners, those squirrelly questions provide the

perfect proving ground for further city leadership.

This year, planning commissioners in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach

have eyes on council seats, though in decidedly different ways.

In Newport, Planning Commissioner Barry Eaton was the first to

apply for the vacancy left by Gary Adams’ resignation. His colleague,

Leslie Daigle, is mulling applying. The application deadline is a

week from today, and the council is set to make a decision almost two

weeks after that.

In Costa Mesa, Planning Commissioners Eric Bever, Katrina Foley

and Bruce Garlich all are candidates in the fall election -- the more

traditional avenue to move from commission to council.

All five commissioners cite similar ways the commission helps

train would-be council members: It teaches about land-use issues; it

showcases how meetings are run; it allows initial dealings with the

public.

“You have to learn to accept [public comment],” Foley said. “You

can’t be up there arguing with people because you disagree with

them.”

It’s not just the public, though, with whom commissioners learn to

interact.

“You learn how to establish a rapport with the people you deal

with,” Bever said.

The list of city hall people alone is exhaustive. Garlich named

administrative services, traffic experts, development services,

police officers and firefighters among them.

“You learn all aspects of city government,” he said.

Commissioners run across all those people because, to a great

degree, they handle the most contentious, complicated debates, the

five all said.

“If you look at the big issues in cities, they are often land-use

issues, budget issues,” said Daigle, who added that another big part

of the council job is fielding constituent calls.

Those big issues, of course, get tricky because typically no side

to an issue has a monopoly on logic, fact or even emotion. That, too,

is part of the lesson.

“Making judges and calls between competing issues helps to develop

the ability to make judgments,” Eaton said.

Foley also stressed that the importance of learning how to run

meetings -- which involve formal procedural nuances -- can’t be

underestimated.

“I think it’s important to learn how to function in that process,”

she said, because it makes the meetings more efficient.

Commissioners learn the codes and the ins and outs of city

government, Garlich pointed out.

There are other lessons.

“Being an odd man out on a vote is not necessarily a bad thing,”

Bever said.

Is serving time really a benefit, though? One man who’d know --

Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway, who spent six years as a planning

commissioner -- is unequivocal.

“It helps immensely,” he said. “It’s a tremendous asset to have

because of the background.

“It couldn’t be better in terms of learning to deal with

citizens.”

In Newport Beach, Ridgeway pointed out, commissioners receive the

weekly city manager’s report, which provides insight into city hall

goings-on as well as larger issues that loom on the horizon.

The education can be far less specific than that, however.

“You learn to listen,” Ridgeway said, adding: “There’s always

somebody who’s going to be unhappy.”

Spilling a bit of ink

It’s not so much an issue in the Newport Beach City Council races,

but it is in Costa Mesa, where 12 people are running for three seats.

The issue? How to cover all those people fairly and, for lack of a

better term, rightly.

It’s akin to how the big media handle presidential or senate

races. California’s Senate race between Sen. Barbara Boxer and GOP

hopeful Bill Jones is the perfect example.

Obviously, one of the two of them is going to win. But they aren’t

the only candidates running: Witness Newport Beach resident and

Orange County Superior Court Judge Jim Gray. He’s running from one of

the biggest “second tier” parties, the Libertarian Party, but he’s

getting no consistent coverage because he’s destined not to win.

Of course, not getting coverage ensures his destiny ... which

ensures he doesn’t get coverage. You get the picture.

Now, in Costa Mesa, people I talk to quickly narrow down the

candidate list by about half to reach the “legitimate candidates.”

They are, quite frankly, those with City Hall experience: Bever,

Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mirna Burciaga, former Mayor Linda

Dixon, Garlich, Foley and incumbents Mike Scheafer and Chris Steel.

The question is: Should our coverage favor these candidates since,

seemingly, voters will be choosing from them? Are we serving the

community better by giving them more information on the “legitimate”

names and balancing our reporting among them?

But in past elections, Costa Mesa voters elected a man without any

City Hall ties (though many previous runs), Steel, and a council

critic, Heather Somers. Might they do so again?

What do you think? Do candidates Karl Ahlf, Richard Carroll, Sam

Clark, Michael Clifford and Terry Shaw deserve as much ink as the

rest? Call or e-mail to let us know.

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

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