Candidates square off in forum

Deirdre Newman

The 12 hopefuls competing for City Council seats this fall learned

the value of one minute Wednesday night -- that was all the time they

had to answer questions on a diverse range of topics, ranging from

the city budget to the CenterLine light rail system.

The forum, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, Comcast and the

Daily Pilot, attracted about 70 people to the City Council chambers.

All 12 candidates vying for the three open seats attended:

incumbent Mike Scheafer, who was appointed last year when former

Mayor Karen Robinson left to become an Orange County Superior Court

judge; incumbent Chris Steel; Planning Commission members Bruce

Garlich, Katrina Foley and Eric Bever; former Mayor Linda Dixon;

Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mirna Burciaga; and residents Sam

Clark, Karl Ahlf, Michael Clifford, Richard Carroll and Terry Shaw.

Former Mayor Peter Buffa emceed the event. Daily Pilot Editor Tony

Dodero and Comcast Channel 3 News Producer Valerie Mitchell asked

questions of the candidates.

One question was what the candidates thought the biggest job the

council needed to accomplish in the next year was. Many agreed that

revitalizing the Westside should be the top priority.

Burciaga, who owns a restaurant on the Westside, suggested city

action against slum landlords in the area for not adhering to city

codes, while others recommended building consensus between business

owners and residents.

Garlich said the recommendations to revitalize the Westside laid

out by the Community Redevelopment Action Committee and refined by

the Westside Revitalization Oversight Committee must not be abandoned

like two previous efforts.

“This is the third strike; if we fail, we’re out,” Garlich said.

“I think what we do on the Westside is important to all of Costa

Mesa.”

Many of the candidates also agreed that the joint-use agreement

with the school district, which covers the city’s athletic fields, is

based on sound principles, but needs tweaking.

“Maintenance issues are a problem .... We need to reassess and

reevaluate who should be responsible for maintenance,” Foley said.

CenterLine, the proposed light-rail system that would run from

Santa Ana to John Wayne Airport through a commercial part of Costa

Mesa, divided the candidates.

“CenterLine goes from one place to another, but doesn’t benefit

anyone,” Scheafer said.

Steel pointed out that it won’t cost the city any money to build.

“I don’t see it as a major issue here,” Steel said. “It will be

expanded. Before you overreact, look at it. It hasn’t cost us a

dime.”

The hopefuls had vastly different takes on what changes could be

made to the budget process. Some suggested starting it sooner while

others suggested being more tightfisted with the city’s money.

“One of our biggest expenses is the employees,” Shaw said. “When

we negotiate with them, we have to be careful we don’t give the house

away.”

This was the second candidates’ forum of the electoral season and

for some, enough to winnow down the crowded field to a competitive

number of candidates.

“It was very helpful to get to know them,” Mesa Verde resident

Alan Baer said. “There are so many candidates and so few I actually

know. It’s the second one I’ve been to, and I think I’ve had enough.”

Baer said he was able to eliminate about seven of the candidates

based on their performances at the forum.

Resident Geoff West said the forum didn’t change his opinion of

the candidates.

“There are still four or five people who are clearly better

prepared for the job,” he said.