Longshot is willing to give run a try

Deirdre Newman

Karl Ahlf is a candidate with a dedicated focus: to make sure the

city is safe for people who have disabilities, low-income residents

and seniors.

Ahlf, who has a speech impediment, has been a familiar face at

City Council meetings for the past two years. He is running for the

council because he wants to help, he said.

“I think I’m a hero to the disabled because no one who is disabled

has ever tried to run for City Council,” he said.

His mom, Karin Ahlf, agrees.

“You’re a longshot, but you don’t know until you try,” she said.

“Plus you are a tremendous inspiration to a lot of people like you

right now.”

Ahlf was born in 1984 in Santa Ana and moved to Costa Mesa in the

same year. He enjoys living here because it has a “great police

department, fire department and City Council,” he said.

His campaign doesn’t have a huge budget -- only two banners and

two lawn signs, Karin said. But his vivacious personality is a huge

asset, she said.

“He’s friendly and outgoing,” Karin Ahlf said. “That’s something I

really admire about him -- a kid with a speech impediment who is

verbally outgoing, because most of his classmates were not. They had

to know you for a long time before they got comfortable. Not Karl --

he goes right up there and talks. I tell people, if you don’t

understand him, just say, ‘Can you repeat that?’ He’s so used to

that.”

Some of his goals, if elected, are to create safer conditions for

pedestrians and drivers through measures like audible crosswalks --

ones that emit chirpy signals -- for the disabled.

He also wants to make sure street corners are safe and accessible

for seniors, so there is less chance of them falling.

Another priority is providing activities for disabled residents to

connect to each other, Karin Ahlf said.

“He’s seen my mom have to move into an assisted-living facility,”

she said. “He said, ‘We have a great senior center for them to

socialize. How about the disabled? How about a recreation center

where they can hang out and have social activities. Because that’s

really hard because a lot of times they say, ‘I can’t.’ My philosophy

is, ‘Give it a try. You might surprise yourself.’ Karl is very

can-do.”

He would also like more after-school activities for kids to keep

them away from gangs and drugs, he said.

Councilman Chris Steel nominated Ahlf to the Human Relations

Committee as an alternate member and the full council approved it.

“He really wanted to get involved,” Karin said. “We’re really

involved in current events and what’s going on in our town and city.”

Young Ahlf is interested in international traveling and will be

going to China two days after the election in November with the

Newport Mesa Irvine Interfaith Council, where he will see sites like

Tian’anmen Square and the Great Wall of China.

“I always wanted to see China after I saw the opening ceremonies

of the Olympics,” he said.

Karl Ahlf enjoys running and is preparing to run the Orange County

Half Marathon later this year. He works at IKEA in its kitchen.