New-look council could crackle

Geoff West

Well, it’s all over but the coronations now. The campaigning is

finally done, and we can only hope that we will soon be able to drive

down our streets without the visual blight of campaign signs

offending us at every turn.

I won’t get into a discussion of the presidential election, except

for this passing mention of the grin on my face. Our local elections

have certainly given us some interesting circumstances to consider.

We in Costa Mesa learned a dozen candidates on the ballot plays havoc

with an election. Thirty percent of the votes cast for City Council

candidates went to Katrina Foley and Linda Dixon, so I guess we can

say -- for the time being -- that “chicks rule.” “Improver” Eric

Bever edged out Bruce Garlich and Mike Scheafer for the third seat by

a couple hundred votes. And both Scheafer and Chris Steel failed to

convince enough voters that they deserved to return for four years.

In Steel’s case, it’s no surprise. What did surprise me was that

he managed to convince nearly 5,000 voters that he should return for

another term despite a record of divisive non-accomplishment over the

past four years. The five lowest vote getters managed to tally almost

12,000 votes -- 19% of the votes cast. Without their participation in

the election, the outcome may have been very different. We’ll never

know.

And just when we thought things might calm down a little on the

dais, the new demographic has potential for fireworks that will put

the real fireworks debate to shame. The result of this election would

appear to place even more power in the hands of Mayor Gary Monahan,

since he will probably be the swing vote on many potentially

contentious issues. It’s an interesting position for a lame-duck

councilman to be in and may give him an opportunity to firmly

establish his legacy in this city after a dozen years of service,

when he steps aside in two years.

Further adding to the post-election intrigue will be the

appointments to the Planning and Parks and Recreation commissions.

The Planning Commission will likely have four new players, with only

the youthfully exuberant Bill Perkins remaining. The Parks and

Recreation Commission will also have a new majority, with Byron de

Arakal and Wendy Leece as likely holdovers. This will be the first

real test of the new system of appointments -- where each council

member has almost carte blanche to appoint whomever he or she chooses

to each commission without challenge. Under our current, ill-advised

system, it takes four votes to deny an anointed nominee a seat on the

commissions. This is where we find out if political cronyism rather

than qualifications, will drive the appointments. We can only cringe

and keep our fingers crossed.

Our good neighbors in Newport Beach had some fun on Tuesday too.

Two-thirds of the folks who voted on the issue shouted a resounding

“L-No!” to the Marinapark development, effectively slamming the door

on that issue for the time being. It will be interesting to see how

many of those nearly 21,000 voters and their families will take

advantage of that little slice of sand now that it will be preserved

-- for a little while. They might have a hard time looking all those

disappointed Girl Scouts in the eye while they sun themselves on the

sand.

So, what have we learned this time around? Well, one thing is

sure: change doesn’t come easily to this neck of the woods. Newport

Beach certainly learned that lesson.

Here in Costa Mesa, though, the Westside Improvers have another

toehold with the election of Eric Bever. It’s very likely that the

election in two years will be every bit as hard-fought as this one,

since there will be a real opportunity for that group to gain a clear

majority on the council.

That thought sends shivers down my spine and probably does the

same for every industrial business owner on the Westside. I suspect

the Spanish-speaking majority in that part of town would also be

getting nervous if they knew what might lie ahead.

So, dear neighbors, and to those of you who took the time to vote,

whether you like the outcome or not, the system clearly works. I

encourage you to stay engaged in the process and to educate

yourselves on the issues and candidates in the future. The second

half of this decade is going to be very interesting.

* GEOFF WEST is a resident of Costa Mesa.