Mayor tapped for transportation board Costa Mesa...

Mayor tapped for transportation board

Costa Mesa Mayor Gary Monahan was appointed to the Orange County

Transportation Authority Board of Directors Thursday.

Monahan’s appointment is the result of state legislation passed

this fall that enabled the board to have 10 city representatives, up

from the current six.

Monahan will be sworn in at the board’s Jan. 10 meeting and will

serve a one-year term, transportation authority spokesman Michael

Litschi said. Monahan will be the first elected Costa Mesa official

to serve on the board, Litschi added.

When the new board is sworn in next year, Monahan will be one of

17 voting members.

Slim margin still separates candidates

Sixty-one votes separate Planning Commissioners Eric Bever and

Bruce Garlich for the third open seat on the Costa Mesa City Council

as of Friday.

The gap between them has fluctuated since the Nov. 2 election,

creating suspense as to who will be sworn in for the third seat in

December. Planning Commissioner Katrina Foley and former Mayor Linda

Dixon have locked up the first two seats.

The votes are expected to be certified at the end of the month,

said Brett Rowley, spokesman for the Orange County Registrar of

Voters.