Back in the chambers again

Moments came in the last two years when Linda Dixon wondered if the

Costa Mesa City Council and her were the right fit.

Well, she now has some big shoes to fit into: her own.

She’s back on the five-member council, two years after she was

unseated by Allan Mansoor, who she will now serve with.

In her first go-around on the council -- from 1998 to 2002 --

Dixon, a 30-year resident of Cost Mesa, got a good taste of public

life and made enough friends to make her think about running again in

this year’s race.

But was she cut out for it? Was she truly considering the public

good during her tenure as a councilwoman, which included a stint as

mayor? She thought she was, but wondered if what she thought and the

reality of things were different.

On Nov. 2, voters put Dixon back on the council.

She sat down with the Pilot’s Ryan Carter at Diedrich Coffee shop

to talk about her renewed life on the City Council.

Congratulations on your return to the council. What is your

general reaction to being back on it?

I’m very happy and I’m very proud that the Costa Mesa residents

had confidence in me and overwhelmingly supported me. It’s a real

compliment to look at the number of voters and see how strongly the

residents believed in me.

I had a very good feeling about this election going into it. My

feeling was much different this election from my last election. My

instincts and my hard work proved to be correct.

I’m really thrilled to have been elected and to serve the

residents of Costa Mesa.

What motivated you to run again for elected office?

At one point, I thought that I would never run for council again.

I thought that my career as an elected official was over. Serving on

a council and working to meet the needs of the community is a tough

job. You more likely than not disappoint a larger percentage of

people than you satisfy. And so, part of me was beginning to feel

like maybe this just wasn’t the right job for me. Maybe I’m not

looking at the big picture, or considering the greatest good --

although I don’t believe that in my heart. But you start believe that

when people keep hammering.

That said, I stayed civically involved the last two years, but

behind the scenes. And, of course, being a public official and

serving as mayor you are recognized by many community people. So, my

husband and I would be sitting at a Diedrich Coffee having coffee or

at a fish stand, or I’d be at the grocery store or even walking my

dog at an event in the city, and people would come up to me -- people

I didn’t know in many cases -- introduce themselves and compliment me

and thank me for my service. They would ask, “Are you thinking about

doing it again?” I’d say, “I don’t know. It’s a long way off. We’ll

see.”

So, as it got closer and closer to the election, I would hear from

people. I decided there was a reason this was happening, and maybe

Costa Mesa residents did appreciate my service to the community, and

that I wanted to give it another try.

What are your goals this go-around? What issues do you want to

tackle?

My no. 1 priority is the Westside of Costa Mesa. I feel the

Westside has been put on the backburner for many, many years. I think

the Westside is a beautiful place, just miles from the ocean. And I

want to work to make it a part of the community that everybody is

proud of. That would be one of my priorities.

I believe there are going to be a lot of issues that will be

important to this city. For instance, the bridges. I’m not in support

of any bridges over 19th Street or Gisler Avenue. From the time I

served on the Planning Commission many years ago, I did not feel a

bridge would be an asset to our community. I still feel all it’s

going to do is be a pass-through to get to a freeway. I don’t believe

people are going to stop and shop and buy their groceries and clothes

or service to car [because of it.] They are going to use that to get

where they need to go and get back home in a hurry.

I’m against the [Orange] Freeway being extended behind our Mesa

Verde neighborhood.

Of course, I want to keep the fair in Costa Mesa. I think it’s

important that we continue to look for revenue and grant funding to

fix our streets.

I want more involvement with absentee landlords. I think a

percentage of Costa Mesa has a lot of absentee landlords, and I would

like to create a program, communication tools to inspire pride of

ownership with these landlords.

And the environment -- I think cities like Costa Mesa and cities

inland need to work with beach cities to make certain that we don’t

have trash going down our storm drains or oil going to our oceans,

that our beaches aren’t closed. We need to continue to educate people

to pick up their trash and not to change their oil on the street....

Do you think this council can make those things happen?

Well, you never know until you try. I would hope to believe that

there are other members on this council that see all of what I’ve

mentioned to be important in our daily lives and the lives of our

children and future generations.

Do you think your job was unfinished when you left two years ago?

Not only do I think it was unfinished, but I think that there are

a lot of people in this community and moving here whose priorities

are very similar to mine, that want the same things out of their

communities.

We don’t want to go live in a place where we all have to paint our

houses white with beige trim. We don’t want to have to have the same

kind of tree planted in front of our house. We don’t want to have to

do things that associations in some of the communities require.

I think that people move to Costa Mesa because they like the

eclectic-ness of the community ... I also call Costa Mesa the real

world. You can compare us to other communities, but the real world

has the diversity that we have. The real world has different ethnic

restaurants. The real world drives junker cars as well as Mercedes.

We have those who wear cotton and those who walk around in mink.

How do you feel about the prospects of working with Allan Mansoor,

the candidate who replaced you in the previous election?

I look forward to working with him. I don’t take his victory over

me personally. He was elected by the community to serve them. That’s

who they wanted, and he’s doing his job. I’ve never had a chance to

work with him.

For those looking for some kind of rivalry between us, it’s not

there. I’m looking forward to working with all of them. I think it’s

going to be a really good council. I think there will be a lot of

good discussion and you’ll see alliances between members you probably

never dreamed would exist.

Why do you think you were successful in this election?

My husband said to me after the last election, “Linda, you really

are not a good politician. You are not savvy. You are an honest

politician who tells people what you really think and feel, not what

they want to hear.” That’s me. I am not the kind of person who would

say anything unless I truly felt it. I think people recognize that in

me and appreciate that.

What’s the best thing about Costa Mesa?

The residents. Then, the diversity. Like I said, it’s the real

world.

What’s the worst thing?

I think there are areas that need improvement such as the Westside

-- our streets, our potholes, such as speeding traffic through our

neighborhoods. These are issues we as a council have to be concerned

with. We have to work toward finding some type of solution -- not

just a band-aid solution -- to them.

Anything else you want to add?

I think I’d really like to say “thank you” to all the residents

who voted for me. I want to know the residents of this community to

know that I will look at each project and ask the questions, “Is in

the best interest of our citizens and make Costa Mesa and will it

make Costa Mesa a better place to raise a family?” In Costa Mesa,

because we are so built-out, I think we as a council will have to

look at every project that comes before us and make certain it’s

compatible and good for this city -- compatible with what’s existing,

with our neighborhoods and for our future.

I still believe Costa Mesa needs a vision, some sort of road map

to our future. I’m hoping that the community will rally around the

idea of finding out where we want to go and what do we see for

ourselves.

Isn’t that something already in the city’s general plan?

Communities like Newport Beach and Laguna Beach worked with their

residents to find out what they saw in their future. They would have

big community meetings, fairs, to find out what was most important to

them -- was it more open space, better libraries, that were needed?

That’s the kind of thing that Costa Mesa should consider for

itself. Where are we going? What are we going to do with our seniors

the next 20 years? We don’t have enough senior housing. How are we

going to handle the parks situation? How do we hold programs to make

sure young parents want to buy homes in and raise their children in.

Are we looking at that kind of stuff? Do we have areas here where

someone who wants to retire can buy a condominium and walk to a

restaurant? We need to look at public transportation in Orange

County. We have all sorts of things we need to look at.

I’m glad I’m going to be around for four years to help move us

forward.