A plea for cooler Costa Mesa heads

It was bound to happen. Fireworks at the Costa Mesa City Council.

Dare we say that such events are about as sure a thing as the

opening of the Orange County Fair.

But it would have been nice if it didn’t happen on the opening

night of Allan Mansoor’s tenure as mayor.

Still, the look and feel of that meeting was men against women, as

Mansoor, former Mayor Gary Monahan and new Councilman Eric Bever took

control of the dais, placing Monahan in the second-in-command seat.

The tone prompted returning Councilwoman Linda Dixon to bristle

and say: “I believe that we are here to share responsibilities, and

one person should not hog all the responsibilities.

“It seems to me that the boys seem to feel like they should cut

off the girls.”

Well let’s hope not.

Dixon and new Councilwoman Katrina Foley may be in the minority as

far as gender goes, but let’s not forget they were the two top

vote-getters in last November’s election.

OK, enough of that.

Instead we’d like to take this moment to ask for cooler heads and

wish Mansoor congratulations and good luck in his new post.

Mansoor has shown us and others in the city that he is committed

to making Costa Mesa a better place, and he deserves the title.

We trust he’ll make the best of it and build consensus with all

members of the council, not just the more masculine majority.

Because, really, there is still much work to be done.

The revitalization of the Westside is still a far-off vision;

streets still need repairing; business centers like Triangle Square

still need new blood; and the battle for the soul of Costa Mesa is

still halfway between the dusty Goat Hill image of the past and the

shiny City of the Arts future.

Where it ends up will be an all-important job for Mansoor and the

entire council to undertake, and we’re confident they will get there.

So let’s all take off the boxing gloves for now, give Mansoor his

honeymoon and put our faith in him that he’ll wield the gavel wisely.