Locals make most sense

In his letter to the editor of April 13 (“Cities must step up to enforce immigration law”), Fullerton resident Gerry Nance used a half a page to provide us with his take on the current immigration plan proposed by Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor, beginning with a primer on what a good job center should be. It’s a curious subject, considering our job center, thanks to the ruling trio on the City Council, is long gone. His rambling tome ends with the following statement: “Some may say I am spewing hate, but I will say I am trying the ‘truth and tough love’ approach first; the ‘hate with extreme prejudice’ may be needed later, so I’ll keep that on the back burner.”

This is not the first time Nance has attempted to provide us with his alleged wisdom. On March 21 he was a speaker late during the reconvened public comments portion of the Costa Mesa City Council meeting that evening. For those of us watching on television that evening, Nance, in full view of the cameras, provided us with an unanticipated visual experience as he leaned forward and rose to approach the podium. Following that display, he stood and regaled the council and viewers with much of what he wrote on these pages, including his use of the government form I-9 as a graphic tool.

Nance waived what he presented as a copy of the form, which is used by employers to validate a job seeker’s legal ability to work in this country, and told the council and those few members of the audience remaining that he had “filled out hundreds of these forms in the last year” as he looked for work. One had the impression that his quest for employment had yet to prove successful although I might be wrong.

As he stood at the meeting, Nance made an imposing figure and certainly did command our attention, even though his words did not.

I would like to thank Nance, his Minuteman Project buddies and all the other outside agitators who have inserted themselves into the discussion of our mayor’s plan over the past several months for continuing to demonstrate that the best, most articulate arguments on both sides of this issue come from those of us who live in Costa Mesa ? those with a real vested interest in the outcome of events in our city. I, for one, hope Nance has success finding employment which coincides with his skills. But then, I’m an optimist.

GEOFF WEST

Costa Mesa