City headed in right direction

I disagree with Costa Mesa parks and recreation commissioner Byron de Arakal’s contention that the coming election is a one- or two-issue race (“One- maybe two-issue race,” Watchdog, May 7). It may be a one- or two-issue race for some people, but for the majority of the residents of Costa Mesa there are several issues at stake. Yes, illegal immigration and field-use issues are important. But there have been a lot of other important things going on in this city for the past couple of years, and especially for the past few months.

I believe this city is going in the right direction. When I ran for office I walked neighborhoods in all parts of the city and people told me what they wanted to see. They wanted to see a city that was clean and safe ? a quiet place to live, do business and raise a family. People summed it by using the term “improvement,” and that word has taken on a life of its own ever since.

People were fed up that prior council members did not take a stand in support of an airport at El Toro. We were not fixing our streets, as evidenced by the condition that 19th Street and others throughout the city were in. We had a job center that was increasing the loiterers on the Westside. We had law enforcement issues that needed to be addressed. We had unsightly utility lines that were giving the city a less-than-ideal appearance. Many of the sports fields were being used by people who did not live in our city, affecting the recovery time of the fields and the quality of life of the residents.

While a lot has been addressed since I have been on the council, a lot remains to be done. As a united council, we supported Air Fair, which advocates keeping John Wayne Airport from expanding. We are going forward with a focus on street repair and will do considerably more in the future with the increased focus on residential streets included with the proposed renewal of Measure M. (If Proposition 42 funds were returned to us from the state we could do even more, but that is for another letter.) The job center was closed, and the sky did not fall. There was some loitering when it was open, and there is no more loitering now, and even less in some places. There is now a tax-generating business in its place that has been beautified with remodeling and landscaping.

We have continued to focus our law enforcement on gangs and DUIs as well as nuisance vending trucks and push-cart vendors. We put the utility lines underground at 19th and Placentia, and it has made the difference between night and day. It opened up the skies and beautified the street. We also paved the street and put in large amounts of landscaping. We are now going forward with adding more lighted practice fields at the Fairview Developmental Center property and looking at options for more fields. There will be additional funding for recreational fields when developers in the north and west parts of the city pay the required park in lieu of fee.

As a united council, we supported the overlay zone to revitalize the Westside without eminent domain, and beautiful projects are being proposed. As a council and as a city, we were determined to address the blight of the Mesa Del Mar shopping center, and now beautiful homes are approved to go in.

I believe that all of these things must continue to progress in a similar direction if Costa Mesa is to truly be improved to its full potential.

One of the issues that Costa Mesa faces in the near future is the Poseidon desalination pipeline that is being proposed to come through Costa Mesa. The rest of Mesa Verde Shopping Center has yet to be developed. Some voted for the big box Kohl’s, but I believe nice senior housing would be a better fit. There will be many proposals brought forward with the overlay zone in place on the Westside. For that to be successful, we must continue to invest in our infrastructure and street repair, the job center must remain closed and we must uphold our laws.

These are the things I said I would do when I ran for office, and I have followed through with them. De Arakal mentioned that “most observers ? believe [planning commissioner] Bruce Garlich is not supportive of the immigration plan.” He also voted in favor of 1901 Newport, which we are beginning to see the results of. He also voted in favor of the big-box Kohl’s at Mesa Verde Shopping Center. Fortunately, the council saw things differently. Garlich also voted in support of the Habitat For Humanity housing behind the Home Depot, despite the opposition of the residents. Does he want to reopen the blighted job center? Clearly, there are many issues and many differences between the potential candidates.

A few people who do not share the vision of Costa Mesa being all it can be want to stick their head in the sand and not see the progress we have made. Yes, we still have work to do on many issues. That is why I believe it is critical to say “yes” to continued improvement and putting Costa Mesa first.