Costa Mesa mayor plans reelection bid

Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor is definitely in the race for one of two City Council seats in what could be a small field of candidates in November.

With the future direction of the city at stake, some potential candidates may stay out of the race to avoid splitting votes.

The biggest issues in this election will likely be how to provide athletic facilities and whether city police should take on the task of immigration enforcement.

Six people have filed papers declaring their intention to run for a seat ? Mirna Burciaga, Jim Fisler, Bruce Garlich, Wendy Leece, Mansoor and Bill Perkins. Perkins, the planning commission chairman, said Tuesday he has decided not to run, and former Councilman Mike Scheafer said he will seek a seat this fall.

Councilman Gary Monahan is termed out, so his seat will be open.

The candidate pool is typically larger in elections that decide on the U.S. president, probably because three of the five seats are on the ballot and voter turnout is usually higher. For example, 12 people ran for the council in 2004 and 11 people ran in 2000.

The nonpresidential years, like 2006, often see fewer candidates for the two seats up for election. Only five people ran in 2002.

Some potential candidates said they would keep out of the fray so as not to take votes from others they support.

Sam Clark, who ran unsuccessfully in 2004, said he won’t be a candidate this fall, but he will support Mansoor and parks commission Chairwoman Leece. They’re highly qualified, he said, and he wants to avoid “watering down the vote” by adding to the candidate pool.

Fisler, a planning commissioner, said he hasn’t made a decision, but he won’t run if there is a conservative candidate for him to back.

“I just want to do whatever possible to continue the direction of the council, and I don’t want to split any votes,” Fisler said.

He said he will look for candidates who oppose reopening a job center ? the city closed its center in December ? support the immigration enforcement plan; and advocate “strict adherence” to the city’s existing plan for development.

“The litmus test is the job center and immigration policy,” Fisler said.

That may be an uncomfortable test for some candidates to take. Perkins, who said he chose not to run for family reasons, said candidates may try to avoid the volatile issue of illegal immigration, but they’ll have to deal with it at some point.

“I think it will scare people out of it [the race] that don’t really want to take a stance on it or that don’t necessarily want that to be their main issue or want to be labeled with that issue,” he said.

But, Perkins added, other people may jump into the council race just to get a microphone on the immigration issue.

With hot-button issues such as immigration and sports fields in the debate, interested groups and candidates may form coalitions.

Mansoor, for one, will need to get an ally elected to keep a council majority on key issues. He has not officially endorsed anyone, but he praised Leece as a fiscal conservative who supports homeowners rather than big developers and backs the immigration enforcement plan.

“To me it’s not about how many people are running. It is about who is going to run on the right side of the issues,” Mansoor said.

Local political organizations will undoubtedly put their funding behind candidates, and outside groups may try to influence the election, but Garlich said he hopes not.

“The extreme groups on both sides, I think, have put Costa Mesa on the map in a very negative way, and I’d like to see them stay out of it and let Costa Mesa solve its own problems,” he said.

Candidates have until Aug. 11 to file papers to run for council.