ON THE TOWN:Scheafer’s already improved Costa Mesa

The fork in the road faced by Newport Beach next Tuesday is at least matched by the decision facing voters in Costa Mesa. In three days, Costa Mesans will decide not only which direction they want to take to handle the city’s illegal immigration challenge, but also which face they wish to present to the rest of the nation.

In Costa Mesa, there are two open City Council seats. Of the six candidates running for these seats, two pairs are running together. Costa Mesans must decide whether they are going to take strategic and logical steps to meeting their challenges or whether they want to continue to suffer from the negative attention that could easily drive away business investment and tourism.

In other words, babbling on about how bad the city is due to the presence of illegal immigrants doesn’t really help the Chamber of Commerce in its cause. The case in point is the fulfillment of a prediction I made several weeks ago that thanks to the hyper-focus on illegal immigration by the current council majority, the grand opening of the beautiful Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall was but a moment instead of a milestone. The city is in need of a new council member who would rather act than talk. A council member who is an action person who won’t just talk about supporting our police but will take immediate, long-overdue action to fill the 17 open positions on the force.

That new council member won’t just talk about supporting the police force: He or she will have the formal support of the police in return. None of the current council members can make that claim. The council needs a new member who is totally and undeniably in touch with the very important needs of the business community and can effectively balance the city’s need for an ongoing and increasing tax base with the effects that expansion may have on the quality of our lives. The council needs a new member who has a substantial track record of community involvement, not one that amounts to a few shamelessly posed photos with kids around election time. Most important, the City Council needs one more member with both a heart and a brain — someone who understands that even a tough issue such as illegal immigration can be solved without having to put on embarrassing displays of bluster and false bravado in order to stay in the media spotlight.

If City Council candidate Mike Scheafer had done nothing more than start the Costa Mesa National Little League, parents and the city itself would owe him for eternity.

But Scheafer has done far more.

Scheafer earned the name “Mr. Fish Fry” for his involvement in raising money for charity each year through this popular event. Scheafer continues to be heavily involved in the Costa Mesa Lions Club and the Costa Mesa Boys & Girls Club.

Scheafer has the endorsement of the Costa Mesa Firefighters Assn., the Costa Mesa Police Officers Assn. and the Orange County Coalition of Police and Sheriffs.

Scheafer is also a former member of the Costa Mesa City Council.

Let’s be honest. Even though Costa Mesa has to grapple with issues such as more athletic fields, traffic and development, this election is really a referendum on how to handle the city’s illegal immigrants.

Scheafer is not in favor of illegal immigration, but he also knows that the best way to resolve the issue is through communication, not confrontation; through consensus, not calamity.

As a city councilman, Scheafer will improve Costa Mesa. How do I know? He has already done it once.

I will vote for Scheafer not only because he has an untouchable record of positive action and positive contributions to the city, but also because I will never be afraid of what he is going to say next.

If you live in Costa Mesa and you cast no other vote on Tuesday, I urge you to vote for Mike Scheafer. Then sit back and watch good things happen to your city.