Mayor’s move creates chatter

With Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor set to vacate his mayoral spot next week one year into his second two-year term, questions remain on why the mayor plans to step down and who the City Council will choose as his successor.

Mansoor has said publicly he will support his political ally, Councilman Eric Bever, as the next mayor. Along with Councilwoman Wendy Leece, Mansoor and Bever frequently side together on key issues, creating a majority voting bloc on the council.

Some political observers and local bloggers have speculated Mansoor’s step down and support of Bever as the next mayor is a well-calculated move on Mansoor’s part to give Bever, whose term expires in 2008, a boost in next year’s election. If Bever is reelected, the alliance between Leece, Mansoor and Bever would remain intact.

“I’d be honored to serve the people of Costa Mesa,” Bever said. “But I think the mayoral position can be a double-edge sword with regard to elections.”

But who the council will select as the next mayor is still up in the air. The appointment is usually based on seniority. Bever and Councilwoman Katrina Foley both were elected to the council in 2004. In addition to her current term won in 2004, Councilwoman Linda Dixon also served on the council from 1998-2002 and served a term as mayor in 2002 — giving all three council members about the same amount of tenure.

Mansoor’s tough stance on illegal immigration has made him a polarizing figure in the community, and whoever takes his spot has some big shoes to fill. While some say Mansoor’s move is a well-played political move, others just say the mayor is tired and feels his job is done.

“I think that he has achieved his goal of securing an immigration screening process at our jail he’s happy where things are and happy to hand the gavel over,” Bever said. “One of his greatest achievements is that he’s brought national attention to Costa Mesa and immigration on a local level. I think he’s managed to push that issue front and center.”

Mansoor gained national media attention in 2005 when he advocated having local police enforce immigration laws.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement official later took up residence in the Costa Mesa jail with the support of Mansoor and other members of the council.

The program nabbed 520 immigrants who were eligible for deportation since its inception a year ago and 360 of those immigrants have been kicked out of the country.

In 2006, Costa Mesa closed its day labor center, largely at the urging of Mansoor.

The mayor said the center, which was subsidized by the city, cost taxpayers too much money, when private job placement services could serve day laborers.

Critics called the closure anti-immigrant — the center mostly served Latino laborers in search of work.

“I say many communities are facing the same issues, but Costa Mesa has been more visible in that Mayor Mansoor has been such a lightning rod for the opposition on unauthorized immigration,” said Louis DeSipio, associate professor of Chicano and Latino studies and political science at the University of California Irvine.

After so much controversy, the mayor may be ready for a rest, said former Costa Mesa Mayor Gary Monahan, who left the City Council in 2006 due to term limits.

“Being mayor is a very grueling position, and he’s definitely been in a firestorm for a few of these past three years, and that can take its toll,” Monahan said.

Others say they were surprised when they heard Mansoor said he planned to step down in January.

“I didn’t have a clue. I was totally caught off guard by the announcement,” Dixon said. “I don’t think it will have any effect (on the election next year) because I think three quarters of the people in Costa Mesa don’t even know who the mayor is as long we’re doing our job, what difference does it make?”

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.