SOUNDING OFF:

In an amazing twist of irony, Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Allan Mansoor’s commentary on these pages (“Three candidates will continue changes,” Sept. 11) appears in the same edition as the article by Joseph Serna titled, “Costa Mesa loses appeal in Acosta case.”

According to Serna, the Orange County Appellate Court upheld the lower court’s decision to dismiss the criminal charges against Benito Acosta because the prosecutor from Jones & Mayer had not been sworn in as a public prosecutor — an oversight that turned out to be a major gaffe.

Acosta was charged with the crimes involved only after he filed a civil action against the city for the events that occurred Jan. 3, 2006, when he was dragged bodily from the courtroom by members of the Costa Mesa Police Department after he protested then-Mayor Mansoor’s decision to forbid his friends from standing to show their support for Acosta after having given Minuteman grand pooba Jim Gilchrist permission to do that very thing earlier.

I’m not happy that the city had to spend precious resources on this whole Acosta affair — the civil trial is still pending — and lay the blame directly at Mansoor’s feet for his decision to attempt to cross-designate every Costa Mesa police officer as an immigration screener. That move turned this city upside down and pitted Mansoor’s supporters, including Gilchrist and other outside agitators, against the Latino population — roughly one-third of our residents.

It also made Mansoor the poster boy for the anti-immigrant movement in this country and even got him anointed as an honorary Minuteman by Gilchrist and his mob. That notoriety made Costa Mesa look like a teeming cesspool of illegal immigrants — not the image one expects the mayor of your city to project to others.

This is a very different city than it was just three years ago. Because of Mansoor and his ilk, Latinos the streets of this city in fear. We have men being stopped by the CMPD for riding an unlicensed bicycle and, if unable to provide identification, are hauled off to the jail and screened by the ICE representative for deportation. Three years ago, this was unheard of.

Mansoor, in his commentary, touts his three buddies in the City Council race — Jim Righeimer, Eric Bever and Gary Monahan — as men who will “continue the change.” Just what we need: more anti-immigrant moves fostered by the radical right!

Righeimer — a smart and very politically connected fellow — moved to Costa Mesa at the beginning of Mansoor’s reelection campaign just over two years ago and was given a plumb assignment on the Planning Commission by Mansoor after residing in our city for seven months as pure political payback for the support Righeimer’s buddy, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, gave to Mansoor and Wendy Leece during their campaigns. Righeimer is Rohrabacher’s campaign manager this year.

Mansoor stepped aside as mayor early so his buddy Bever could assume that high-profile position to facilitate his reelection campaign. During Bever’s tenure he has demonstrated he’s not big enough for the job many times, including some precarious dances with Brown Act violations.

Monahan, to his credit, headed off Mansoor’s original immigration screening debacle, but later supported his moves that have gotten us into this fix now. He and the Latino demonstrators went toe-to-toe at Monahan’s restaurant not too long ago. If his bored, lackluster performance at the first candidate forum is any indication, Monahan is simply trying to shove his way back to the municipal trough. His responses at the forum were half-hearted at best, and more than a few showed that he was focused on issues two years old, not the current problems the city faces.

In his commentary Mansoor goes on to denigrate Councilwomen Katrina Foley and Linda Dixon — the two highest vote-getters in the election four years ago who the Mansoor-majority literally shoved aside on the dais by juggling the seating arrangement to put them completely out of the picture when issues are discussed.

Dixon, of course, has chosen not to run again this year. Foley, though, is running to retain her seat and certainly poses a great threat to Mansoor’s pals.

Mansoor also chose to disparage candidates Bill Sneen and Lisa Reedy. Mansoor must think Sneen — a business leader with strong community service credentials who has been working hard since filing his papers to get up to speed on the important — presents a threat to the stranglehold he plans to impose on our municipal government by getting his three amigos elected to join him and Wendy Leece to form a de facto junta.

Similarly, he mischaracterizes the position Lisa Reedy holds on important issues. Reedy, president of the Mesa Del Mar Homeowners Assn., has long been a community activist and has exceptional business and leadership skills.

As the election season now swings into high gear you can expect Mansoor and his cronies to attempt to discredit any and all candidates by hook or crook — just as they did two years ago with Bruce Garlich and Mike Scheafer.

Each voter should ask what Mansoor has to gain with his commentary. His term expires in two years, when his buddies in the O.C. GOP hierarchy may have big plans for him — something that might pry him out of his cushy job in the O.C. Jail.

If Mansoor and his pals are successful in achieving a four-person majority on the council they will have absolute control of the city.

The voters deserve a city not controlled by the Orange County Republican Party, as will certainly be the case if any of Mansoor’s pals are elected, much less all of them. The voters owe it to themselves to make an informed choice when they step into the voting booth Nov. 4.

GEOFF WEST lives in Costa Mesa.