Commentary: Divided Costa Mesa needs leader to bridge gaps

Since the incorporation of the city of Costa Mesa in 1953, I have been an active party of this community, and you can imagine that I’ve seen a lot of changes along the way. I have seen the city grow and flourish as families moved here following the aerospace and defense industries.

I witnessed Costa Mesa turn from a small rural town to a major global destination with the development of South Coast Plaza, and today I see a city in turmoil as its City Council battles among itself to meet the needs of its residents while also being fiscally responsible.

City Council struggles to accommodate the needs for more affordable housing while many residents believe that we have reached maximum density. City Council struggles to hire more police officers and firefighters, but are unable to pay the over $215 million in unfunded pension liabilities that put our finances in jeopardy. City Council struggles to keep our city safe from crime, but fails to come together and have a real discussion about many of the problem motels that are a magnet for crime.

With Costa Mesa having the most ballot initiatives of any city in Orange County, one thing is clear: This city stands divided among its leaders and among residents who feel like they aren’t being heard. The solution is simple: this city needs leadership.

For many decades, my family and I have been very involved in our community and served as a voice of solidarity. We have supported our high school athletics programs, we helped with the rebuild of the historic First United Methodist Church, and we have helped bridge the gap between different groups with opposing views in our city.

The divide that stands in our council today is indicative of a broken community that has turned to initiatives because our council is unable to work together. That is why I am running for City Council. I believe that our leaders need to do a better job at listening to residents, communicating with each other, and helping to facilitate the needs and concerns of residents.

I believe that I have the trust from key business leaders in the community, I hold the confidence of city employees, and have earned the support of local and federal representatives, such as Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) and Orange County Supervisor Michelle Steel. After running a strong campaign in 2014, many residents asked me to run again because they believe that I have the calmness and rationality to bring stability back to our council.

As a member of the Orange County Transportation Authority Citizen Advisory Committee, I understand our city’s pressing traffic issues. As a senior commissioner, I have listened to our seniors and have helped advocate for more activities that keep seniors active. A member of the Pension Oversight Committee, I have voiced the need for fiscal responsibility in the face of growing police and fire pensions that could bankrupt our city, if gone unchecked.

Lastly, as someone who grew up in this city and benefited from our parks and open space, I have advocated preserving the natural areas of our parks while increasing access to soccer fields, bike paths and walking trails.

In the next few years, our council will be making the most important decisions for the next 30 years. We cannot chance the future of our city on a council that is unable to work together. We cannot continue to allow our city to be divided through initiatives that will result in costly lawsuits and will delay the work of our city staff.

Finally, as a world-class city that has drawn national accolades because of our ingenuity in planning and ability to address problems in our city with unique solutions, we cannot lose face because our leaders are unable to work together.

These council members are your representatives and you elected them to work for you. It is time to bring stability back to our council and solidarity back to our city. As your voice on City Council, I will be this voice of stability and solidarity and fight to keep our city safe.

LEE RAMOS is a candidate for Costa Mesa City Council.