Costa Mesa Mayor Alan Mansoor has been taking a lot of hits on this blog – but whether or not he really has ties to Martin Millard is a matter of conjecture, from what I can tell. However, it is clear that Millard is a first-class jerk.
While we cannot ascertain exactly what Millard’s influence on the Costa Mesa City Council is, we can at least look at how the City of Costa Mesa is run. And, to be fair, I think we ought to compare the way that city is run to what we see in the City of Santa Ana.
For starters, go to the Costa Mesa website and compare it to the Santa Ana website. What a difference! Costa Mesa’s website tells you about their local meetings – and you can even sign up for email notifications. And you can access agendas, meeting information, RFP’s, and more. Scroll down the page and you will even find a link to the Costa Mesa city budget. Amazing. You can even find archived video recordings of city meetings.
Costa Mesa’s website also features city news. Santa Ana doesn’t even have a public information officer! And you cannot find archived council meeting videos on the Santa Ana website.
Costa Mesa’s website also offers archived information regarding all of their commissions. And isn’t it interesting that their Redevelopment Commission meets at 6:30 p.m., whereas the Santa Ana Redevelopment Commission meets at 3:30 p.m. Guess which city actually wants their residents to be involved in civic affairs?
I could go on, but by all means, please go and look at the websites yourself. The differences will be startling. And that’s not all. Costa Mesa has a balanced budget. They are also meeting all of their pension liabilities without any problems.
Meanwhile, it appears that Santa Ana City Manager Dave Ream is working on another assessment scheme, this time to pay to fix our roads. Funny how Costa Mesa manages to meet their obligations without resorting to increasing our taxes!
I would be remiss if I didn’t metion that Costa Mesa has THREE public libraries, whereas Santa Ana has just one. According to Wikipedia, Costa Mesa has perhaps one-fourth the population that Santa Ana has. So the residents of Santa Ana are VASTLY underserved when it comes to our libraries.
Obviously Costa Mesa is much better administered as compared to Santa Ana. Costa Mesa even limits council members to two consecutive terms! That means that Mansoor is on his last term.
The question you have to ask is why would anyone waste time attacking Mansoor when we really ought to be going after Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido. Mansoor is presiding over a well-run city – you sure can’t say that for Pulido. And we can’t rid ourselves of Pulido – he refuses to let the voters decide whether we should have mayoral term limits.
I will admit that I don’t like the Costa Mesa immigration policy that resulted in the arrest of a Guatemalan worker who committed an infraction while riding his bike. However, I thought that the Santa Ana Council’s decision to ban Wal Mart superstores was equally ill-advised.
Bottom line – the people of Santa Ana need to take a long hard look at their own city rather than point fingers at our neighbors to the south. And we ought to demand that our city leaders open up the books rather than trying to pry open our wallets again. We could learn a lot from Costa Mesa – they know how to run a transparent government. You can’t say that for Santa Ana!
Some interesting comparisons, but give no credit to Mansoor for CM’s website or the transparency of its government. These existed long before his election. If given the chance, he and his cohorts would probably vote to close our libraries and replace them with ICE holding tanks.
Then again, you could compare the Costa Mesa city government, especially the city council, to Huntington Beach.
Poster 1,
I spoke to Mansoor yesterday – he was outright shocked that Santa Ana closed two libraries and now has only one. He said that if he did that he would be run out of town!
As I stated, I don’t like the ICE program, but I think Pulido deserves to be scorned a lot more than Mansoor does. If we take into account results, Mansoor is clearly the better Mayor – it is not even close.
Whether or not the items I referenced were in place before Mansoor is irrelevant. That just tells me that the city administrators in Costa Mesa are doing a good job.
Pulido and out Council keep extending City Manager Dave Ream’s contract, even though he clearly ought to have been fired many years ago. There is no accountability in our city. You can screw up a parking garage project and bill taxpayers another $3 million, and then try to raise taxes to fix the streets you ignored (after spending millions to install medians we did not need), and keep your job ad infinitum. It’s just plain wrong!
Poster 2,
Hasn’t HB had a lot of problems with corruption? I am pretty sure that several of their council members, in the past, have been in trouble. I think their last Mayor ended up in jail. Not good!
Art, you keep saying Santa Ana hasonly one library.
When did they close the Newhope library?
PedRAZA –
Ream is the glue holding this city together. Over 60% of adults are illegal aliens & over 45% of adults are not fluent in English (Chamber stats). Those are some brutal cards that have been dealt to this city. It is an absolute MIRACLE that we still have some quality of life in this city.
Do we have potholes? Yes. Too many.
Does the city make some questionable decisions sometimes? Sure they do.
But at the end of the day I must look around & compare Santa Ana to other SoCal cities of almost equal socioeconomic stats: Cudahy, Bell, South Gate, Huntington Park, Compton. These cities are all 100% complete TRASH!! They are run down, mismanaged to the point of almost being criminal, and overall a total nightmare to live in.
If you stand back & make a comparison to these cities…..they kind of make Santa Ana look like a crown jewel.
We have:
1. The nicest zoo in the county
2. A world-class museum that is the best in the county
3. Arguably the finest police department in the state
4. A Class 1 Fire Dept.
5. Beautiful historic neighborhoods
6. The distinction of being the county seat
7. A very nice modern shopping mall
8. A rebuilt and thriving downtown area
9. Brand new federal courthouse
10. A jail that actually MAKES MONEY!!
Ream is singlehandedly responsible for building our brand new jail four times larger than what was neccessary…..then leasing beds to every branch of the feds & other municipalities FOR A PROFIT!! While every other jail in the state is overcrowded & a big loser of money……we have plenty of capacity & a healthy profit. Brilliant move….
Costa Mesa is blessed with arguably the best City Manager in the county, Allan Roeder, who sets the tone for the city staff. He’s a man of amazing patience and skill with 30 years under his belt in the city, 20 as City Manager. His steady hands on the reins keeps the knuckleheads who comprise the current majority on the dais from directing Costa Mesa over the brink. It doesn’t keep them from acting like children, though, as we all witnessed Tuesday night with the “great seating chart fiasco”. Fellow blogger Byron de Arakal got it right when he told Jeff Overley in the Register that it was a “booger-throwing contest”.
Hold on, Art! I don’t think Claudio, or any of us progresive bloggers for that matter, has been attacking Mansoor, Leece, and Bever for running a dysfunctional city. You are totally correct that Costa Mesa continues to have good parks, good roads, good libraries, and more. What we are saying, however, is that all of this is at risk so long as Mansoor, Leece, and Bever don’t pay enough attention to these issues as they solely focus on the FEDERAL ISSUE of immigration, and how to kick all Latinos out of the Westside. THAT’S what we’re worried about.
And why does it have to be an “Either/Or Situation” when it comes to going after Mansoor vs. Pulido? Personally, I want to go after BOTH OF THEM for causing great harm to BOTH CITIES. Mansoor is hurting Costa Mesa by directing all attention toward an issue that the city can’t solve, and he is alienating the entire Latino community in Costa Mesa by casting them all as “dangerous criminals”.
Meanwhile, Papa Pulido is causing great damage to Santa Ana by ignoring the needs of the vast majority of the population in order to cater to the wishes and desires of the elite few to donate big bucks to his campaign coffers. While Pulido and his hack allies boast about new “upscale” developments downtown, the rest of the city suffers in squalor. While they may glow at seeing the success of shiny new gated communities like Armstrong Ranch, nearby communities can’t even have paved roads and nearby parks. Simply put, Pulido needs to go.
Well, actually Pulido AND Mansoor both need to go! And hopefully over the nex yea, we can raise awareness about both of their miserable records, and we can buil enough grassroots momentum in BOTH CITIES to return competent city government to both communities.
Just my $0.02 : )
#6-
LOL..I’m waiting to see the grand slam that launches against your post. If posts don’t blame Ream and/or Pulido for all the ills of our City, they don’t play well here. Watch!
To echo The Pot Stirrer – Costa Mesa has the finest City Manager in the state at the helm, who has set the tone for an open, transparent, and collaborative City government for years. While the mayor and council have their moments of childish pique – they also have their ears to the ground regarding what the citizens want. They may piss off some (the Youth in Government fiasco), but they have a strong core of support, and a very involved citizenry. Take a moment to look at the public comments posted on the HB Independent’s website, then compare that to the Daily Pilot’s. When the citizens pay attention, the City notices.
#6 aka Tim “Testicular Fortitude” Whitacre
Posting anonynously suits your dark side.
Art,
Carlos Bustamonte and others are promoting a new bank to compete with Banco Popolar at 17th and Main in Santa Ana. They are seeking “investors”. Can you please look into this and see what other know? Sounds fishy to me.
I would never live in Santa Ana….most people there live in squalid, cramped conditions. Why would I invest money into a home, while my neighbor piles 65 people and cars into his house? Why would I want to live in a neighborhood awash in graffiti, and gang bangers? Why would anyone want to live on a street that is barely paved, or in an area where you need a translator to communicate? Everything north of 17th or south of Segerstrom is nice….everything in between is pure garbage. Santa Ana used to be a very nice, progressive City. It has become the armpit of Orange County.
Art/Claudio, Why don’t you invite Mr. Mansoor to do a guest posting or make him a blogger to show a little balance?
Anon 14,
Poor guy would need a ghost writer!
So , what is the the real picture of Santa Ana . Is it What # 6 describes or is it what # 13 describes ? Is the Anonymous poster posting #6 and # 13 the same person ?. Can both messages be true , that is , everything beautiful in some areas is occuring while keeping other communities in check and in neglect for the purpose of maintaining polital control of the City . #6 attributes this to Mr. Ream at the start of his/her post . It makes sense if you break down the messages . People in the neglected areas now understand this . That is why the November elections turned out the way they did . #6 #13 thank you for affirming this condition .
Poster 6,
You can put jewelry and make-up on a pig and it is still a pig. The items you referenced do not make up for the poor condition of our roads and parks, and for our lack of libraries.
Furthermore, the biggest issue we need to resolve is the attitude at our City Hall. Dave Ream espouses a closed system of government, in contrast to the open government model exemplified by Costa Mesa. Ream is a disaster and the Council simply must order him to open up the books and let some light in.
Our city does not even pretend to care to get our residents involved in the proces. That needs to change! Just this morning the ETAC committee met at 7 a.m. What is up with that? That commission should meet at night – at either 5:30 or 6. Our residents need to be given the opportunity to get involved.
Attention readers!
Post 6 and post 13 came from the same IP address. Draw your own conclusions.
Anon says:
“Art, you keep saying Santa Ana has only one library.
When did they close the Newhope library?”
They havent. You see, Mr. PedRAZA has this fun little habit of LYING to enhance his weak arguments.
I gave him the benefit of the doubt the first few times he “embellished”…….but now it is getting to the point of being ridiculous.
Art says Bowers only offers one day per month free to SA residents. LIE!! They offer two days per month.
Art says there is only one library in Santa Ana. LIE!! There are two.
Thanks for noticing & pointing out this latest lie. I wonder what his next lie will be about.
Quick memo to Art: If you continue to find the need to lie to bolster your argument……..perhaps your argument is weak in the first place.
Anonymous said…Post 6 and post 13 came from the same IP address. Draw your own conclusions.
Anonymous – WHO CARES? WHy do you consistently check IP addresses? DO you want people to comment on these blogs or not? Isn’t it the purpose of the blog? Isn’t it enough that in order to post on this blog, your comments are “held for approval” before they are posted? I mean come on now….
I am flattered that Mansoor actually needs to respond by calling Art. This must mean my source was indeed telling the truth regarding Martin Millard and his influence on the city.
If course if Mansoor wants to be a guest blogger and tell his side of the story in an interview, I am open to that Art. Although I remember last summer he gave an explanation about the Millard appointment, which I found many inconsistencies in his story. I know Art did not get tough enough with the questions on Mansoor to get all the answers, and I definitely do not expect the Republican party to ask the tough questions regarding Martin Millard’s appointment to the 3R’s committee by Mansoor.
Here are the terms. I will give Art some of the tougher questions, and he can pose them to Mansoor. I will let Art do the post with his answers. So Mansoor, will you do this. Like I said, unlike Millard who bans dissent on CM Press, I am willing to allow the other side of the story to be told. Will you take me up on this offer Mansoor. The questions will be tough, you must answer them, Art will post them. It also must end with an unequivical condemnation of Martin Millard, a public denouncing of his ideas. Anything less would be laughable.
Poster 20,
The jokes on you. Just go to the city’s library page and you will see that the Newhope branch is now a “learning center.” It is basically a place to go do homework. It is not a full-fledged library.
A little background is needed here. Santa Ana does not allow you to use their libraries if you are not a resident – not for free anyway. So when I was Chair of the Library Board, some years ago, I realized that the Newhope branch had a problem. It’s service area was mostly out of the city (draw a circle around the library, on a map, to verify this).
So I suggested closing Newhope, and also closing the McFadden branch (which had no parking) so that the budget could be used on a NEW library, to be opened in south Santa Ana. However, the land was used for the Delhi center instead. What we really needed was a first-class library in that area.
Call the library director and ask him. He will tell you that we need at least one more 20,000 square foot library. He is right about that.
I served on the Library Board for five years. So please don’t try to tell me about the libraries. Keep in mind that it was only after I concluded my term on the library board that the city started closing branches (or turning them into learning centers). And no, we never got a new library in the south part of town.
It is simply criminal how we underserve our population.
Claudio,
I am sure Mansoor will call if he is interested, but I doubt he will want to write a post for us.
By the way, I understand that Miguel Pulido is paid $600 a month by the city, as a car allowance. But the AQMD lets him use a FREE hybrid car. That sounds fairly scandalous! Perhaps you might ask him to write a post explaining himself? There are many people in our city who don’t even make $600 in a month.
The AQMD has ALWAYS let electeds on the board use the new technology cars they have. It is nothing new – nor is it scandalous. DO SOME RESEARCH! It is good for the board members to test out the technology that they are voting for, so they can know what they are voting for. Art, if you called the Mayor or your City – I bet he’d let you take a spin in it so you don’t feel so left out.
Poster 25,
Congratulations! You missed the entire point. Sure, it is OK for Pulido to use a free car – but why the Hell are we paying him $600 a month car allowance when he doesn’t need it?
Art – do you honestly believe that this is his only car and that he has and is now solely using that AQMD car for his travels and pocketing his allowance? OR, are you just trying to create an issue where none exists…say it isn’t so, it is so unlike you! Art, DO SOME REASEARCH – I know it is difficult for you to understand, but the AQMD lets board memebers use the cars for periods of time, be it a week or month at a time. The Board members check the cars out from the AQMD for their specified time frame and then return them. #1, it is great PR for the AQMD…what better way to promote cleaning the air in so cal then to have elected’s drive arond for a while in the hybrid or new technology cars. Former Supervisor Cynthia Coad did this as well as Jim Silva, I am sure there are others in OC as well, although I can not be certain how long of them had the cars….seems like it was about a month.
Poster 27,
You do realize that I helped to defeat Coad and tried to take out Silva last year too?
As for Pulido, here is a question for you. Why is he getting $600 a month car allowance? How many people in Santa Ana spend that much on their car payments? That is a crazy amount of money! Why do we even give council members a car allowance? The are part-time council members to begin with! Why not just give them a bus pass and a pogo stick?
Art seems your beef is not actually about the car itself but the allowance…so why not focus on the issue and not try to make it an AQMD scandalous issue? If you have an issue with the car allowance, rally your troups and debate it. The car allowance is standard – not just to Pulido. Seems the issue is hot right now with stipends as well.
As to your comment about Coad – hunny I can assure you, you had no hand in defeating Coad – although your ego may lead you to believe that, she and her husband Tom were their own worst enemies. Tom sat on the redistricting committee, and lost half of his wifes district….you were not there hun. BTW, Coad is/was the nicest lady, with her heart in the right place,who ran for office for all the right reasons – to make a difference and stick up for what she believed in, she just was not a good politician.
Costa Mesa does not have an immigration policy. The fed stuck an ICE agent in the jail. That is all.
What??! The city has incorrect info on the website??!
Geee, no kidding.
The former McFadden Branch Library is now a homework and media center.
The Newhope Branch Library still has books. It’s a library. I know because I have actually been there. I take my kids for story time on the weekends.
Get off your computer every once in a while and see what the city really has to offer instead of ignorantly bashing it all the time.
This blog just gets more and more disappointing when the authors don’t bother to get the information right, and then get defensive when they are flat out wrong.
Anonymous Insect #30, you mean Costa Mesa doesn’t have a “written” immigration policy, right? The current council majority has an unwritten position regarding the Latinos in our city – “Get them out of here!” Simple and to the point. The ICE agent was an unanticipated convenient tool, dropped in the city’s lap by Rohrabacher and his pals to make their “Elected Official of The Year” look good. As an “improver” yourself, you understand, right? We await your denial.
Pot Stirer – I believe they want to get ‘illegal’ latinos out of our city….not latinos in general. Westside CM is dangerous at all times of the day, look at shalimar! And I am very skeptical to the response that the majority of latinos living there are here legally. I say more power to them, I am tired of Westside CM looking and feeling like TJ. Westside CM has been a thorn in the side of this City for MANY years.
Art,
Once again you manipulate information to match you own agenda. Pulido is NOT the only Council member getting that $600 auto stipend, and you know that. Your new best friends, Alvarez, Tinajero & Martinez are also getting it. Every member of the Council gets it, so quit trying to make it look like Pulido is the only one.
Call your new best friends and tell them you think that’s an outrage, they need to stop taking it, and want them to put it on the agenda for the next Council meeting! See how fast they respond.
Morning Coffee
PedRAZA says:
“So I suggested closing Newhope, and also closing the McFadden branch (which had no parking) so that the budget could be used on a NEW library, to be opened in south Santa Ana.”
So I see that Art pushed for library closures. What an absolute 100% HYPOCRITE!!!! He pushes for closures……..and then cries like a little female dog when there ARE closures. Friggin pathetic.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR…….YOU JUST MIGHT GET IT!!!!
Thankfully we still have the Newhope library available for use. If Art had his way…he would have shut down that branch a long time ago.
Now that the woman that gave you your paid city job (we still dont know the timeline for your mutual paybacks!!) is a councilmember….I fully expect her to begin implementing your desire to have a new library built. She can get Mr. Kyoto Treaty & Ms. Viva La Raza to join her.
If Benavides, Bustamante, Pulido, & Sarmiento do not join the three pot-stirrers……then I will be angry right alongside you Art.
But if the two new so-called “reformists” (& Ms. La Raza) dont do anything in regards to building a new library….which I suspect they wont……then will you have the stones to join me in bashing them and calling for their replacements in four years? Considering you, like Seanny, would NEVER bite the hand that feeds you…..I sincerely doubt that you would have the integrity to do that.
I am curious to know if you have always been a hypocrite…..or if this has just recently come about around the same time you joined the left-wing wackos?
Post # 35 . Art P. said he supoported the closing of those schools you mention in order to consolidate funds for a new Library in south Santa Ana . That was his vote.The vote was not to close libraries period . You know that , you seem to be able to rationalize . This just got in the way of you spreading venom. City official later decided to build the Delhi center there . There is little usage of this center which adds to the problem of making that choice . So you see he is no hipocrite . That would make you then the one that cries like a little female dog ( what an ignorant metaphore ). Do you have a problem with adding libraries . Your rants on council members you claim will listen to suggestions of openning a library is confusing . You seem to criticise Ms. Martinez for wanting to open and not wanting to open libraries . You don’t care in making a point do you ? You are just intersted in attacking those you dislike . If people advocating inclussion of Hispanics are labeled by you negatively as Viva La Raza , then by your tone one can conclude you oppose Hispanic inclussuion . What derogatory term can we label you with ? It could possibly be accurate .
Pot Stirrer,
C’mon, now! The Council Majority wants ILLEGAL LATINOS out, as well they should. You want to see Santa Ana improve? Get serious about the illegal immigration problem.
All you Santa Ana folks – how does it feel being the single most densely populated city in the United States? How does it feel having tens of thousands of uncounted illegal immigrants living in your city and sucking it dry of resources?
And you wonder why your city has problems?
What a joke…
City Council has no business advocating for or standing against the illimination of the undocumented . What is your suggestions in inproving the city and how are the undocumented stopping it from happeneing ? Where did you find the data of Santa Ana being the nation’s most densely populated city ? Do you have a problem with the density of downtown Chicago or Times Square in New york city ? or is your problem with density only associated with Hispanics ? The new developmwnt in progress in south santa Ana has high density towers as the lofts around Downtown . This is O.K. with you ? I once heard a French Park activists say that more high density development is fine if it is the right kind of density ( no Hispanics ). So the argument you and others pose in regards to density is not a density issue it is ridding your selves of the Hispanic culture . Santa Ana has the largest tax base of any Orange County city.The tax base comes from consumer taxes on small businesses . The majority of these businesses service Santa Ana’s 80% Hispanic community . Therefore this Hispanic majority is responsible for providing the city’s public services and subsidy recipients and in return only get attacked by misinformed hateful individuals like you . In addition for all they contribute they have their neighborhoods neglected and are criticised by neighborhoods that get the bulk of the tax public services they are largely responsible for . Who is sucking who dry of resources ? Your post is a joke.
Dr. Lomeli should thank his lucky stars that there is not a spelling requirement to become a doctor. I hope he can spell the prescriptions for his patients better than he can spell basic words in these posts.
He should try to occasionally mix in a multiple-paragraph post once in a while. His long, rambling “run-on” sentences & paragraphs are difficult to understand.
Six spelling errors in one paragraph?:
“supoported” Does he mean “supported”?
“openning” Does he mean “opening”?
“criticise” Is Lomeli British?
“intersted” Does he mean “interested”?
“inclussion” Does he mean “inclusion”?
“hipocrite” Does he mean “hypocrite”?
Wow.
Remind me NOT to send my kids to the same schools Dr. Lomeli attended.
#39 . Is that the best you can do . Art P. can you place a spell check on this blog so that #39 does’t get offended when I write in a hurry . This is a e-mail blog not an english composition class . Your problem with me is not my spelling it is what I write .
Mr. Lomeli,
Another emotional response to a real and serious issue. Also, another ridiculous and childish accusation:
“So the argument you and others pose in regards to density is not a density issue it is ridding your selves of the Hispanic culture.”
GROW UP!! NO ONE wants to “rid” California of the Hispanic culture – it is part of our identity. What a stupid claim! Did you think about it before you wrote it, or did it just automatically erupt from your keyboard the moment you saw the words “illegal immigrant”?
I suggest you sit down and take a minute to examine the Census statistics. I can’t locate the news article that stated that Santa Ana was the single most densely populated city, so I’ll stick with the 6 year old Census data. According to the 2000 census, Santa Ana was the eighth most densely populated city in the United States with almost 13,000 residents per square mile. In fact, the population numbers may be even higher, as Southern California is one of the most notoriously under-counted regions of the country in every recent census. Some estimates place the true population of Santa Ana as high as a half million people.
For a city of mostly one and two story buildings, with thousands of single-family homes – Santa Ana is denser than almost ALL URBAN US cities with high rise living and vast public housing. Even the OC Grand Jury reports that Santa Ana is denser than all other cities in the Western US except San Francisco – a famously vertical city.
http://www.ocgrandjury.org/pdfs/gjcenterline.pdf
So drop the race card and deal with facts.
Dr. Lomeli,
Try using Mozilla Firefox instead of Internet Explorer. Firefox automatically underlines misspelled words in red, and then if you right-click them you can fix the errors.
# 39 . Again , if density is the issue of outmost importance to you then why are you not challenging new high density buildings in the city ? What do you think or what facts do you have as to the percentage of undocumented residents in Santa Ana . If the percentage let us say is 30 % would deporting this number satisfy you ? Me drop the race card ? You are the one blaming your concern on the undocumented .
art lomeli Says:
3/09/2007 5:30 PM
City Council has no business advocating for or standing against the illimination of the undocumented .
Lomeli – I ask “why Not” to your statement above…
#44 . do you think they should ? Where in council’s responsibilities of governance those it direct them to do so .
#39
I for one would like to read a commentary from you regarding Pres. Bush’s lackluster vocabulary and idiotic statements. Bush makes Yogi Berra sound sane And this is a man that represents the mightiest nation in the country.
Apparently Dr. Lomeli can adequately read and write since he is a licensed dentist. Sour grapes and that streak of envy you pen is annoying.
Hell if I know Lomelli – that is why I was asking you. The councilmembers in question ran with this in their platform, it is not a big surprise, and they were re-elected/elected last year…with that, so it seems to me that the majority of the voters of CM support this. And the electeds work for the citizens correct? They do not work for Illegal Immigrants correct? Maybe the citizens of Costa Mesa are sick of the crime, liter and gangs, maybe they are tired of Westside CM looking like TJ.
pot stirrer:
deny what? actually, as an improver I did not like Costa Mesa’s plan to only investigate the legality of those arrested confined to a short list of 22 aggravated felonies as it let drunk drivers off the hook. Mansoor’s ORIGINAL plan to have the cops trained to check everybody was slightly better. But the best plan was the one a candidate for CM council in 1996 named Fisler had. He wanted to train the JAILERS in the city to do the checks.We should have listened to him then. In fact, the Jailers should be getting some cross training now in case ICE pulls and runs and leaves the city to start rotting again.
# 47 . You are right the CM candidates ran on that platform . It was purely politics . They can’t do much about deporting other than having an immigration officer available at the jail to process arrests for serious or mild infraction geared exclusively to process the undocumented out . The Council can pass ordinances to restrict and not service whole communities for the purpose of elliminating some undocumented individuals without regard as to how it affects families and neighbors thereby creating a whole set of social probblems every body then has to deal with , including those that voted for them . This kind of council behavior supported by individuals like you is responsible for areas within cities looking like TJ as you put it. The politicians love it , becuase they use your hate to get elected they pass ordinances to appease you that result in the neglect of neighborhoods . The appearance of the neglected neighborhoods cuases more anger which they use to fuel their next campaign . The politicians understand this . That is why they don’t fix the pot holes in those neighborhoods and don’t invest in the economic development of those areas . Hateful people and politicians nurture this neglect to further their agendas . politicians use your fear and or hate of a community to gain and maintain political control ( like CM and SA ) I know the argument you will respond with is – they are breaking the law by beign here illegally . Council should deal with this you argue . Well if it is about crime then should council not also direct their PD to raid the illegal businesses and the illegal neighbors for hirining the undocumented . That is when you will start to loose your politicians . No the council does not work for illegal immigrants , they don’t work for illegal employers nor illegal citizens that hire them either . The issue is much more complicated to solve than your simplistic statement . Again politicians and hateful individuals like it simple , like you pose it . To avoid sections of cities to deteriorate the council should be apolitical and just be concerned with the economic , educational and safety stability of the city – that is , investment city wide . This way social problems are minimized and the city is maintained esthetic . This is much easier and productive for all .
Mr. Lomeli,
What is your problem? Why do you say that opposing illegal immigration is “hateful”? Are you really that simple-minded and immature? Or are you just intellectually corrupt?
It really is shocking how far you and your ilk will go to endorse and further the illegal behavior of thousands of people who have no regard for the laws of the nation they strive so hard to get to and make lives in. They reap the benefits of our society, yet thumb their noses at those who provide those benefits.
I think their behavior is “hateful”, and their open hatred and disregard for our laws and culture is the true cause of blighted neighborhoods and social ills.
Those who respect the law and abide by it, while expecting others to do the same or suffer the consequences, are good citizens and valuable members of the community and society.
You and your ilk fall sadly short of that mark.
Lomelli – westside has looked like TJ for upwards of 15 years. Has nothing to do with the councils new policy – written or unwritten. I look forward to seeing if this will clean it up and cut down on crime.
Just because I am tired of paying my tax dollars for services that illegals use, does not make me a latino hater. Your kind of closed minded thinking is why the anti & pro Illegal sides will never find a happy medium. There was a time when Illegal Immigrants did not impact Citizens as they do today. Today is a much different time with hospitals closing all over the County because they can no longer afford to provide services to the CITIZENS of this country because they have been providing for the most part free services to Illegal Immigrants who in reality rarely pay their hospital bills. Schools overcrowded and unsafe.
And Lomelli, dont give me a BS line that “they pay taxes” They do not pay the 33% of their salaries to the government to help pay for their services….I Pay them. Believe me, I do not endorse employers who hire illegals either.
My dear I understand why they want to come here. They have much more opportunity here BUT there has got to be a solution. I mean if they want to be here, and be citizens, why dont they take care of their neighborhoods…This is my opinion…..it is on the broken window syndrome. One house on the block has a broken window that never gets fixed and pretty soon there is another house and another with broken windows, then the whole neighborhood starts looking bad,trash in the streets, crime and gangs start and viola because no one cares about their neighborhood anymore you have westside CM, and less and less people care about it because it is now an undesirable area. If those living on westside don’t care about their neighborhood anymore, then they should go home. OR they should take better care of it, and the focus would be off them. Bottom line, their neighborhood is their responsibilty and they have failed at that responsibilty.