Costa Mesa was smacked down in court.
Again.
Today Superior Court judge Franz Miller ruled against the City twice in the City’s lawsuit to get their Charter amendment on the June ballot.
First he ruled that two groups could join the suit despite the City’s opposition. Then he issued a tentative ruling denying the City’s petition, agreeing that a mandatory deadline was in fact a mandatory deadline and that no harm would be done if the election was held in November instead of June.
It’s been 15 months since Jim Righeimer was sworn in as a City Council Member. To date, he has a record of dismal failure, as one after another of his initiatives has been foiled by his own incompetence or the incompetence of his lackeys.
It’s the lackluster record of a bully who is not very bright and sadly lacking in any understanding of how city government works.
The latest screw-up was blowing the deadline for submitting the paperwork for the Charter election to the Registrar of Voters. This is the type of error that well-run cities with good management don’t make. In a competent city, the timelines would have been checked and double-checked by the City Attorney, City Clerk and City Manager as part of an overall plan for the election.
But under Righeimer’s regime of terror, there’s nothing well-run at all about Costa Mesa. The long-term City Attorney, Kim Barlow, was forced out when her opinions conflicted with what Riggy wanted to hear, replaced by someone more pliable. Barlow’s replacement, planning attorney Tom Duarte, is way over his head and has been running up hundreds of thousands of dollars with outside lawyers because of his own ineptitude.
The staff on the fifth floor includes patronage appointments with no real government knowledge.
Bill Lobdell in the Ministry of Truth came from the media by way of a lackluster public relations practice. Public Affairs Director Dan Joyce was peddling rubber sidewalks a year ago. New Assistant CEO Rick Francis arrived via the political side of the County government, a policy advisor in Supervisor Moorlach’s office, who came there from his stint as a pastor at Newport Mesa Church in Costa Mesa.
What these guys have in common is that they really have no idea how to run a city government.
And it’s not like there is a single Council Member with any depth of experience. Bever and Monahan, the veterans, are frequently missing in action. Bever’s attendance is spotty. Monahan’s attention seems to wander, and he stepped down as Mayor. With Monahan, you have to wonder if he returned just for the generous health insurance benefits. Righeimer and Mensinger don’t bother to learn how things work – it’s just their way or the stairway to the roof. Wendy Leece has her heart in the right place, but she’s not what we would call a deep thinker.
Most of the experienced department heads have fled the City, and the consultants hired to fill the gaps are either woefully short of experience in government, or are has-beens who moved into the private sector after retiring or being forced out somewhere.
The staff running Costa Mesa is what you’re left with when your two leaders are insufferable assholes with experience in the dank, sleazy alleys of the corporate world.
Which brings us to our latest failure and the blown deadline for submitting the ballot measure. It sounds like the spin doctors were trying to get their critics to submit their ballot argument early. Nothing like having a peek at the opponents’ arguments to fine tune your own ballot statement. As the deadline drew near, the Costa Mesa gang got confused about when the ballot measure was due, and the later deadline for submitting ballot arguments. In a competent city with a competent senior staff, this stuff would have been on a timeline with checks and double checks. In Costa Mesa, there just wasn’t any core of competency.
It’s a continuing theme in Costa Mesa, whether in Police Chief Stavely’s parting shots or in the losses in court on the issues surrounding the mass lay-offs.
And it’s something that the voters may just Remember in November.
UPDATE: One of my attorney friends reminds us that there is still a curious question regarding paying what are likely to be hefty attorney fees from Jones, Day. In the judge’s ruling, he questioned the standing of the petitioner, City Clerk Julie Folcik. “Clever”, notes the judge, but he assumes that the petitioner is really the City of Costa Mesa.
What’s the catch?
Well, the City of Costa Mesa isn’t voting to retain Jones Day on this matter until tomorrow. There has been no closed session where they discussed hiring Jones Day for this matter. Would Righeimer ever have the gall to claim that some other guy was responsible for attorney’s bills?
“But under Righeimer’s regime of terror..” Really? This guy may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but don’t you think some of the language you use is a tad bit extreme? This is precisely why blogging is dangerous to democracy – anyone can say anything about anyone and there’s absolutely no oversight at all except for the critical mind of the author.
Go to journalism school and get a real job.
Hyperbole? Only slightly. Or else you haven’t really been keeping in touch with Costa Mesa life this past year.
Blogging dangerous to democracy?
It may be that in the age of corrupt corporate media, blogging and the alternate media are the only thing protecting democracy.
In the OC, we we are in the shadow of the LA media market and our only major daily is a third-rate piece of partisan propaganda with journalistic standards that would be failed by any blogger ethics panel.
Hey now, Righeimer has an editor on retainer at that third-rate piece of partisan propaganda… talk about a lack of standards!
Don’t you think that “go to journalism school and get a real job” is a tad bit extreme?
I mentally discounted the piece for hyperbole and still came out knowing more about the situation than I expect to learn from any other county publication.
This has to be one of the best analyses ever about what is going on in Costa Mesa. This should remove any doubt about the imbeciles in charge at Costa Mesa. At the very least a new competent law firm should be hired right away with Duarte and the rest of those overpriced morons given the boot. Hatch, Francis, and the others that occupy the 5th floor also should be given the boot. Costa Mesa needs new leadership on the council and at city hall. I hope my fellow residents are intelligent enough to see this.
This is just how Righeimer does business. Badly. Then sue somebody, or get sued.
It’s his entire career, starting from Pepperdine suing him to have his tuition paid.
http://righeimer.com/didyouknow.html
Then he sued when he lost against Sen. Tom Harman.
http://articles.hbindependent.com/2000-07-06/news/export11656_1_harman-primary-elections-state-bill-jones
He threatened to sue anyone in Costa Mesa during the election if you mentioned all his lawsuits..
http://abubblingcauldron.blogspot.com/2010/09/righeimer-unleashes-his-pit-bull.html
He even got three of the Jones Day attorneys to donate to his campaign fund
http://articles.dailypilot.com/2012-02-07/news/tn-dpt-0208-local-20120207_1_righeimer-campaign-committee-sue-lester
Then he didn’t want to pay his attorney
http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2012/02/jim_righeimer_costa_mesa_debt.php
Oh and everything Mayor Quimby just said……
Costa Mesans need to take back this city.
The biggest problem I see right now is a lack of opposition candidates planning to run against these clowns. The open council seats are there for the taking, but nobody has yet to step up and throw their hat in the ring.
*There is no substitute for good leadership. When you have it. You know it. When not; you are just whisteling in the wind…..well, you know that too. Does it really matter if the Costa Mesa Charter Amendment gets voted on in June or November? Yeah, it will lose by less if it went on the ballot in June. Now it is going to cost lots of money and Kenny the Printer will be pleased to know…..his Christmas bonus is on the way……right after the November election…when the Charter Amendment fails badly.
The guy that lists all of Jim Righeimers baggage reminds me of the last election where the cops towed a billboard around town with an Escalade touting the same things. They also hijacked his name for a domain name and put a bunch of character assassination items on it. Righeimer ended up as the top vote getter in election, go figure!
Love the quote about Leece not being a “deep thinker”. She is unfit for council. She has been called a “barnacle” by the left, a “weathervane” by the right, and is a button pusher with no vision. Bever is the most intelligent of the group but MIA too much. Monahan seems to have no interest. Righeimer has vision but too much brute force, not a consensus builder for what are really great ideas on his part. Mensinger is entertaining and a great community volunteer. I watch the meetings on my computer almost every meeting, much better than watching the HB city council. If you think CM council is bad , come watch ours. Boring.
The last three links I posted happened during and after the campaign. Not to mention all the expensive litigation the city finds itself in.
This guy is a train wreck. More people should have payed attention to what those billboards were saying because that dog can’t change his spots.
Righeimer is an attorney firms best friend. That is why three Jones Day attorneys donated to his campaign (just recently) all three $249, one dollar below the limit where it becomes a conflict. Taken all together it’s a violation.
The Jones Day 747. Up up and away!
“Wendy Leece has her heart in the right place, but she’s not what we would call a deep thinker.”
Interesting. I assumed that it was another part of her body that she sold to the union.
Keepin’ it classy, Rig-bots!
Notice that they are unable to defend Riggy, so they pivot and attack Wendy.
Funny they never mention Monahan voting to save the city hundreds of thousands, they only call Wendy a ‘union lover”.
Mansoor voted the 3@50 but they are walking to send him back to Sacramento.
There just isn’t any rationale to their thinking.
*DeadWhiteMale:” Dude, you protest too much! Sure you are not really Scott Baugh dressed in a white wedding gown? Our guess is that Wendy really “peed u uff” by not towing the” Repulicans can do no wrong” logic standard.
Ever heard of Scott Walker? This paragon of virture..is currently the Governor of Wisconsin in Madison. He played his hand of Stud Poker by stacking the deck against
not organized crime…but organized labor. Now, that boy is headed for Recall Heaven.
I’m so sorry for the residents of Costa Mesa, to have such a non responsive and evidently inept council. Sometimes when you feel strongly that wrong is being attempted you need to just stand your ground and hope that justice, in this case OC Superior Court, does their job. Why is the council trying to strong arm the electorate and then call them a bunch of radicals? I’m just a 40 year resident and property owner who is concerned about the future of our unique city.
It’s Rigsheister who drives an Escalade.
The sign was towed by a chevy, but you knew that all ready.
To make it short….whatever Katrina Foley says….is just fine with us!
Whatever Katrina Foley says. Whatever Deb Pauly says. If you guys ever find those two in a room together, and they open up their mouths, you won’t know WHAT to think.
“Oh but they’re both so CUTE!”
*You are exactly right…….cute and smart is a terrible combination to waste….and
both of our girlfirends are not wasting much!
It was especially interesting today to see that Bill Lobdell in his wisdom has dismissed the Costa Mesa City Clerk for being late to file the Charter Amendment for the June election. Guess the supporters are fairly worried that now…..by having to wait until November when the turnout will be greater…..perhaps the Charter Amendment could lose. The Blame Game is bothersome, so sad, so rhetorically incorrect. Oh well, folks have to do what they have to do.