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[Editor’s note: One pleasure of Facebook has been the ability to continue to see occasional thoughts from Geoff West about county and city politics, even after the (almost complete) closing of the late and lamented “A Bubbling Cauldron”), which — within it’s scope — was the best political blog in Orange County. (Now WE are! But the competition is not fierce.)
I asked Geoff if he would provide us with his thoughts on the upcoming elections in Costa Mesa — and, to my delight, he agreed! (He had it done in a matter of hours, too!) I respect his choice to shutter his blog — it really is a physical and emotional drain to produce new content, especially of the caliber he long provided, and he was working without a partner and contributing editors — but I’m glad to say he’ll have the key to the door here anytime he’d like it, for the asking, with no demands made and no conditions imposed. — G.A.D.
P.S. Vern may festoon this piece small pictures, in the old style of A Bubbling Cauldron….]
Right panel — Katrina Foley (second from left, in blue) with her slate, Manuel Chavez, Arliss Reynolds, and Andrea Marr; left panel, Sandy Genis being whispered to by destructive imp.
THE CHANGE
It’s a very interesting year in Costa Mesa. For the first time voters will choose council members by districts instead of at-large, as has been the case since the city was founded in 1953. Two years ago the extortionist/lawyer from Malibu forced the City to make a choice of go to district voting to provide the Latinos (37% of the population of Costa Mesa) a better opportunity for “representation”, or be sued. The City, as have many others when faced with this issue, chose to carve up the city into voting districts and begin the process of “Balkanizing” our town.
THE PROCESS
A consulting demographer was hired, meetings were held and most attendees chose a 5-district plan – two were presented. Late in the process Jim Righeimer cornered the demographer and told him he wanted to see a 6-district/directly-elected mayor option, so participants in the final two community meetings also had that option to consider. NOT A SINGLE person thought that was a good choice. However, when it came time for the city council to choose which option to place on the 2016 ballot for the voters to consider, Righeimer quick-pitched the process and, on a 3-2 vote, had the 6-district/directly-elected mayor plan placed on the ballot. And, to make things worse, nobody wrote an opposing ballot statement on the issue! I take some responsibility for that – I thought Sandy Genis was writing one, so I didn’t. My bad… So, in November we choose a directly-elected mayor and council members in 3 districts – #3, #4, and #5. The remaining 3 will be chosen in 2020. The three contested districts this year have the fewest number of voters, with #4 having half the voters than both #3 and #5.
COSTA MESA MAYOR
Two years ago my choice in this race might have been problematic for me. Both women who are on the ballot have long and illustrious public service backgrounds. Both have gone above and beyond to fix things in our city. I admired both and said so loud and often. That was two years ago – this is now. I will vote for Katrina Foley and it’s a very easy choice for me.
KATRINA FOLEY, a very successful lawyer, has demonstrated her concern for Costa Mesa over the past two decades. She served previously on the Planning Commission for 5 years, then the City Council, where she has been elected 3 times. She abandoned her council seat to run for a position as a trustee on the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board, taking with her the organizational skills and passion to that body. Subsequently she was re-elected to the Costa Mesa City Council and her term expires this year. She could have chosen to run again in the new District 3, but chose to run for directly-elected mayor instead. Katrina was chosen as mayor by her peers following the 2016 election, a position in which she served with enthusiastic distinction for nearly a year before being unceremoniously ousted by a majority led by then-mayor pro tem Sandra Genis. No reason has ever been given for that unprecedented ouster. For all we know it was just a petty peeve on Genis’ part – or maybe a part of a larger plan by the Jim Righeimer-led cabal as he departs the dais (he’s termed out this year).
SANDRA GENIS has served Costa Mesa for three decades, from the time when she was first elected to the City Council in 1988 through the present day. Even while not on the dais she actively participated in critical city issues – like helping to save our bacon in the County bankruptcy and saving the Fairgrounds. Nobody can question her contributions to the City over the years. However, over the past couple years, she has noticeably changed – many of her former friends and supporters acknowledge that fact. In years past she stood out as an intelligent, independent thinker, but recently she has clearly aligned herself with the cabal headed by lame duck councilman Jim Righeimer and formed an alliance with him and Allan Mansoor which ousted Foley from her office and have made other curious (at best) moves that betrayed the change in her governance. She was elected mayor by her alliance, then Mansoor was elected Mayor Pro Tem.
Her ballot statement is full of inaccurate and misleading statements and is now the subject of legal action. As a long time resident of this city and lifetime Republican I can no longer trust her judgment and will not vote for her in November. She could have simply remained on the council for two more years until her new district – #1 – will be contested in 2020. Instead, she chose to challenge Foley. If she loses she still has her at-large seat for two more years.
COUNCIL DISTRICT 3
There are two candidates for this district, which comprises much of the area that borders OCC and the Fairgrounds and a little strip of the Eastside
.
BRETT ECKLES, a contractor with strong youth-sports leadership roots, is a candidate being supported by the Righeimer group. He’s a nice guy, who previously served as Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission, but his entanglements with the group that facilitated unbridled growth in the city and attempted to turn Fairview Park into playing fields, make him a dangerous candidate for those who wish to protect and preserve the quality of life in Costa Mesa.
ANDREA MARR, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and Naval Officer who served this country for 5 years driving some of the most sophisticated vessels in our fleet, is an engineer who has served the community on several city committees, demonstrating team-building and leadership skills. She presents a fresh face and solid analytical and leadership skills. She has strong support from Katrina Foley and councilman John Stephens. If I could vote for her I would.
COUNCIL DISTRICT 4
This district is the reason for district voting in Costa Mesa. This small area – almost completely surrounded by District 5, with the north boundary abutting part of #1- is populated by a large number of Latinos and, while the demographic analysis that created it showed population similar in total numbers to the others, it has the smallest number of voters – by far – than any of the other districts. There are three candidates for this new position.
STEVE CHAN is a Asian-American resident who has spoken eloquently before the City Council in recent years on issues that directly affected his neighborhood – a noisy bar and nearby sober living homes. His late candidacy surprised many council watchers. His presence on the ballot will likely scramble things and, very likely, help another surprise candidate, Michelle Figueredo-Wilson.
MANUEL CHAVEZ is a young up-and-comer and is the youngest person on the ballot at age 22. He’s a UCI graduate, a life-long Westside Costa Mesa resident and has support from Foley and Stephens, too. His campaign appears to be resonating with the Latino voters, but we won’t know until November.
MICHELLE FIGUEREDO-WILSON is a person unknown in our community until very recently. She’s a realtor (outside the city) who lives in District 4 and her ballot statement perpetuates the myth that her area has been “unrepresented” in years past. There is NO evidence to support that claim. It’s unclear who is supporting her candidacy, but we know it is NOT Foley and her very effective organization.
If I could vote this time around for this district I would most likely vote for Chavez. Yes, he’s young, but he’s smart and clearly understands the needs of his district.
DISTRICT 5
This new district includes all of Fairview park on the far west side of Costa Mesa and surrounds the lower and east side part of District 4. There are three candidates for this new district.
Mansoor: disfavored.
ALLAN MANSOOR, currently the Mayor Pro Tem following the ouster of Katrina Foley late last year, carries with him a heavy shadow of divisiveness that marked his previous tours. He was elected to the council for the third time two years ago following an unremarkable tour in the State Assembly after he was termed-out of his Costa Mesa Council seat. He’s a retired Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy (jailer) who managed to alienate himself to most of his fellow deputies during his career. In his previous council tours he is infamous for attempting to have every member of the Costa Mesa Police Department deputized as an ICE agent. He was named an honorary Minuteman by founder Jim Gilchrist and the now-deceased Barbara Coe. He was personally responsible for launching Jim Righeimer’s Costa Mesa political career when, as payback for campaign help provided by Righeimer and Dana Rohrabacher back in 2006, he appointed Righeimer to the Planning Commission. Currently an at-large council member, he was recently accused of living outside the city – which would have disqualified him from his council seat. Originally elected to what will now be considered District 2, he didn’t have to run this time – there are 2 more years left on his first term. He and his family moved to District 5 when he moved back into the city. However, he would be left without a chair when the music stops in 2020 because his district of residence, #5, will be occupied. So, he’s running this year. If he loses this race he will still have his at-large seat on the council until 2020. He has nothing to lose – except other people’s money – by running this time around.
ARLIS REYNOLDS, is a lifetime Costa Mesan. She was educated in Costa Mesa schools and is an engineer with an MIT pedigree. She is smart, energetic and dedicated to her hometown. She currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission. She was active in the grass roots organizations that have fought to preserve the Banning Ranch and Fairview Park. She has the support of Foley, Stephens and former councilwoman Wendy Leece, plus many other organizations and dignitaries. I would vote for her if I could. She’s right for Costa Mesa.
Trahan – highly disfavored
REBECCA TRAHAN is a fairly recent transplant from Texas. She has served on two city committees and has recently become more visible at council meetings. Her ballot statement misrepresents her qualifications vis a vie the other candidates. She’s an “unusual” woman – I’ve spent some time around her. I would not vote for her if she was the only person on the ballot.
MY BALLOT
I can only vote for Mayor this time around. I will vote for Foley. If either Genis or Mansoor are elected to new positions this year it will mean one or two appointments to the council will be necessary. The city would almost certainly not have a costly special election. Depending on the makeup of the council following the election, that could be very interesting. If Foley and those three she supports are all elected they, plus Stephens, would for a supermajority of the seven members on the dais, with Genis and Mansoor alone in the minority. This will very likely be the most contentious, nasty campaign in city history – the mayor’s race is already taking on that complexion.
Some reference material for you:
Candidate List – http://www.costamesaca.gov/Home/ShowDocument?id=31599
District Map – http://apps.costamesaca.gov/maps/VotingDistrict.html
Voter Counts by District – http://www.costamesaca.gov/home/showdocument?id=31431
COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT
This organization was also extorted by the same Malibu law firm that gave Costa Mesa district voting. In 2020 they will begin that process. This time all seats are still at-large. The district will be divided in 2020 into 5 districts, which only vaguely resemble the City of Costa Mesa districts. This time 3 incumbents are being challenged by one outsider. I will vote for all the incumbents because they individually and collectively have demonstrated excellence in management of this organization over the past decades.
MESA WATER DISTRICT
This organization, which already elects members by districts, has 3 seats up for grabs this time around and I actually get to vote for one of them. Mesa Water, which is a well-run special district, stepped in it big-time when they attempted to orchestrate a hostile takeover of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District. That issue has been resolved, but it’s clear that changes are in order on the Mesa Water Board. The seats of President Jim Atkinson and Directors Marice DePasquale and Shawn Dewane are available. I get to vote for a replacement for Dewane. DePasquale is an appointee replacing departed Ethan Temianka (a Righeimer protege’ who bailed out for greener pastures in Ohio). Dewane is also running for re-election on the Orange County Water District Board. At least two of those Mesa Water seats need to be flipped. I will vote for Anna Vrska in her attempt to unseat Dewane – a tough task, since he has LOTS of cash behind him. She has going for her that she is an exceptionally bright, tenacious activist. Ryan Ferryman, son of Water District Director Jim Ferryman, is contesting DePasquale’s seat. I don’t know who else is running.
48TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
This is a fascinating race. Republicans Dana Rohrabacher and former friend and sidekick Scott Baugh flogged each other mercilessly during the primary, with Baugh providing plenty of ammunition for Democrat Harley Rouda – who barely beat fellow Democrat Hans Keirstad for the second spot on the ballot. Now the Rohrabacher camp is attacking Rouda with the same kind of vengeance. The district is VERY heavily Republican, but Rohrabacher is vulnerable because he’s basically done not much during his 3 decade tour in the House of Representatives AND he is linked – at least in the press – to the whole Trump/Putin issue. Rohabacher has coasted to easy victories in the past… it might not be the case this time around.
Quite honestly, as a lifelong Republican, I’m still not sure how I will vote. The whole Rohrabacher/Baugh thing made me ill and very disappointed, but the thought of contributing to another Democrat House majority makes me very nervous. Sorry about that, pardner.
*Costa Mesa….is still Goat Hill. It seems to have never outgrown its basic roots as the ugly redheaded stepchild to Newport Beach. The good news is that Newport Beach is starting to look more like Costa Mesa than the other way round. What keeps Newport Beach in business is its Police and Fire Departments. They are all super heroes that mostly live out of the district and range more like traveling NFL Quarterbacks in the 1990’s.
We like Katrina Foley. She is very bright and has many good ideas. If you live in CM you should consider her as the Mayor – for sure! We have always loved Sandy Genis but over the years….she has had to attract some iffy cohorts on the Council. Say she is just a brilliant Stanford Grad that has Pragmatist tattooed on her back side. Or you can say she is Wily Coyote Politician 1. Sandy she stay on the Council another term, but not as Mayor….she has already done that several times as we recall. Alan Mansoor, has never answered our e-mails and seems to live in the OCGOP Deep State! We doubt he even goes to Central Committee Meetings anymore…..too far above it – we suppose. He needs to run against Toddy Boy for Supervisor and see what kind of new job he could do….other than sub-contract Wi-Fi Repeaters for Jimmy. Oh well, it is only politics as they say.
Meanwhile, the wonderful Dana and Rhonda and Family……need to retire. They have done their job over the years – Thanks guys for being invited to your Campaign get togethers…..they were always entertaining. But under the Trumpster…..those days are over…..whether you win or lose. So just do the right thing and close the last chapter of the Congressional Register and call it a day. Harley may have sent a few jobs to China, but he never had lunch with Osama Bin Laden.
So, welcome to Costa Mesa Politics. Jim Ferryman? Is he still on the Water Board?
Good Grief, has Brother Dave not given him the boot yet? We suppose that Ferryman and Peer Swan of the IRWD are like the Plague….they will probably be around until the 2nd coming. Pretty sad. One additional AD HOC comment: We still like Hans Kierstad
and he should be running for something soon! We need his type and energy!
Thanks Brother Geoff – Go Army Beat Navy! AGAIN!
This article while hysterical is total fallacy. Geoff West needs a life and a better hobby as he is not a degreed writer and has never been paid for his work. His fallacious hack writing is biased and pathetic
Boy, is that comment stupid. Go ahead, GWIA Idiot, ask me to list the ways.
I’m also a long time resident of Costa Mesa, who had supported some council members in the prior election, but aI agreed 100% when Foley was replaced, midstream because of bias, outbursts and unprofessional behavior from my observations. CM has been a city with great political angst over the years and sadly, it continues. Although I had in the PAST great respect for Mr. West, his opinions seems to lack much documentation or accuracy, of late. One major flaw in his claim Mayor Genis did not submit an argument to “EE” she was prohibited & verbally instructed by the City Atttorney not to do so, as were all city council members, under this same admonition. Mr. West is favoring a total slate of 3 candidates and Foley. I personally prefer to evaluate each candidate on platforms, prior decisions and city stances, not blindly approve, a possible politically elected cabal, led by the wannabe elected mayor. I’m partial to an independent thinking council, with varied approaches and votes. The current writ filed by Wendy Leece, is obviously a shadow action by Foley. This is in court as I write. While all the Foley supporters are bashing Mayor Genis , I prefer to acknowledge the positives in Genis’ record but I refuse to stand by reading bilge and remain silent, even to former Bubbling Cauldron writer, who has been drinking the koolaide.
You’re as welcome to speak your piece here as you would have been on the Cauldron, Mary (which I think was entirely welcome.)
Bravo Mary! Truth!
Geoff,
I agree with everything you say here but for your failure to get behind Rouda. I would understand if it were Mimi Walters or some such SANE GOP representative but surely you must see Dana is unfit for office. Outside of his woes with Russia and the FBI, he thinks global warming is caused by dinosaur flatulence and will line our coasts with oil rigs! He thinks men live on Mars? He has been surrounded by every thief, scoundral and criminal of the last decade. If you hate what Righeimer has done thank Dana! Harley is a decent centrist politician who while running on a progressive platform will be willing and able to find common sense for common ground and he will actually represent this district well. You need to meet him. He IS the 48th district! Save your fears of a Democratic majority for other districts….this is about US and we have not had safe and sane representation here in 30 years! Please be open to meeting him and listening….I think you will like what you see…
What a sad legacy. Complete sell out to the politicians and activists who keep his skirt inflated. A rich history of activism and commentary squandered over personal animosity, and the City loses.
I’m going to check with Geoff on this, but I seem to recall that he limited commenting to people with verified identities (I seem to recall that he used registration and perhaps Facebook at various times). He is, as stated, our guest here, and I’m inclined to honor any continuing preference he has not to argue with people who aren’t open about their identity. Mary has shown, above, that one can wrote a strong comment under one’s own name; I think that others should do the same. So your comment may not lat long, CM Dude, unless you’d like to claim it.
Greg, don’t worry about the anonymous comments. If they meet your standards on your site it works for me. CM Dude continue his rude, anonymous posts, just as he does occasionally on the Daily Pilot threads. He thinks he’s unknown, but he’s not. As usual, he offers nothing of substance to the discussion. My reasons for supporting those candidates I feel are right for my city now were pretty clear. Again, thanks for the opportunity to present them here. And thanks for tolerating the occasional nasty commentor…
We’re honored to house your recommendations — as well as the thoughts of the more eloquent among those who disagree. THe less so, not so much.
“…but the thought of contributing to another Democrat House majority makes me very nervous.”
Or you could look upon the current House majority of cowards, wing-nuts and fools as a completely compromised bunch that needs flushing ASAP.
From your lips to God’s ears…
Obviously, there are degrees of nervousness.
You are consistent Geoff.
Just like your Blog.
Very few facts surrounded by a lot of biased opinion.
Read between the lines to find reality.
I hesitate in writing this, as I’ve been an ardent supporter of both Foley and Genis. I don’t want to burn any bridges but I believe the animosity generated by Geoff West’s bitter rantings to be off the mark, lacking verifiable information and very unfair to Mayor Genis.
It seems Geoff’s interpretations began after he stepped away due to health issues. He stopped attending council meetings and since then his perspective has lacked insight. Things have been minimized to favor his candidate of choice.
After the last election Sandy Genis was next in line to be Mayor following Monahan, Righeimer and Mensinger. Sandy Genis had been Mayor in past years, so out of Sandy’s own generosity she gave that title to Katrina Foley. After months, and months, and months of acrimony and heated discourse on the dais Genis obviously had a change of heart.
And, it’s no wonder if you’d been actively following the meetings. Geoff’s reaction was mean, hateful and unjustified. You would have thought that someone had been assassinated!
There are things I admire in both Genis and Foley, as well as things that I don’t. We had all worked so hard to create a new majority to tackle the issues residents cared most about.
Since the new majority was elected they voted as a team on every issue I can think of except two. The vote on SB 54 was practically irrelevant because the vote didn’t go as Mansoor had wanted. The second vote was that of returning Sandy Genis the title of Mayor. Other than that it seems the song has remained the same. Why all the hoopla?
*Cindy seems to grasp the gist of Costa Mesa Politicos. What did they used to say: “Small Town….small minds!” Locked into the great personality conflicts of our time, right here in OUR Town! What about the Homeless? What about supporting small business? What about looking after a clean and unpolluted water supply? Who cares about traffic anyway? What about this old infrastructure on the West Side?
Who cares that the Hispanic Community….molts into another area for more 99 cents stores? How come they are still fighting the Banning Ranch project to stop the extension of a road to HB? How come they took away Kona Lanes again?
Costa Mesa….ya gotta love these folks. The PD has a great co-op Helicopter and some nice guys o the force. The Fire Dept. loves their donuts and loves to get out of town to help with fires in NO CAL. The John Wayne Orange County
Airport never even mentions Costa Mesa in their literature. Who runs the PR
Dept. again? So, Is Jimmy still being “stalked” by members of the Police Union?
Good Grief……why can’t they ever have a Town Hall Meeting for the citizens,
where at least three members of the Council can appear…..together..and not
all on the same side? But heck, we are originally from Newport Beach, where
the 1%ers are greatly in evidence, cheaper than $2 Buck Chuck and never worry about much more than a rising tide…which will probably sink all boats eventually.
Oh how we long for the days of Sid Soffer and his accusations of Nazism. Yeah,
Sid was a Marine…..who fought Nazi’s in WWII and always could recognize them in a crowd! Anyway, Cindy, good comments but leave our Army bud Geoffy alone….he has spent more time at city council meetings than most people have been alive. Well, maybe with the exception of our pal Larry Gilbert in MV that is.
Hmmm, an interesting comment, Cindy. Although I’ve attended many fewer meetings in the past year since I put my blog into a self-induced coma, I have not stopped paying attention to important municipal issues. Your comment about my perspective lacking insight actually means that, since Genis participated in the ouster of Foley as mayor and subsequently took her place, my views have been opposite to many of those you hold as a loyal supporter of Genis. I’m actually surprised that you chose to denigrate me, the messenger, instead of debating the issues. For example, why has Genis refused to provide any reason for Foley’s ouster. Despite being asked by many residents and supporters – including me – she refuses to offer any explanation. Besides being curious, it makes some of us very suspicious of her motives for that act. Anyhow, I’m glad my pals here allowed you to comment. It’s been fun.
Apparently a few can’t figure out what an opinion is: I’ll make it easy for them:
Geoff was asked to give his opinions: FYI: opinion
[uh-pin-yuh n]
SynonymsExamplesWord Origin
See more synonyms for opinion on Thesaurus.com
noun
a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.
a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.
the formal expression of a professional judgment:
Manage
THESAURUS.COM
Thesaurus.com – The world’s favorite online thesaurus!
One passing thought: Is the devil really in the details? If so, Devil get behind me!
OH, and one more thing……we are so glad we helped fight the expansion widening
of 17th Street and we are so glad that some Great American Hero (Costa Mesa resident) fought the Red Light Cameras in Costa Mesa first….and won! 1.7 Second Yellow? Really? At the corner of Harbor and 17th? That was amazing! Ding Hao on that one – that set in motion the first domino and the end of Red Light Killer Camera Epidemic in The OC! What does the new Sheriff (DB) think about Red Light Cameras? Would be interesting to get his opinion on that and lots of other things! We have an uneasy feeling that the takeover of local PD’s may be in the works …as well. But what do we know?
Geoff West was actually an influence on me, when I got re-started blogging in 2009. I loved the way his long pieces were broken up into bite-size sections with subtitles and an image for each – it makes you really wanna read the thing. I think my first Geoff-influenced piece was my “Derailment Report”, about “derailing the sale” of the OC Fairgrounds….
http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2009/11/derailment-report/
It’s good to see Geoff blogging here, we oughtta make him an account if he’s thinking of doing it again. He is one of several people who stopped talking to me when I wrote my 10-year anniversary piece about September 11… http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2011/09/fk-september-11/
Actually he’s the only person who shunned me that I actually missed. But what I wrote that day really needed to be said.
This post was a one-off, so we can’t claim that he’s “blogging here” as a going concern. I would love to see him both feel free to do so and to take advantage of that freedom. Setting up accounts is your thing.
I think that there’s a fair possibility that he’d consider it — so long as you don’t do anything to remind him of whatever that post of yours was that pissed him off back in 2011.
It was called, “Fuck September 11.”
OK, just be sure not to remind him of it publicly.
Roger that.
It’s hysterical and sickening. This isn’t Washington DC where everyone, mostly gets away with nasty tweets, propaganda, court action, ironic how “no one knows how or why Foley was dismissed as Mayor”. Rather convenient and convoluted argument at best. This guy even points out that one candidate is Asian American, ” Chavez has the Latino votes”, but says nothing about Foley, you, Genis, being Caucasian candidates. I realllly hate that minimization. Note how he carefully worded arlis as having an MIT pedigree, nothing about engineering. Getting nasty and in very poor taste. Katrina is nasty and self serving.
Shame on you Wendy Leece for becoming a puppet to the propaganda machine. Ironic, Genis, and the rest would never stoop to those tactics. Why? Better than that, have more integrity in their pinky finger than Foley could hope for. This is my city too, I will pound the pavement, you have no clue what it takes beyond your elementary opinion to be a civil servant.
I’ve lived here 50 yes and anyone that can look me in the face especially after a few choice city council meetings where Katrina completely attempted to go against agenda items, delivered to city council members, mayor, mayor pro teams a min of 3-4 days before a meeting, then announced she and two other colleagues had been working on saving $ for the city for about a month during meeting, very unprofessional. Katrina wear more makeup on your neck, when your getting called out you turn red. By the way, no one mentioned the noticeable displeasure Foley experienced when HS Football Stadium was not named after her. As for Rebecca Trehan, you state, you met her a few times, She has a Baylor pedigree, comes from a long standing political, connected background. How could you possibly pass judgement on someone you haven’t taken the time to know? Arlis did not graduate MIT with a degree in business or finance. These positions are all second jobs, if you will. Just saying, these are my opinions.
#MayorGenis2018, #rebeccatrehandistrict52018, #maricedepasquledistrict32018.
Welcome to the discussion. Let me try to summarize your argument here:
(1) “[Geoff] says nothing about Foley [and?] Genis being Caucasian candidates. … I really hate that minimization.”
(2) “[It’s wrong to? mention] arlis [sic] having an MIT degree, nothing about engineering.”
(3) “Genis and the rest would never stoop to such tactics.”
(4) “Katrina wear more makeup on your neck.”
(5) “[Trehen] [sic] “has a Baylor pedigree, comes from a long standing political, connected background.”
(6) “I will pound the pavement.”
Some comments, keyed by number:
(1) Being Caucasian doesn’t exactly differentiate them, does it? So with them the only to candidates in the race, why discuss it?
(2) Most people going to MIT have degrees in engineering or science. The “T” stands for technology, and it’s a very highly ranked school. Baylor’s nice, but this is like comparing Cal Tech and Cal State Fullerton — which is also a good school, but no Cal Tech.
(3) Tell us who you include in “all the rest.” Have you MET Jim Righeimer?
(4) OK, now about that “wouldn’t stoop to” …
(5) So you like someone steeped in political culture more than someone who makes it on their own merit? Well, I guess tastes differ.
(6) I presume you mean canvassing, not tantrums, right?
You’re not exactly undermining Geoff’s argument here.
Touchy, aren’t we? If you know who I am, call me and explain to me how you’ve gone from commentary backed by facts to commentary specifically designed to support a particular political candidate. I’ll go print out the many positive things you’ve said about Sandy in the past so we can cross-reference them in our discussion.
I don’t know whether Geoff is monitoring this post’s comments — you can always call him, if you have each other’s numbers — but as a long-time reader I’ll give my sense of what he might fairly reply.
First, I asked Geoff for his recommendations for CM city offices (after reading a Facebook post of his that went into less detail than what you see above.) He used take stands before elections for and against different candidates, so I don’t know why you see this as anything new for him.
The thing that obviously changed between those earlier comments about Genis and what he says above is his belief that she conspired with Righeimer to displace Foley as Mayor and that she is now likely to do Righeimer’s bidding as a result. It doesn’t matter how many nice things he’s said about Genis in the past if an alliance with Righeimer would outweigh them.
I think that reasonable people can argue that Genis’s response to Foley was not out of line (if Foley was being high-handed to and disrespectful of her and others) and that just because Righeimer helped (or even initiated the) maneuver to implant her as Mayor doesn’t mean that she should or will feel that she owes him anything. If I were in CM, those considerations would inform my judgment. And reasonable people, of whom Geoff is clearly one, can argue that nothing that Foley did justified her ouster and that she would certainly now be doing Riggy’s bidding if elected.
These aren’t themselves “facts,” though — they’re judgments about what facts exist. Sometimes that’s the best one can do — and Geoff clearly grounded his comments in his judgments about those arguable facts.
*Just attended the CDM Chamber of Commerce City Council Candidate Forum.
Joy and Diane and Jeff are the Choices …..to look for….in November
Well, this has been fun. I confess I have not monitored the thread for several days. As was the case with my blog, this represents my opinion, based on my observation of the facts and knowledge of individuals and their track records. And, as I always suggested with my blog… if you don’t like what I wrote, simply don’t read it. Opinions are like anal orifices… everybody has one. Thanks, again, to the owners of this site for the invitation. We don’t always agree, either, but it’s always fun.
Thanks for checking in again, Geoff. Don’t be a stranger.
There is no single person that has been more divisive for Costa Mesa than Yellow Belly West. He even beats Righeimer for this distinguished award. Since Geoff has stopped blogging, many wounds have began to heal. Many sides that wouldn’t talk to each other are, and they are rallying behind Sandy Genis. Soon, Foley and Stephens will all be of the past and so will Yellow Belly West. A despicable and anger-riddled creature who has vilified and used venom to try to destroy the lives of concerned citizens, just because he doesn’t agree with them.
Thanks for your bravely taken anonymous stance against someone who refuses to request that I wad up your comment and toss it into the garbage.
Your screed makes clear to us what Geoff has been up against in his years of reporting on Costa Mesa’s politics — and what he has withstood with grace.
Greg, the character who used the name, “Where’s My Coffee?” purloined that moniker from a person who used to post on my blog. I know that person… your poster is NOT that person. Just an FYI in case folks might be confused. Your poster is a thief, and a deluded one, at that. Thanks for the forum.
Unless you — on behalf of either yourself or the original anonymous user of that name — want it to be taken down, I’m inclined to leave it up. They have been pretty well-refuted by now and I think that by now their gambit has become a net loser for them.