Letter to the Editor -- Geoff West

As a longtime Costa Mesa resident -- 28 years and counting -- I have

been concerned about our present City Council and its apparent inability

to work together to get things done in our city. For months I have

struggled with feelings of extreme frustration as, month after month, the

council seemed to blow in the wind on almost any issue you care to

discuss. They, as a group, seem to lack the ability to focus, analyze,

prioritize and act on the many serious issues that face this city.

Byron de Arakal’s column (“Merrily on our way to nowhere at all,”

April 3) was a masterful piece of work. He managed, in his own special

way, to hit the nail right on the head. As he stated in his column, “It’s

as if the mother ship has a guitar pick for a rudder and dysfunction for

a captain.” That’s a perfect description of how the leadership of this

city is operating these days.

On Monday, April 1, I sat at home and watched as much of the council

proceedings as I could stomach. I stayed up until the bitter end, which

turned out to be just after 1:30 Tuesday morning, hoping for signs of

accomplishment. I went to bed disappointed.

I know that the members of the City Council have chosen to make

sacrifices in their lives for the overall well-being of the city. I’m

sure that each of the current council members try to do a good job.

Unfortunately, as a group, they are just plain ineffective. There is no

leadership evident, as witnessed by the frequent breakdown of decorum

during the council meetings.

Over the past months I have watched council meetings, looking for

signs that would help me decide who, if any, of the current crop deserves

my vote next time around. Painfully, the answer is none of them do.

Mayor Linda Dixon, who is probably a very nice person, is in over her

head. It’s absolutely no surprise to me that the Downtown and Eastside

Transportation Ad Hoc Committee has accomplished so little since it was

formed way back last summer. Clearly, she provides no more leadership for

that committee than she does at council meetings. She seems much more

concerned with “fluff” than the nuts and bolts of keeping a city running.

Gary Monahan has chosen to take himself out of the running next time

around but is clearly frustrated by the way things are going on the

council. He makes no effort to hide that fact.

Karen Robinson seems to be uninformed on issues facing the council.

She appears to have way too much on her plate these days, and her

performance on the council suffers because of it.

Libby Cowan is clearly the strongest personality on the council. As

she sits beside Linda Dixon on the dais, you can almost see her pulling

the strings. She has clearly displayed her own agenda, which has more to

do with empire building than consensus building, over the past months.

Her unwillingness to take a firm stand on issues that affect her employer

-- and our neighboring city -- should disqualify her from further

consideration.

Chris Steel is, well, Chris Steel. Not only does he attempt to appeal

to the basest parts of human nature, he lacks the ability to articulate

whatever is going on in his head. He is a perfect example of what happens

when the electorate doesn’t take an interest in the process. There were

good reasons he ran unsuccessfully so many times in the past. Perhaps

nothing else more accurately defines Steel than the entry on the official

city of Costa Mesa Web site. At the link that introduces the City

Council, with photos and summaries of professional accomplishments,

beside his photo is a blank page.

The leadership vacuum in this city is so great that you can almost

feel the life being sucked out. Without clear, strong leadership, this

city is in big trouble. Without clear direction from the council, the

city staff will continue to run around in circles, trying to guess what

kind of a curveball the council will throw next. Do you suppose

exceptional public servants like City Manager Allan Roeder would even

consider another job if he was satisfied with the leadership in this

city? Neither do I.

It’s getting to the point where it might be better to just recall them

all and start over.

Do you suppose it would be possible to Shanghai Peter Buffa and Joe

Erickson for another tour on the good ship Costa Mesa (by-the-sea)?

Again, my thanks to Byron de Arakal for stating the problem so

clearly.

GEOFF WEST

Costa Mesa