Thursday, August 18, 2005
Does Anyone Care?
In response to my last entry - now available for viewing via
the link to archive 2005.08.14 at the bottom of this page - one
person here in town who apparently shares some of my views
dropped me a little note to comment on my observations. This
person concurs with much of what I said, but wondered how many
other people in our city know or care. Comments, taken directly
from the email to me, are as follows: "Like you, I wonder if
anyone notices and if so, do they care? By the time they care
will too much harm have been done? Why is yours seemingly the
only voice out there? Is it possible that a majority of the
thinking people in this town agree with what's going on?"
That last question is particularly interesting. I find myself hoping the answer is a resounding "No!", but it's hard to tell. As the old saying goes, "The silence is deafening."
Here in Costa Mesa there is a small cadre of people who appear before the City Council or appointed commissions with any regularity. Having watched for the past few years, I estimate that fewer than two dozen people are "regulars", with an equal number appearing sporadically. Yes, many others appear and participate, but usually only when their particular ox is about to be gored.
That small group of people control the destiny of this city as they attempt to influence the decision-makers. Unfortunately, a few - too many, in my view - of this group are disciples of one particularly persistent and insidious activist - the "navigator" I mentioned in my last posting. The objectives of this person have become crystal clear over the years and he now has a City Council over which he can exercise much influence.
My correspondent and I are uneasy about the direction this city seems to be taking and are concerned that so few people seem to be aware of it, much less care about it. We both fear that, without more light being cast on this change in direction, the city may slide down this slippery slope to a point where retrieval may be impossible.
Here's a little quiz for you. See how many answers you can come up with:
What are the names of the current members of our City Council? When were they elected and when does their current term expire?
What are the names of their appointees on the Planning Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission?
These fifteen people affect our lives every single day. They make decisions about how our streets are maintained, how many police officers and fire fighters are hired and how large a home can be built next door to you. They decide what kinds of trees will adorn our parks, who may use our playing fields and when. They establish the ordinances and policies that, for example, decide whether there will be a Job Center in our town, whether graffiti will be removed, whether abandoned shopping carts are to be retrieved and where you can park in this city. The list goes on and on. If you don't know their names, you should. Go to the city web site - a link is available on my Useful Links page - to find out the names of these people who so directly affect your lives.
The Daily Pilot, in their feature article last Sunday which discussed local bloggers, quoted me saying that if, by reading my blog, 50 more people in the community decided to get involved I would be a happy guy. That's very true. If you read these pages and are enticed, motivated or provoked to take a more active part in our community, my goal will have been met.
For those of you who read this and are curious, please find a way to begin following the activities in our city beginning right now. There are resources available to you on the city web site and in the archives of the Daily Pilot to help you get up to speed. You can attend the City Council, Planning Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission meetings - there are usually plenty of seats available. Or, you can do as I usually do - watch the proceedings on our local cable television channel.
Of course, you could visit this web log frequently to see what I think about issues, but I don't recommend it as your only source of information. My opinion is only that - my opinion. It's based on my observations of conditions within our community. If you wish to include my opinions among the viewpoints available to you for consideration it's fine with me, but please cast a broader net and make your decisions based on an informed position. That same city web site mentioned above will also provide you a way to contact your elected and appointed officials directly - just in case you have an opinion to express.
To those of you who don't care, please feel free to jam your head back in the sand, cross your fingers and hope that I'm wrong. We'll find out soon enough...
2:26 pm pdt
That last question is particularly interesting. I find myself hoping the answer is a resounding "No!", but it's hard to tell. As the old saying goes, "The silence is deafening."
Here in Costa Mesa there is a small cadre of people who appear before the City Council or appointed commissions with any regularity. Having watched for the past few years, I estimate that fewer than two dozen people are "regulars", with an equal number appearing sporadically. Yes, many others appear and participate, but usually only when their particular ox is about to be gored.
That small group of people control the destiny of this city as they attempt to influence the decision-makers. Unfortunately, a few - too many, in my view - of this group are disciples of one particularly persistent and insidious activist - the "navigator" I mentioned in my last posting. The objectives of this person have become crystal clear over the years and he now has a City Council over which he can exercise much influence.
My correspondent and I are uneasy about the direction this city seems to be taking and are concerned that so few people seem to be aware of it, much less care about it. We both fear that, without more light being cast on this change in direction, the city may slide down this slippery slope to a point where retrieval may be impossible.
Here's a little quiz for you. See how many answers you can come up with:
What are the names of the current members of our City Council? When were they elected and when does their current term expire?
What are the names of their appointees on the Planning Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission?
These fifteen people affect our lives every single day. They make decisions about how our streets are maintained, how many police officers and fire fighters are hired and how large a home can be built next door to you. They decide what kinds of trees will adorn our parks, who may use our playing fields and when. They establish the ordinances and policies that, for example, decide whether there will be a Job Center in our town, whether graffiti will be removed, whether abandoned shopping carts are to be retrieved and where you can park in this city. The list goes on and on. If you don't know their names, you should. Go to the city web site - a link is available on my Useful Links page - to find out the names of these people who so directly affect your lives.
The Daily Pilot, in their feature article last Sunday which discussed local bloggers, quoted me saying that if, by reading my blog, 50 more people in the community decided to get involved I would be a happy guy. That's very true. If you read these pages and are enticed, motivated or provoked to take a more active part in our community, my goal will have been met.
For those of you who read this and are curious, please find a way to begin following the activities in our city beginning right now. There are resources available to you on the city web site and in the archives of the Daily Pilot to help you get up to speed. You can attend the City Council, Planning Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission meetings - there are usually plenty of seats available. Or, you can do as I usually do - watch the proceedings on our local cable television channel.
Of course, you could visit this web log frequently to see what I think about issues, but I don't recommend it as your only source of information. My opinion is only that - my opinion. It's based on my observations of conditions within our community. If you wish to include my opinions among the viewpoints available to you for consideration it's fine with me, but please cast a broader net and make your decisions based on an informed position. That same city web site mentioned above will also provide you a way to contact your elected and appointed officials directly - just in case you have an opinion to express.
To those of you who don't care, please feel free to jam your head back in the sand, cross your fingers and hope that I'm wrong. We'll find out soon enough...
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