Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Missin' Chris Steel
A strange feeling has come over me lately. It's slightly
humiliating and difficult to explain, but I'll try...
I've found myself missing Chris Steel. I know, I know - you're asking yourself, "How can you miss that guy?! Wasn't he the most useless excuse for a city councilman we've had in recent years?" Of course, the answer to that second question is "Yes!"
However, today I long wistfully for the days when Chris would show up at council meetings with absolutely no clue about the agenda items. I miss the evenings when he would forget to vote on an issue, or vote the opposite of the way he intended. I miss those evenings when I would yell at my television set as I watched the city council meetings because Steel, with that deer-in-the-headlights look on his face, tried to follow the proceedings with limited success. I miss the failed attempts I made to stifle a laugh as he would bungle procedural matters. I miss him because he was clueless, hopeless and mostly harmless.
Today, as I watch our city council in action, there is no joy in my heart - only trepidation. Sometimes I feel a little like a batter at the plate, looking for a looping curve ball, but only seeing sneaky fastballs being fired past me. I frequently check my pockets after watching a council meeting, to make sure they haven't snatched my wallet - yet.
Today, I worry about the direction this city is taking, who is at the helm and, more important, who is navigating the course. What is clear to me is that this city took a neck-snapping hard turn to the right last November when Eric Bever was elected to the City Council and he joined Allan Mansoor and Gary Monahan - who, after ten years on the council, has finally shown us his true colors - in absolute control over this city.
As each day passes it becomes more and more clear just who is providing direction to this ruling troika. It becomes obvious to even the most casual observer that one particularly persistent activist in this town has become "Edgar Bergen" to the council majority's "Charlie McCarthy", as they echo his words and move his own personal agenda forward. This activist is so far to the right that, compared to him, Barry Goldwater would look like a communist.
It's easy to tell that this city is in trouble, because this activist smiles a lot these days. Basically, if he's happy, the city should be worried.
Because of his obvious influence, I fear for the first generation Americans living predominantly on the Westside of town. I worry for them and for their parents as the majority on the council proceeds down their path toward the methodical expulsion of this ethnic group from our borders. I fear that Costa Mesa, under the "leadership" of this council, may be the first city in the United States to try to enact it's own foreign policy.
While this is happening, the vast majority of the residents of this town just cruise along in blissful ignorance, oblivious to the shift taking place. I find myself wanting to reach out, take each one by the shoulders, give them a good shake and yell, "Wake Up!"
These are precarious times for Costa Mesa.
11:00 am pdt
I've found myself missing Chris Steel. I know, I know - you're asking yourself, "How can you miss that guy?! Wasn't he the most useless excuse for a city councilman we've had in recent years?" Of course, the answer to that second question is "Yes!"
However, today I long wistfully for the days when Chris would show up at council meetings with absolutely no clue about the agenda items. I miss the evenings when he would forget to vote on an issue, or vote the opposite of the way he intended. I miss those evenings when I would yell at my television set as I watched the city council meetings because Steel, with that deer-in-the-headlights look on his face, tried to follow the proceedings with limited success. I miss the failed attempts I made to stifle a laugh as he would bungle procedural matters. I miss him because he was clueless, hopeless and mostly harmless.
Today, as I watch our city council in action, there is no joy in my heart - only trepidation. Sometimes I feel a little like a batter at the plate, looking for a looping curve ball, but only seeing sneaky fastballs being fired past me. I frequently check my pockets after watching a council meeting, to make sure they haven't snatched my wallet - yet.
Today, I worry about the direction this city is taking, who is at the helm and, more important, who is navigating the course. What is clear to me is that this city took a neck-snapping hard turn to the right last November when Eric Bever was elected to the City Council and he joined Allan Mansoor and Gary Monahan - who, after ten years on the council, has finally shown us his true colors - in absolute control over this city.
As each day passes it becomes more and more clear just who is providing direction to this ruling troika. It becomes obvious to even the most casual observer that one particularly persistent activist in this town has become "Edgar Bergen" to the council majority's "Charlie McCarthy", as they echo his words and move his own personal agenda forward. This activist is so far to the right that, compared to him, Barry Goldwater would look like a communist.
It's easy to tell that this city is in trouble, because this activist smiles a lot these days. Basically, if he's happy, the city should be worried.
Because of his obvious influence, I fear for the first generation Americans living predominantly on the Westside of town. I worry for them and for their parents as the majority on the council proceeds down their path toward the methodical expulsion of this ethnic group from our borders. I fear that Costa Mesa, under the "leadership" of this council, may be the first city in the United States to try to enact it's own foreign policy.
While this is happening, the vast majority of the residents of this town just cruise along in blissful ignorance, oblivious to the shift taking place. I find myself wanting to reach out, take each one by the shoulders, give them a good shake and yell, "Wake Up!"
These are precarious times for Costa Mesa.
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