Monday, October 17, 2005
Musical Chairs
After Gary Monahan dropped a bombshell a couple weeks ago
when he announced his intent to step down as Mayor Pro Tem,
there has been much speculation about who might be selected to
fill that role.
In less contentious times there would be a couple obvious choices for this mostly ceremonial position. Councilwoman and former mayor Linda Dixon has experience on the dais and might be a good choice. Councilwoman Katrina Foley has very significant experience on the Planning Commission - including a term as Chairperson - has demonstrated a clear grasp of most issues and a high energy level, so would be an excellent choice.
However, I suspect what will happen is that the male majority will anoint Eric Bever for this position. This will be a poor choice. Not only does Bever lack leadership experience, but he has shown himself to be unpredictable, erratic, disrespectful and flippant during his term on the council and while on the Planning Commission.
The selection for Monahan's replacement is the very last item on the agenda for the council meeting on October 18th, so it's very likely that it will occur near or after midnight - when few observers will be conscious, much less available for comment on the issue. It won't make any difference, though, because the majority on the council has shown us repeatedly that they really don't care what others think - they just go forward, doing their own thing.
Mature leadership on the Costa Mesa City Council continues to be an ethereal commodity.
2:19 pm pdt
In less contentious times there would be a couple obvious choices for this mostly ceremonial position. Councilwoman and former mayor Linda Dixon has experience on the dais and might be a good choice. Councilwoman Katrina Foley has very significant experience on the Planning Commission - including a term as Chairperson - has demonstrated a clear grasp of most issues and a high energy level, so would be an excellent choice.
However, I suspect what will happen is that the male majority will anoint Eric Bever for this position. This will be a poor choice. Not only does Bever lack leadership experience, but he has shown himself to be unpredictable, erratic, disrespectful and flippant during his term on the council and while on the Planning Commission.
The selection for Monahan's replacement is the very last item on the agenda for the council meeting on October 18th, so it's very likely that it will occur near or after midnight - when few observers will be conscious, much less available for comment on the issue. It won't make any difference, though, because the majority on the council has shown us repeatedly that they really don't care what others think - they just go forward, doing their own thing.
Mature leadership on the Costa Mesa City Council continues to be an ethereal commodity.
No comments:
Post a Comment