Tuesday, September 5, 2006
Ready! - Fire! - Aim! (The Mayor Strikes Again)
If I were a member of the Costa Mesa Police Department, right
about now I would be shaking my head and wondering about the
future of law enforcement in this city. I certainly wouldn't
plan on supporting the mayor during his run for re-election in
November after watching him in action tonight.
At the City Council meeting tonight, Mayor Allan Mansoor demonstrated once again that his political agenda and his own opinion takes precedence over the views of law enforcement leaders in this city. He showed us that his re-election is much more important to him than the safety of the residents of this city.
At the very tail end of that meeting the subject of offering a reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of perpetrators of the recent shootings in our town was discussed. This was in response to our young jailer/mayor's hastily called press conference on August 18th, during which he told the assembled news media that he would ask his peers on the council to consider a reward. You may recall that I referred to this as political grandstanding at the time. My view hasn't changed. In fact, tonight's action by the mayor only emphasized that his move was purely political and had nothing to do with enhancing law enforcement in this city.
During the debate of this issue interim Police Chief Staveley was asked to address the council, to provide his expertise gained by more than 40 years in law enforcement, most of which have been in leadership positions. The chief had apparently provided the council with a confidential report on the progress being made on the several murders we've had in Costa Mesa in recent months. During the discussion, in response to specific questions by councilwomen Foley and Dixon, the chief implied that this might not be the right time to offer a reward - that a reward at this time would flood his staff with many useless leads, each of which would have to be followed up. The chief implied, but didn't state specifically to avoid the confidentiality of the investigations, that good progress was being made without resorting to a reward.
However, Mayor Mansoor had already made up his mind. In fact, it's likely he had it made up on August 18th, and nothing was going to change it. He completely ignored the chief - a man with impeccable credentials and experience - and made a motion to offer the reward. Councilwoman Foley offered a substitute motion which, more reasonably, gave the chief the option to offer a reward when, and if, he felt the investigations had come up dry. Dixon supported that motion, but it was rejected by the male majority. The mayor's motion was then passed 4-1, with Foley voting no.
This was an amazing event to watch. Mansoor and his shadow, Eric Bever, were in lock-step on the issue, but Gary Monahan clearly only voted with them because Mansoor had "let the cat out to the bag", as Monahan attempted to say. He felt that there was now an expectation of a reward being offered and to not to so would show a lack of commitment by the council to the resolution of the crimes. He was just basically covering Mansoor's butt.
This is not the first time our young jailer/mayor has ignored the views of his top law enforcement professional. He didn't consult with Chief Hensley last December when he launched his ICE proposal and ignored his views in March when they were finally presented to the council. This time he just shrugged off the current chief's recommendation simply because he'd already made up his mind.
Mayor Mansoor, with his actions at this meeting, has demonstrated for us all just how ill-prepared he is for a position on our city council, much less as mayor. His stubborn reluctance to listen to skilled professionals on his staff doesn't serve this community well. This is yet another reason to not return him to the council in November.
11:27 pm pdt
At the City Council meeting tonight, Mayor Allan Mansoor demonstrated once again that his political agenda and his own opinion takes precedence over the views of law enforcement leaders in this city. He showed us that his re-election is much more important to him than the safety of the residents of this city.
At the very tail end of that meeting the subject of offering a reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of perpetrators of the recent shootings in our town was discussed. This was in response to our young jailer/mayor's hastily called press conference on August 18th, during which he told the assembled news media that he would ask his peers on the council to consider a reward. You may recall that I referred to this as political grandstanding at the time. My view hasn't changed. In fact, tonight's action by the mayor only emphasized that his move was purely political and had nothing to do with enhancing law enforcement in this city.
During the debate of this issue interim Police Chief Staveley was asked to address the council, to provide his expertise gained by more than 40 years in law enforcement, most of which have been in leadership positions. The chief had apparently provided the council with a confidential report on the progress being made on the several murders we've had in Costa Mesa in recent months. During the discussion, in response to specific questions by councilwomen Foley and Dixon, the chief implied that this might not be the right time to offer a reward - that a reward at this time would flood his staff with many useless leads, each of which would have to be followed up. The chief implied, but didn't state specifically to avoid the confidentiality of the investigations, that good progress was being made without resorting to a reward.
However, Mayor Mansoor had already made up his mind. In fact, it's likely he had it made up on August 18th, and nothing was going to change it. He completely ignored the chief - a man with impeccable credentials and experience - and made a motion to offer the reward. Councilwoman Foley offered a substitute motion which, more reasonably, gave the chief the option to offer a reward when, and if, he felt the investigations had come up dry. Dixon supported that motion, but it was rejected by the male majority. The mayor's motion was then passed 4-1, with Foley voting no.
This was an amazing event to watch. Mansoor and his shadow, Eric Bever, were in lock-step on the issue, but Gary Monahan clearly only voted with them because Mansoor had "let the cat out to the bag", as Monahan attempted to say. He felt that there was now an expectation of a reward being offered and to not to so would show a lack of commitment by the council to the resolution of the crimes. He was just basically covering Mansoor's butt.
This is not the first time our young jailer/mayor has ignored the views of his top law enforcement professional. He didn't consult with Chief Hensley last December when he launched his ICE proposal and ignored his views in March when they were finally presented to the council. This time he just shrugged off the current chief's recommendation simply because he'd already made up his mind.
Mayor Mansoor, with his actions at this meeting, has demonstrated for us all just how ill-prepared he is for a position on our city council, much less as mayor. His stubborn reluctance to listen to skilled professionals on his staff doesn't serve this community well. This is yet another reason to not return him to the council in November.
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