Saturday, October 7, 2006
Shoveling Through The Blizzard
With a month to go until the elections, I fully expect to see
some very bizarre things happen as candidates bump and shove
their way down the home stretch. I won't be surprised to see
attempted character assassination and dirty tricks before the
votes are cast.
Today's mail brought with it the first of what will likely be a blizzard of campaign flyers. Included in this first barrage were two flyers that looked as though they'd been printed at the same place, using the same ink and same templates. Guess who they represented - that's right, our young jailer/mayor Allan Mansoor and his anointed running mate, Wendy Leece!
Lest anyone question whether they are running as a "slate", their respective flyers have photos of themselves with the other and echo each other's phrases. Poor Wendy. She apparently can't figure out how to run her own campaign, so she strapped herself onto Mansoor's hip and will just ride along, wherever he takes her.
In case you're wondering where her support comes from, the cover photo on her flyer tells it all. There she sits, hunkered down with Mansoor at his fundraiser this summer with Minuteman supporters in the background. On the back of the flyer, in bold letters, they tell us that "Wendy Leece is the ONLY candidate endorsed by Mayor Allan Mansoor." Well, duh!
What really cracks me up about Wendy's flyer is the statement "The Independent Voice for Costa Mesa", which is shown three times on the flyer. Give me a break! How in the world can she describe herself as "independent" when most of the phrases on her flyer are peeled word for word from Mansoor's? It proves that Wendy will just be an echo of Mansoor and his buddy, Eric Bever, if she is elected. She'll be able to just mail in her proxy at each council meeting.
Mansoor has some very peculiar comments on his flyer, too. For example, he is quoted as stating, "My background and experience working with all levels of government has given me a unique ability to cut through red tape and bureaucracy to obtain positive results for our City." Well, I've watched him in action for the past four years. What that comment means is, "I've got the majority locked up so I can ignore public input, expert opinion of the city staff - including the chief of police - and minority members of the city council and do any darn thing I please!"
If you don't believe me, just look at his record. He has consistently ignored the views of the last two police chiefs to the detriment of public safety in Costa Mesa. He's ignored the views of the two women on the city council to the point of rudeness. He's attempted to cut off their comments and those by members of the public when their opinions didn't agree with him. He's become a virtual dictator on the dais.
When you look at the list of endorsers on Mansoor's flyer you'll find only a handful of Costa Mesa residents - the rest are folks who cannot vote in our city. This is the same ratio found on his campaign finance disclosure forms recently - the vast majority of his dollars come from contributors outside the city - many of which are Minuteman members.
The Mayor and Ms. Leece both have track records in this community. They've both demonstrated that they lack the wisdom and skill to govern this city. They both have demonstrated that, rather than build consensus within the community, they choose to be tools of divisiveness and turmoil. Rather than be the voices of reason and leadership they allow themselves to be the mouthpiece for the forces of intolerance in this city. Rather than work for the good of all residents they allow themselves to be manipulated by a small group of self-possessed malcontents, intent on turning the clock back a half century.
Contrast the Mansoor/Leece flyers with the one also in the mail today from the folks at Return to Reason. This flyer is an open letter to the residents of this city, signed by former Police Chief Dave Snowden and former Mayors Joe Erickson and Mary Hornbuckle - true pillars of this community. Unlike Mansoor/Leece flyers, this flyer is not full of contrived, empty campaign phrases and rhetoric. It simply and clearly lays out why they decided to join Return to Reason and work to elect Bruce Garlich and Mike Scheafer to the city council. The list of supporters of that organization shown on their web site at www.return2reason.org is a virtual Who's Who of Costa Mesa residents - a broad cross-section of dedicated volunteers, elected leaders and ordinary folks who work tirelessly to make this city a better place.
The decision on November 7th is very simple. Just ask yourself whether you want to vote for someone who doesn't have the support of Costa Mesans, nor their public safety organizations. Ask yourself if you want to vote for someone who receives most of his financial support from people outside this city, including some far right wing radical organizations. Ask yourself if you want to place this city in the hands of a majority that takes their marching orders from one of the most controversial and overt racists ever to make Costa Mesa his home.
Or, do you want to return the governance of this city to the hands of dedicated, intelligent, mature leaders who have proven their concern for this city through decades of public service? Do you want this city to, once again, be known for it's dedication to the arts instead of being known worldwide as a haven for bigotry? Do you want this city governed by dedicated men and women who work to make this a safe place for all residents instead of pandering to a vocal, angry few?
As I said, the decision is simple.
10:45 pm pdt
Today's mail brought with it the first of what will likely be a blizzard of campaign flyers. Included in this first barrage were two flyers that looked as though they'd been printed at the same place, using the same ink and same templates. Guess who they represented - that's right, our young jailer/mayor Allan Mansoor and his anointed running mate, Wendy Leece!
Lest anyone question whether they are running as a "slate", their respective flyers have photos of themselves with the other and echo each other's phrases. Poor Wendy. She apparently can't figure out how to run her own campaign, so she strapped herself onto Mansoor's hip and will just ride along, wherever he takes her.
In case you're wondering where her support comes from, the cover photo on her flyer tells it all. There she sits, hunkered down with Mansoor at his fundraiser this summer with Minuteman supporters in the background. On the back of the flyer, in bold letters, they tell us that "Wendy Leece is the ONLY candidate endorsed by Mayor Allan Mansoor." Well, duh!
What really cracks me up about Wendy's flyer is the statement "The Independent Voice for Costa Mesa", which is shown three times on the flyer. Give me a break! How in the world can she describe herself as "independent" when most of the phrases on her flyer are peeled word for word from Mansoor's? It proves that Wendy will just be an echo of Mansoor and his buddy, Eric Bever, if she is elected. She'll be able to just mail in her proxy at each council meeting.
Mansoor has some very peculiar comments on his flyer, too. For example, he is quoted as stating, "My background and experience working with all levels of government has given me a unique ability to cut through red tape and bureaucracy to obtain positive results for our City." Well, I've watched him in action for the past four years. What that comment means is, "I've got the majority locked up so I can ignore public input, expert opinion of the city staff - including the chief of police - and minority members of the city council and do any darn thing I please!"
If you don't believe me, just look at his record. He has consistently ignored the views of the last two police chiefs to the detriment of public safety in Costa Mesa. He's ignored the views of the two women on the city council to the point of rudeness. He's attempted to cut off their comments and those by members of the public when their opinions didn't agree with him. He's become a virtual dictator on the dais.
When you look at the list of endorsers on Mansoor's flyer you'll find only a handful of Costa Mesa residents - the rest are folks who cannot vote in our city. This is the same ratio found on his campaign finance disclosure forms recently - the vast majority of his dollars come from contributors outside the city - many of which are Minuteman members.
The Mayor and Ms. Leece both have track records in this community. They've both demonstrated that they lack the wisdom and skill to govern this city. They both have demonstrated that, rather than build consensus within the community, they choose to be tools of divisiveness and turmoil. Rather than be the voices of reason and leadership they allow themselves to be the mouthpiece for the forces of intolerance in this city. Rather than work for the good of all residents they allow themselves to be manipulated by a small group of self-possessed malcontents, intent on turning the clock back a half century.
Contrast the Mansoor/Leece flyers with the one also in the mail today from the folks at Return to Reason. This flyer is an open letter to the residents of this city, signed by former Police Chief Dave Snowden and former Mayors Joe Erickson and Mary Hornbuckle - true pillars of this community. Unlike Mansoor/Leece flyers, this flyer is not full of contrived, empty campaign phrases and rhetoric. It simply and clearly lays out why they decided to join Return to Reason and work to elect Bruce Garlich and Mike Scheafer to the city council. The list of supporters of that organization shown on their web site at www.return2reason.org is a virtual Who's Who of Costa Mesa residents - a broad cross-section of dedicated volunteers, elected leaders and ordinary folks who work tirelessly to make this city a better place.
The decision on November 7th is very simple. Just ask yourself whether you want to vote for someone who doesn't have the support of Costa Mesans, nor their public safety organizations. Ask yourself if you want to vote for someone who receives most of his financial support from people outside this city, including some far right wing radical organizations. Ask yourself if you want to place this city in the hands of a majority that takes their marching orders from one of the most controversial and overt racists ever to make Costa Mesa his home.
Or, do you want to return the governance of this city to the hands of dedicated, intelligent, mature leaders who have proven their concern for this city through decades of public service? Do you want this city to, once again, be known for it's dedication to the arts instead of being known worldwide as a haven for bigotry? Do you want this city governed by dedicated men and women who work to make this a safe place for all residents instead of pandering to a vocal, angry few?
As I said, the decision is simple.
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