Getting over the curve

In a commentary in the Daily Pilot on May 28, Newport Beach City

Councilman Dick Nichols wrote: “I am new to the city government.”

The commentary, an explanation of sorts about Nichols’ statements

before the city’s Planning Commission that the direction a vote was

headed could be explained only by bribery, also laid out Nichols’

belief that “our city government should treat all residents

equitably.”

“I have become increasingly frustrated by what I perceive as a

lack of equal treatment of residents by the city government,” Nichols

wrote. “Nowhere was this more evident than at the May 22 meeting of

the Newport Beach Planning Commission.”

Still, his admission about his inexperience in city government was

a most telling part of his writing. And, in many respects, that

inexperience does give Nichols some benefit of the doubt.

I’ve covered the goings-on in numerous city halls, county

commissions and, briefly, the U.S. House and Senate. At all levels of

government, there is a learning curve for newcomers to elected

office.

That curve can be as long as two years -- a length of time I’ve

often heard as a minimum for really getting to know the job (and the

best argument, if you’re looking for one, against term limits, a

separate topic entirely).

The time can vary for a number of reasons, present and former

Costa Mesa elected officials say. (I kept away from Newport Beach

when asking about the learning curve to keep the answers from being

about Nichols specifically.)

Having a background in planning or city government and serving on

other city commissions tends to give people a leg up, but being too

involved can actually be a detriment.

“I think people who are activists or even bordering on gadfly

status have the hardest time because they begin to understand” all

the intricacies, from the state rules to council procedures, that

they didn’t have to focus on before, Costa Mesa Councilwoman Libby

Cowan said.

Former Costa Mesa Mayor Sandy Genis, now a council regular,

pointed out: “It takes a little bit to find out what you don’t know.”

And, Costa Mesa Mayor Gary Monahan said the time can vary for a

singular reason: the efforts of each council member.

“It also depends on the amount of time and effort you put in,”

Monahan said, adding that he kept quiet for six months as he watched

and learned.

Even after eight years -- the amount of time Genis spent on the

council -- there are still things to learn, Genis said.

There also are the “little goofy things that will throw you,”

Genis said, such as being sent to talk to a particular staff member

the new (even relatively new) council member has never heard of

before.

Campaigning, Genis said, is one fast way to learn another tricky

part of the trade: which issues are important to residents.

Separate entirely from understanding variances, conditional use

permits and environmental impact reports (a term the Daily Pilot

frowns on), elected officials also have to learn how to handle people

and personalities, Genis said.

It can take several months just to know all the players and which

issues they care about, she said.

Cowan, too, stressed the need to learn how to put together

coalitions and to collaborate and compromise.

And a new council member has to “get used to the bright lights” of

elected office, Cowan added.

Those lights are almost always on.

“You’re a public figure 24 hours a day,” Monahan said.

Finally, it is important to note that while elected officials

eventually sweep around to the end of the learning curve, it never

gets easy.

“It’s a position that absolutely requires work and diligence,”

Cowan said.

* S.J. CAHN is the managing editor. He can be reached at (949)

574-4233 or by e-mail at [email protected].