Mansoor will serve 2nd term as mayor

Costa Mesa residents can expect two more years of the same political direction, after the City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to give Allan Mansoor another two-year term as mayor and Eric Bever two more years as mayor pro tempore.

Mansoor served as mayor in 2005 and 2006, and in November he won reelection to the council.

Winning another term as mayor makes his victory complete. The central topic in his campaign was local enforcement of illegal immigration laws, but a surprise offer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement in mid-November ended in an agreement that placed a full-time federal immigration agent in the city jail beginning this week.

In his campaign, he urged supporters to also vote for parks commissioner Wendy Leece, who agreed with Mansoor’s conservative agenda. She won the other open seat on the council, which secures Mansoor’s 3-2 majority on the council.

Mansoor last week wouldn’t say whether he was interested in remaining mayor, but he didn’t raise any objections when Bever nominated him Tuesday.

The unanimous votes may be a sign that Councilwomen Linda Dixon and Katrina Foley, after backing two losing candidates who opposed Mansoor and Leece in the election, are tired of fighting.

In an interview last week, Dixon — a former mayor — said that before she would support Mansoor as mayor for another term, she’d want to know why someone else who’s capable wouldn’t get a chance.

On Tuesday, Dixon nominated Bever for mayor, and the ceremonial post has sometimes gone to whomever has been mayor pro tempore, but no one seconded that motion.

QUESTION

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