3 Costa Mesa council candidates are on common ground at forum
At the beginning of the latest Costa Mesa City Council candidates forum, moderator Harold Weitzberg reminded the candidates to stick to the questions asked and not interrupt one another.
That wasn’t a problem Thursday. The only three candidates present — Mesa Verde residents Sandy Genis, Jay Humphrey and John Stephens — are supporting one another in the campaign for the Nov. 8 election.
Near the end of the hour-and-a-half forum presented by the Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbors’ Group, Genis, an incumbent council member, was asked what she feels makes her the best candidate.
“I am one of three best candidates for Costa Mesa City Council,” Genis told the crowd of more than 100, referring to herself and her compatriots.
Jeff McConville, a director of the Eastside group, said the organization invited all seven council candidates to participate.
Also running for the three available seats are Mayor Steve Mensinger, who is seeking a second term, former councilman and state Assembly member Allan Mansoor, city senior and pension commissioner Lee Ramos and Al Melone, a member of the city Pension Oversight Committee.
“There’s a lot at stake here in our city right now, a lot of changes going on,” McConville told those attending the forum at the Neighborhood Community Center. “We are grateful for the candidates who cared enough to show up to our candidates forum.”
The three who did attend found common ground on several issues. All said the city needs to explore additional ways to curb the negative effects of sober-living homes and do more to support and rebuild the ranks of its fire and police departments.
All also were critical of high-density residential development in Costa Mesa, citing the possible repercussions for traffic and local quality of life.
But they differed slightly on Measure Y, a proposed growth-control initiative that’s also up for a vote next month.
The measure would require approval from voters, as well as the City Council, for some large development projects.
Genis and Humphrey — a former councilman and retired pharmaceutical distribution executive — support the measure and said it would provide residents with much-needed sway in how the city grows in coming years.
“The public could very easily choose to approve a given development if that developer can, in fact, demonstrate why the impacts are balanced with the benefits,” Humphrey said.
Stephens, a business litigation attorney, was a bit more hesitant. He said he’ll probably vote for the measure in November but that he’s concerned about possibly curtailing commercial development.
The best thing for residents concerned about high-density building to do, he said, “is to change the complexion of the City Council.”
All three candidates criticized the current council majority’s decisions to sponsor several ballot measures to compete against some authored by local residents.
Eight measures are on November’s city ballot, the most ever for Costa Mesa in one election.
Such a high number, Stephens said, “is a symptom of distrust in our City Council.” He called the council majority’s decision to sponsor its own set of initiatives “insidious, horrible.”
A way to mend fences between the public and City Hall, all three candidates said, is for council members to treat residents with more respect and take the community’s input to heart.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that whatever I have between my ears is nothing compared to what all of you have between yours,” Humphrey said. “So it’s really important to hear what you say and treat you with respect and dignity.”
Genis said residents need to “have the power to determine their future and control their community” and be able to check the council when necessary.
Thursday’s event was recorded and will be posted next week on the Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbors’ Group website, eastsidecm.org, McConville said.
Neither of the two candidate forums held before Thursday had all seven candidates present.
Melone did not participate in the Feet to the Fire Forum in August. Mensinger, Mansoor and Ramos, who are cooperating on their campaigns using the name “Team Costa Mesa,” didn’t attend a forum that local homeowners association Mesa Verde Community Inc. sponsored that month.
No other candidate forums have been announced publicly.
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
