COSTA MESA : Politics Blamed for Censure of Glasgow

Supporters of City Councilman Ed Glasgow, who was censured by the council on Monday, blame the vote on politics that they say also brought down former Councilman Orville Amburgey.

Glasgow was reprimanded after the district attorney’s office investigated whether he and retired Costa Mesa police Lt. John A. Regan had acted illegally in monitoring computer messages exchanged by City Manager Allan L. Roeder and Police Chief David L. Snowden. The district attorney decided not to file charges against either man.

Glasgow and Amburgey were seen as allies on many issues, including efforts to withhold federal money used to help illegal aliens, and often sided with developers.

But Glasgow has been a lot quieter since the Nov. 6 election handed a sound defeat to Amburgey and replaced him with Jay Humphrey, a longtime advocate of slow growth with more liberal views than his predecessor.

Jim Ferryman, a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Sanitation District Board, said the current council will oppose developers and favor helping illegal aliens and charities such as Share Our Selves. Glasgow, he said, is the only remaining voice against the majority.

“I guess they’re hogs,” Ferryman said of the council majority. “Not only do they want a majority, but they want unanimous support on the council.”

Glasgow did not return telephone calls Tuesday, but has told friends he will not resign. However, the vote to censure may give several residents an extra push to organize a recall drive.

Iris Timmons, who said she has obtained petitions from the city to begin a recall campaign, said last week that she would wait to see if the council would censure Glasgow. She could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Mayor Mary Hornbuckle, before casting her vote to censure Glasgow, said his refusal to share the information he received from Regan with other council members harmed the council’s reputation.

“I’m not particularly relishing a vote against another council member, but I think it’s important that the community recognize that we’re not a committee of vigilantes acting on our own,” she said.