Council candidates solidify stances on Costa Mesa issues

It was a packed house at the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center on Thursday night for the third and final forum for the City Council candidates, who answered questions on issues including the proposed city charter, development and Fairview Park’s future.

The event, sponsored by the Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbors’ Group, which describes itself as nonpartisan, had seven of the eight candidates speaking to an estimated crowd of 300. Two seats on the five-member council are up for election Nov. 4.

In attendance were Mayor Jim Righeimer, who is running for re-election; Newport-Mesa school board Trustee Katrina Foley, a former councilwoman; congressional aide Tony Capitelli; sports agent Christopher Bunyan; retired AAA consultant Rita Simpson; certified public accountant Al Melone and retired businessman Jay Humphrey, a former councilman.

Retired businessman Lee Ramos, who also serves on the Fairview Park committee, did not attend.

John Stephens, who ran unsuccessfully for the council in 2012 and is a member of the city’s Pension Oversight Committee, was the moderator. The attorney, who ran two years ago on a platform in opposition to the Righeimer-led council majority, emphasized that Thursday’s event was not a debate but a forum with “tough and direct” questions for the candidates that members of the Eastside group felt were important.

One of the questions was about new development, particularly high-density units, which Stephens contended can bring effects such as increased traffic.

“The best answer is no,” Humphrey said of new high-density projects. “The reality is we are highly densifying our city right now.”

Bunyan was critical of city decision-makers “rubber stamping” any development through City Hall, and said developers are contributing to Righeimer’s reelection campaign.

“We can’t sustain the population we have now,” he said. “I believe in reasonable development that does not encroach upon your life.”

On suggested measures intended to help prevent proliferation of rehabilitation homes, some of which are known to be problematic to neighborhoods, Righeimer credited the work of a task force he created to deal with the homes’ effects. He also mentioned an ordinance going to the council Tuesday that would make the homes apply for special licenses, among other provisions.

“We are laying out the impacts that [the group homes] cause,” Righeimer said. “You cannot discriminate based on alcoholism or drugs … but what you can say is there are impacts.”

Stephens asked about recruiting efforts for the Police Department, which has fewer officers than it is authorized to have.

Simpson said Costa Mesa needs to recruit trained officers from across the nation. “Our city is like a resort to many police departments that face many more serious issues,” she said.

Foley cited problems with burglaries in College Park, Mesa Verde and her neighborhood, Mesa del Mar. She called for a more collaborative, less politicized environment between the council and police.

“We have actually lost many, many officers to other adjoining neighbors … there’s really just no reason for it,” Foley said.

On the possibility of medical marijuana dispensaries in Costa Mesa, Melone said he doesn’t necessarily want to see non-medical marijuana legalized.

Capitelli urged city control of the drug. “You do have to regulate it and manage it appropriately,” he said.

Foley and Humphrey were critical of the proposed city charter, dubbed Measure O on the November ballot.

Humphrey said that unlike the U.S. Constitution, Costa Mesa’s version of its constitution has no bill of rights.

Foley called the document, created by a special committee and approved by the council majority, a “power grab” by the councilmen.

Simpson said she supports the charter because it provides power to Costa Mesans, not Sacramento lawmakers. “We need the charter,” she said.

Bunyan urged no further development in Fairview Park. His motto was “Save it, don’t pave it.”

“This is Costa Mesa’s Yosemite,” Bunyan said.

Righeimer said the council recently has been approving projects that already were planned for Fairview Park but had lacked funding, such as a turnaround space at the end of Pacific Avenue, in the park’s southwest quadrant. That addition originally was planned to be a parking lot but was downgraded by the council to a turnaround without parking spaces.

“Nobody cared about the park until this council came up there and started funding [things],” Righeimer said.

Capitelli and Righeimer decried the unsustainable nature of the city’s pension program, which is estimated to have a $228 million unfunded liability.

Capitelli said employees should contribute more to the pension plans. “My generation is continuously plagued with previous generations living large,” he said.

Melone urged City Hall to restore its reserve funding before addressing pension debts. “We need cash in the bank to meet these increasing bills,” he said.

The Eastside forum will be available for viewing on YouTube and linked on the group’s website, https://www.eastsidecm.org.