Mensinger and Monahan prepare to leave Costa Mesa council

Costa Mesa’s mayor and one of its longest-serving City Council members will say their goodbyes Tuesday — ushering in a new balance of power on the five-member body.

The upcoming council meeting will be the last for both Mayor Steve Mensinger, who fell short in his reelection bid last month, and Councilman Gary Monahan, who is termed out of office this year.

Mensinger originally joined the council as an appointee in January 2011 and won election to a four-year term in 2012.

With three seats up for grabs in this year’s election, Mensinger finished fourth behind the triumphant trio of Councilwoman Sandy Genis, attorney John Stephens and former councilman and state Assembly member Allan Mansoor.

“I’m grateful to have served and I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to be part of Costa Mesa’s history,” said Mensinger, 54.

Monahan, 57, served three consecutive terms on the council starting in 1994. He left due to term limits in 2006 but was elected again in 2008 and 2012.

Monahan also served one term on the Costa Mesa Sanitary District board. He ran for that office again this year but finished well behind the two reelected incumbents.

Monahan said he’s proud of the little things he was able to accomplish on the council.

“It’s the resident that calls you and says, ‘Hey, I got a problem’ and whatever it may be, you fix it,” he said Thursday. “You pick up the phone, call somebody on staff and they fix it. That’s really the most important stuff, as far as I’m concerned.”

Mensinger pointed to city investments in local infrastructure and to the city’s improved economic and business climate as major accomplishments during his tenure.

“You’re competing for people to live in your city,” he said Thursday. “You’re competing for the best and brightest with new cities like Irvine, so you have to have good infrastructure and you have to have a good business environment. Businesses want good streets and businesses want to be proud of where they’re located.”

A new majority

Over the years, Mensinger and Monahan, along with Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, have made up the majority voting bloc on the council.

Many observers believe that Genis, Stephens and Councilwoman Katrina Foley will forge a new controlling majority.

The decisions, and sometimes the behavior, of the current majority have often drawn fire from local residents and activists who regularly attend council meetings.

Wendy Leece, who served on the council from 2006 to 2014, said she thinks the majority allowed too much high-density building in town and took actions that were detrimental to the city’s public safety departments.

“I’m excited about what’s ahead for Costa Mesa because the residents woke up and voted, and I think now we’re going in a better direction that will benefit the residents and not the outside interests, including the developers,” Leece said Thursday.

Robin Leffler, president of the group Costa Mesans for Responsible Government, said Thursday that she thinks it is a good time for Mensinger and Monahan to move on.

Of Monahan, she said: “He’s always been respectful to people, and I appreciate his style in that regard. We have disagreed about a lot of stuff, but he’s always treated me congenially, and I have respect for him for that.”

Mensinger, she said, deserves credit “for his service, for putting himself out there, for being willing to serve.”

Leffler and Leece, among others, have criticized the current council majority for at times acting in a way they feel is disrespectful to the public, either by seemingly ignoring its input or making disparaging remarks.

“I think he probably would have done better in this election if he hadn’t made a point of calling members of the public out from the dais,” Leffler said of Mensinger.

Righeimer praised his departing colleagues as hard workers with keen financial sense.

Monahan, he said, “brought a sense of experience” to the council, and Mensinger was able to “get everyone in a room and solve problems.”

Reflections

Mensinger said one thing he thinks could have been handled better was the majority’s drive to outsource a number of municipal services, which could have entailed laying off more than 200 city employees.

The push touched off a years-long battle between the city and its municipal employee union that spilled from City Hall into court. The council eventually abandoned the bulk of its outsourcing plan and last year settled a lawsuit with the union, the Costa Mesa City Employees Assn.

The settlement allows Costa Mesa to privatize parks and maintenance services next year.

“If I knew then what I know today, I probably would have approached it differently in meeting with them [the employees] and talking about what we wanted to outsource and what they thought should be outsourced,” Mensinger said.

The city did end up outsourcing two services: its jail and street sweeping.

“You don’t need to have municipal employees doing some of these services,” Mensinger said. “And I think ultimately five to 10 years from today, cities will become contract administrators — they will not be service providers.”

Looking ahead

Monahan said there are a few things he’d like the next council to focus on, such as efforts to clean and revitalize Talbert Regional Park and install permanent field lighting at Kaiser Elementary School.

Mensinger and Monahan said they’re focused more on spending time with their families than on plotting their next political move.

“I personally, at this point in my life, do not believe I will run for anything ever,” Monahan said.

Both said they wish the new council the best.

“I hold no animosity to any of the people that ran and the people that are going to govern,” Mensinger said. “I’m rooting for them to be successful because it’s our city, it’s all of us.”

Council meeting

Mensinger and Monahan will have the chance to say their public goodbyes during Tuesday’s special council meeting.

At the same meeting, Genis, Mansoor and Stephens will be sworn into office. The newly configured council also will choose a new mayor and mayor pro tem.

The meeting starts at 5:45 p.m. at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.

[email protected]

Twitter: @LukeMMoney