Tuesday sad day for Costa Mesa

Geoff West

Tuesday was a sad day for Costa Mesa.

During yet another marathon City Council meeting, which ended in

the wee hours Wednesday, and with lame duck Councilman Gary Monahan

leading the charge, the male majority on the council ignored the data

provided by the city staff, the opinions of the women council members

and the vast majority of those who spoke before them on the issue.

The council formulated a plan to shut down the Costa Mesa Job Center

by July 1.

From the moment at the end of the council meeting two weeks

earlier, when Monahan quietly requested City Manager Allan Roeder to

have the staff prepare a study of the Job Center, the handwriting was

on the wall.

As each day passes, it certainly looks like Monahan will use his

power as the swing vote on the council to his own personal advantage.

I thought controversial activist Martin H. Millard might jump up on

the dais and give Monahan a big wet kiss, so effusive was his praise

for him in providing what he described as “leadership” by proposing

the closure of the Job Center -- a goal of Millard’s for years.

In what at times looked like a feeding frenzy of motions and

debate, the male majority on the council dismantled a valuable

resource in this city. The Job Center has, for more than 17 years,

been a venue of support not only for the dozens of job seekers who

find work there each day, but for business owners and homeowners in

this city and neighboring cities seeking workers. Based on the facts

provided by the staff, residents of Costa Mesa will be most severely

impacted by the closure, since they use the center the most, both as

job seekers and those in need of labor.

It’s unclear just how the city’s ordinance against solicitation

will now be enforced, but representatives of local law enforcement,

past and present, acknowledged that it would likely require a

significant redeployment of manpower. I have the impression that some

members of the Police Department, already stretched thin, are less

than happy with the Job Center closure.

Even the least suspicious among us can now see the plan beginning

to form. First, this council recently modified the method by which

Community Development Block Grant funds are allocated to

organizations within the city, making it possible for them to easily

“de-fund” entities that provide a support infrastructure to immigrant

families.

Next, they agreed to close the Job Center -- a source of jobs for

immigrant workers. During the same meeting they then set in motion

plans formulated by the now-disbanded Westside Revitalization

Oversight Committee to, in part, rezone the bluffs to permit

residential uses in the current industrial zone.

This has the potential to cost many jobs, most of which are held

by immigrant workers.

Although the male majority may deny this plan, one needed only

listen to our mayor, Allan Mansoor, during the discussion of the

closure of the Job Center to get a very clear fix on their motives.

Early in the discussion, he said, “Ultimately, our goal is to

close it, and with the revitalization of the Westside, I think

ultimately there will not be a need for it.”

It just doesn’t get any clearer than that. It looks to me like our

mayor has decided that his legacy will be to make Costa Mesa a

“Latino-free zone” and is hard at work to accomplish that goal.

This is just the beginning of what will probably be a very long,

frustrating term of service for the two highest vote getters in the

last election, Katrina Foley and Linda Dixon.

It is clear that, while they are free to express their opinions on

the dais, they are likely to be ignored by the male majority. It is

truly a sad day for this city when you realize that the wishes of the

residents who cast one-third of all votes in the last election are

being ignored.

I agree with councilwoman Foley when she told her peers on the

dais that these kinds of changes require thoughtful deliberation and

consideration of all viewpoints.

* GEOFF WEST is a Costa Mesa resident and regular contributor to

Forum.