IMPROVERS HELPING OUT
(The game is about scoring, not endless dribbling)
When the Improvement movement started in Costa Mesa back in 1999, it was one of the goals of those involved to end a years old informal activism practice in Costa Mesa whereby people would only speak up and demand change when something was a problem in their own neighborhood but remain silent about problems in other neighborhoods.
The Improvers vowed to help improve all of Costa Mesa.
Because the Westside was the worst part of the city and, in the view of the Improvers, the key to improving the rest of the city, they put much of their effort into that part of the city.
With the Westside as their starting point, they then helped elect Chris Steel (and then helped unelect him), Alan Mansoor, Eric Bever and Wendy Leece. The Improvers were looking for citizen politicians, not professional politicians. The Improvers wanted people who would lead the charge for improving Costa Mesa, and then return to civilian life after they did the job. They weren't looking for toadies and boot lickers to the Republican establishment.
Unfortunately, as you've been reading in the CM PRESS, it now seems to some that Mansoor, Bever and Leece appear to have forgotten why they were elected.
These days, these three seem to be more interested in hob nobbing with the bigs of the Republican Party and pushing their own political careers instead of helping improve Costa Mesa.
We hope that they'll come to their senses and refocus their energies on making Costa Mesa the great city it can be and stop having their heads turned by the suits who make a living off being politicians. Unfortunately, we're not seeing many hopeful signs of this. All we're hearing is empty talk and seeing little action.
Most Improvers are on the side of those in Mesa del Mar who want the El Camino shopping center razed and replaced with upscale homes.
Most Improvers are on the side of the Eastsiders who want JWA stopped cold and traffic fixed from the 55 Fwy.
Most Improvers are on the side of the Mesa Verdeans who don't want the 57 freeway to be built next to their tract.
Most Improvers are on the side of those in all neighborhoods who want slums removed.
Most Improvers are on the side of those on the Westside who want real and meaningful changes to that area and not just medians and flowers in the middle of 19th Street.
Most Improvers don't want Costa Mesa to be an illegal alien sanctuary city and want the City Council to enact an ordinance similar to the one in Orange about soliciting work.
And, if Mansoor, Bever and Leece don't want the things that most Improvers want, then who needs them?
Did these three think they got elected because they were smarter, better looking, more competent, had better personalities, had better resumes? Did they think that there was and is some groundswell of support for them because of these characteristics? Perish the thought. They got elected, with the help of the Improvers, because they carried the ideas put forth by the Improvers.
They were put into office to score, not just mumble sweet nothings and endlessly dribble once the ball was put in their hands.
Has anyone seen the meaningful changes that are really needed on the Westside? Nope. We've seen minor things. We now see medians and flowers in the middle of W. 19th Street. Big deal.
We're in an election year again and most Improvers are saying they want to see change, not sweet nothings from Mansoor (who is not running), Leece (who is not running) and especially from Bever (who is running). Bever's fate in the election this year is going to be tied to what he actually does and whether or not he can get Mansoor and Leece on board to improve things.
There is already troubling news for Bever in this regard, as Leece (as we previously reported) has apparently set herself against the wishes of the folks in Mesa del Mar in their attempt to get rid of the decaying El Camino shopping center.
Most real Improvers are on the side of the folks in Mesa del Mar (even if that is where Katrina Foley lives).
There is also an increased activism from people on the Eastside who want change, not words.
The same can be said for Mesa North and some other neighborhoods.
If we're sensing things correctly, Bever had better know which way the wind is blowing or he'll be gone after the election. And, if that happens, watch as his new best friends, the bigs in the GOP, suddenly won't give him the time of day once again.
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WHAT YOU WON'T READ IN THE CM PRESS
We generally avoid commenting on private family matters of local politicians. We believe that politicians and their families have a right to some privacy when they are off the dais, unless there is a very direct link between something that happens in their families and their public jobs.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.
