Updated Saturday, October 18, 2008, 7:55 PM-Scroll downANYONE BUT FOLEY--WE OFFER SOME ALTERNATIVES TO OUR LIBERAL FRIENDS
(This is not a photo of Foley)
The CM PRESS has been receiving comments from some of our liberal friends who have concerns about Katrina Foley.
Some have said they voted for her before but won't do so in this election.
The basic problem that most have with Foley seems to be one of trust. A few have pointed out that they want honest politicians, not people who will say anything to get elected.
Even many liberals want politicians who will tell the truth.
Most of these folks pay attention to local politics and they're aware that Foley refused to sign a letter to President Bush asking him to secure our borders. Some of them don't mind that she refused to sign that letter.
But, what they do mind is the fact that when she refused, she didn't appear to be honest about it. Instead, she said that she wasn't happy with the way the letter was worded and that she would write her own letter with better wording.
Apparently, she has never written such a letter and many believe she never intended to write such a letter.
They see that as being dishonest and a bad example for our children.
Some are also concerned about Foley's endorsements from the public service unions. They believe she has sold out the citizens of this city to get the endorsements.
Many are also aware that Righeimer, Monahan and Bever didn't want such endorsements because they believe that this is a conflict of interest. And, we agree. Those who are elected will have to vote on salaries and benefits for the members of these unions. Some have pointed out to us that some jurisdictions have even made it illegal for these public service unions to endorse candidates in local elections because of this conflict. People are tired of you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours political hacks.
Now, here's the nub of this. Some of these liberals tell us that they've never voted for a Republican in their lives, and won't do so now.
They've essentially said to us, if the CM PRESS didn't believe that Righeimer, Monahan and Bever were the best for a nicer and safer Costa Mesa, who would we pick as the next best.
Here's our answer. If you believe, rightly or wrongly, that Foley plays with the truth and can't be trusted and is a bad example for our children, then look at the following alternatives:
Chris Bunyan--Bunyan sounds like a straight shooter. His major concern is Banning Ranch and the environment, and he's done well in the candidate forums. We're impressed with his honesty and openness. He's much improved and better focused this time over the last time he ran. He's a good alternative to Foley.
Lisa Reedy--Some people simply want to vote for a woman. If you're one of these, then consider Reedy. She needs more seasoning in city matters, but she appears to be a quick study.
She seems to be involved in many of the same type of PTA things that Foley is involved in, but appears to be honest. At the last candidate forum, she may have signaled a distancing from Foley when she said that she's not running with anyone, but is running all by herself. She's a good female substitute for Foley.
Nick Moss--Moss is a big "L" Libertarian. This means he's for smaller, less intrusive government, lower taxes and individual freedom. This is his first foray into politics and he hasn't quite learned to punch out his message in quick sound bites, but if you know how Libertarians think and what they stand for, you get it. He'd be a big improvement over Foley.
Chris McEvoy--We like the fact that McEvoy is a math teacher and we understand what he's trying to say when he tells voters that this math background helps him think logically. He'd be an improvement over Foley.
Unfortunately, we think McEvoy has certain fixed ideas--maybe from his childhood*--that keep him from truly thinking logically about the problems in Costa Mesa.
It seems to us that, at the present time, he's conflicted. The logical part of his brain seems to be taking a back seat to the usual liberal psychobabble. Nevertheless, given his math background, and his desire to think logically, we believe at some point he'll understand that some of his present positions are not logical and are not borne out by the numbers.
It's simply not logical to believe, on the one hand, that numbers don't lie, and then, on the other hand, to deny the results given by those numbers. It doesn't compute.
Specifically, McEvoy seems to be letting his emotional side override his logical side when he talks about some of the problems we have in Costa Mesa with illegal aliens. It seems that he is simply ignoring the statistics and the facts that lead to some logical conclusions.
*Another reason why McEvoy might be letting his emotional side override his logical side is the fact that he suffers from a neurological disorder called Dystonia. This is a condition that causes involuntary muscle contractions. Our guess is that his particular type of Dystonia is Oromandibular Dystonia which only affects the muscles that move the mouth, tongue and jaw.
Because of this condition, McEvoy may subconsciously feel picked on by those without the condition. As a result, he may have developed a hyper-sensitive reservoir of sometimes misplaced empathy and compassion for others in society who he feels are also being "picked on" by others.
In our local political context, he may wrongly believe that those being picked on are illegal aliens and this may blind him to the reality of the problems that they are causing the good, decent citizens of this city.
The truth is that illegal aliens are not poor innocent little kittens being kicked by slack jawed, boorish morons. They are fully functioning adults who have broken our laws for monetary reasons. They are here to make money any way they can and to hell with our laws and the rights of citizens.
William Sneen--We wouldn't buy a used car from this guy any more than we would buy one from Foley. We couldn't get straight answers from him when we spoke to him on the telephone. It was like pulling teeth to even get him to tell us his political party affiliation ("decline to state").
At a meeting of the Costa Mesa High School Foundation--he says he's a founding member of this Foundation--Sneen bristled and said he was "insulted" when the CM PRESS asked questions about the Foundation and citizens' money and why the Foundation hasn't done the required audits and annual reports and why the Foundation hasn't filed tax returns for 2006 and 2007.
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Note: We don't consider any of the above as reasonable substitutes for Righeimer, Monahan and Bever, but if you're a liberal and just can't vote for Righeimer, Monahan and Bever, and you want politicians who seem to be a change from Foley, you might consider some of the above.
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LAST TWO CANDIDATE FORUMS
Candidate Forum--Wed. October 22nd, 6:30pm to 9 pm, Halecrest Park Ballroom, 3107 Killybrook Lane, CM 92626
Candidate Forum--Tue October 28th 6:30 pm, Presbyterian Church, 2850 Fairview Road CM 92626
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HEY EASTSIDERS--CHECK OUT BEVER'S BANNERS ALL OVER THE EASTSIDE!
The once, the present, and the future mayor--Eric Bever--who came out of the Westside improvement movement-- is now taking his calls for improvement right into the the heart of the Eastside--where the many good people, who want to see real action and not empty words-- are being shouted down by one tiny brain windbag.
Bever has his large 20 foot banners up in strategic locations where you can't miss them. This guy is serious about getting your vote this year. And, he's on your side.
Fortunately, most Eastsiders know that they need real action and not empty words and lies about stopping the expansion of JWA and about putting the SR-55 underground where it belongs.
The CM PRESS is convinced that Bever, Monahan and Righeimer will work hard to stop the expansion of JWA and will work just as hard to get that stupid SR-55 put underground where the damn thing belongs.
If you doubt the above assertions, just go back to when the improvement movement started and you'll see your humble CM PRESS calling for undergrounding the SR-55 and for not only stopping the expansion of JWA, but of shrinking it back to what it should be--a tiny airport for crop duster size planes.
The Eastside is at an important turning point. It can remain a great place to live, or it can become a wasteland with homes that lose value overnight because of traffic and JWA.
JWA must be stopped, or the Eastside is going to become as undesirable as all other neighborhoods that are under the flight path of low flying planes. Just check out the area west of LAX, for a clue about what a wrong vote this year might get you.
The CM PRESS is convinced that Bever, Monahan and Righeimer are the only ones running this year who have the political know-how to get relief for the Eastside.
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UPDATE, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2008, 7:55 PM
The almost daily DAILY PILOT has endorsed Foley, Righeimer and Monahan. LINK
The CM PRESS anticipated this and has been telling Improvers for weeks that these three had the highest probability of being endorsed by the ADDP. No doubt, the ADDP calculated that this was the best thing to do to try to save Foley's seat.
The lefties were stung badly in the last election and now they're just trying to defend the one seat they still have on the City Council.
That's also why most of the former Return to Reason folks and many others who were behind Schaefer and Garlic in the last election have put all their efforts into reelecting Foley instead of trying to win two or three seats.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.