A CLOSER LOOK -- Rudeness takes over City Hall

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- The demeanor at too many City Council meetings has gone

from civil to downright rude, city officials say, and they are looking at

some of the causes and trying to find solutions.

Mayor Linda Dixon said she has noticed a decline in overall civility

in the last 10 years she has been involved in city business as a council

member and planning commissioner.

“I don’t know why, exactly,” Dixon said. “[The council] doesn’t try to

do things that provoke anger or disrespect in people. We are only trying

to do what is best for the community at large.”

Dixon’s best guess about the lack of decorum is that the current

council has tackled many controversial issues, which spark strong

emotions.

A perfect example of a breakdown in formality was Monday’s meeting,

officials said. Council chambers were packed with those in opposition to

a proposed ban on parking recreational vehicles on city streets and

nearly every comment was met with a barrage of hoots, cheers or groans

and boos. Dixon said the crowd was obviously emotionally charged.

“I felt that the crowd... was angry with the council and I didn’t

think asking them to stop cheering would help,” Dixon said.

The atmosphere at meetings has gotten to the point that Councilman

Gary Monahan no longer wishes to sit on the dais. He has announced he

will not seek reelection and said his decision was largely based on the

fact that meetings “were just not fun anymore.”

Councilwoman Libby Cowan agreed with her colleagues. Never have

comments gotten so bad that she would consider stepping down but certain

sentiments anger the former mayor. Cowan says she is particularly

bothered by the veiled racist comments and disparaging remarks toward the

poor from many of Councilman Chris Steel’s supporters.

“The people with very strong passions about those issues feel they

have permission to come forward with their views because there is a

council member who supports them now,” Cowan said.

Councilman Chris Steel said he is often misunderstood about his

position on local charities and the “working poor.”

“I’m not against the poor for God’s sakes,” he said. “I’m not against

the charities.”

But, he said, some of these charities unwittingly attract illegal

immigrants into the community thereby bringing down the quality of the

city’s schools.

“I know some of my supporters go overboard in their rhetoric on these

issues,” he said. “That does not mean I agree with everything they say.

Just because I speak out on some issues doesn’t mean I’m a racist or a

bigot.”

A handful of students from out-of-city high school classes at Monday’s

meeting were quick to notice the tone of the meeting.

Bret Bye, a senior at Lutheran High School of Orange County, was at

the meeting for an Advance Placement Government assignment with a few

friends. The 18-year-old said he has attended various city council

meetings for class projects but Costa Mesa stood out.

“They seem to be more defensive,” Bye said of the council members.

“The other councils were not quite as --” he paused to think of a good

word -- “intense.”

Mike Thompson, another senior in the same government class, described

Cowan as very stern.

Cowan said she was criticized for being too formal as mayor but

defended her demeanor, saying she tries to maintain a formal and

professional atmosphere.

“An air of familiarity breeds comfort and informality. Informality can

very quickly break down to disruptiveness and an unwillingness to

listen,” Cowan said.

Unlike the visiting students, City Manager Allan Roeder has been

attending City Council meetings for more than 20 years, first as a

staffer and now from the dais, where he sits alongside the City Council.

Roeder says a lack of specific focus from many of the regular speakers

is responsible for the overall change in tone during the past 10 or 15

years.

First, the public comment portion of the meeting -- which used to

focus on very specific issues -- has now become a pulpit for general

preaching.

“What I consider it now is a platform for the same people to make the

same statement time and time again,” Roeder said.

Many public comment statements take on a form of criticism and thus

set a negative tone for the rest of the meeting, Roeder said.

Along the same lines, many council regulars speak on nearly every item

on the agenda in an effort to reiterate a general theme. While Roeder

said he respects those who are creative enough to tie seemingly

nonrelated issues together, he added that repetitive complaints lose

effectiveness when applied to every single issue.

Cowan agreed, saying “it does not help when you have people [who only]

complain and bring forward problems with no solutions.”

Dixon said she doesn’t mind critical comments or issues that seem to

come out of left field, but she does want audience members to use a level

of decency when addressing city officials and each other.

“I like hearing from the community and certainly appreciate when

people take the time out to speak to us,” Dixon said. “But for those who

are angry, I only hope they would give us a chance and not yell at us.”

- Staff Writer Deepa Bharath contributed to this story.

* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .

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