A perfect solution?

Sometimes, easy solutions to hard problems are right in front of us.

Costa Mesa has been looking for a new police chief and will

continue to, more than likely, for a while.

Obviously, the city wants a police chief who knows police work,

can find his way through City Hall, knows the city and is familiar

with the residents.

A little bonus might be no moving expenses and maybe a little off

the top of that salary.

If that’s what the city wants, then we’ve got an applicant. He may

have no idea he’s an applicant and probably doesn’t even want the

job, since he’s already put many years into his current gig.

DeMaio’s the De Man.

Get this: Dennis DeMaio has lived in Costa Mesa since 1986, serves

as Villa Park’s police chief through the Orange County Sheriff’s

Department and just became a Costa Mesa Planning Commissioner, which

he does for a small stipend. Talk him into making that stipend his

annual salary, and there’s a bargain.

It shouldn’t be a problem that he’s near retirement, at 55, right?