Did I mention that I think this is a bad idea?

STEVE SMITH

Over the years, history has recorded many very bad products and

ideas. Among the first that come to mind are the Edsel, New Coke and

the 8-track player.

The election of Chris Steel to the Costa Mesa City Council four

years ago was another bad idea.

And I’ll bet that in hindsight, Jerry Buss wishes he could take

back his trade of Shaquille O’Neal and give up Kobe Bryant instead.

But just moments after I got done telling a friend that, all

things considered, Costa Mesa is the county’s most livable city, a

couple of people in power go resurrect an idea so bad, it will make

the CenterLine light-rail project look brilliant.

For most of Newport Beach and much of Costa Mesa, the Costa Mesa

Job Center is not on the radar. Located on Placentia Avenue in an

interesting mix of retail, light industrial and residential, the Job

Center is a clearinghouse for local day laborers seeking work.

If you wish to employ one or more workers, you simply drive up,

check in and drive off with your help. I’ve used the Job Center many

times, and it really is that simple.

The development of the Job Center many years ago was the subject

of a heated debate, and over the years, its right to exist has been

challenged, mostly, it seems to me, by people who have not spent

enough time in the area.

So in addition to having used the center, I am also particularly

qualified to discuss this matter because I lived on the Westside for

17 years. We moved to another part of the city 2 1/2 years ago.

That 17-year stretch was long enough for me to remember what life

was like before the Job Center.

Before the Job Center was developed, day laborers used to line

Placentia Avenue, waving at cars, trying to flag them down in case

the drivers were looking for help.

Before the Job Center, cars and trucks would stop illegally almost

anywhere on the street, often creating traffic hazards.

Before the Job Center, day laborers were not confined to Placentia

Avenue but were spread out all over town, including on 19th Street,

and in front of any business, such as a nursery, where day labor may

be in demand.

Wednesday’s Daily Pilot delivered the news that the existence of

the Job Center is once again up for debate. The story quoted

Councilman Gary Monahan and Mayor Allan Mansoor as opposing the Job

Center.

I had only one question for either guy, so I called both and got

ahold of Monahan first. The question was: “When the center is closed,

where will the day laborers go?”

He said the bigger picture is that the Job Center has lost some of

its usefulness.

Then, referring back to the mean streets created by the day

laborers prior to the center, he added, “I don’t see the major

problems today that we had then.”

Monahan does not see the problems because the center has taken

care of them. I’m convinced that the day after the center is closed,

the Westside will once again be covered with pockets of people

looking for work. They’ll be at the 7-11 on Placentia and Victoria,

at the Armstrong nursery on Newport Boulevard and even at the

location of the Job Center itself, even though there will be no one

there to organize them.

“It’s time to move forward,” Monahan said. “I also remember back

then, but with the enforcements with the police department, I don’t

see the problem nearly as bad as it was.”

Ah, yes, the police department. Sorry, but I can’t see -- with

everything else they have to do, particularly since Sept. 11 -- that

the Costa Mesa Police Department will have the resources to deploy

officers to patrol Placentia Avenue and sweep the streets of day

laborers.

They couldn’t do it before the Job Center, and they’re probably

even less able to do it now.

But Monahan is among those who will push to close the center. And

what happens if the day laborers return to hanging out on street

corners?

“I don’t see that we’ll have the problem that we did,” Monahan

said, “but if it turns out we do, I’ll be the first one to say, ‘Hey,

I screwed up.’”

I believe that Monahan will say that. But I expect more out of a

city’s leaders. I expect them to have the experience and wisdom to

avoid these problems, particularly when there is a history of them

and lessons to be learned.

For now, I’m going to wait for the City Council to stub its toe.

In the meantime, I’m going to slip a “Toto” tape into the 8-track

player of my Edsel and drive down to the 7-11 for a New Coke.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to [email protected].