Mailbag: Council members inconsistent on 405 toll proposal

I am upset at my fellow women on the Costa Mesa City Council.

On Aug. 5, the council voted unanimously to put an advisory measure on the November ballot that will ask voters if they agree with the Costa Mesa City Council’s opposition to the establishment of toll lanes on the 405 Freeway in Orange County.

Less than a week later, Councilwomen Wendy Leece and Sandy Genis submitted a ballot argument against the advisory measure, encouraging Costa Mesa residents to vote no.

The epic flip-flop was a new low for Costa Mesa politics, and if the California Department of Transportation moves forward with its plan to add toll lanes to the 405, Genis and Leece should share some of the “credit.”

The advisory measure was placed on the ballot so Costa Mesa could send another strong message to Caltrans that we don’t want any toll lanes. If 60%, 70% or 80% of Costa Mesa voters say stop the toll lanes plan, that would be powerful, and even Caltrans would have to listen. I hope other Orange County cities along the 405 Freeway will place similar advisory measures on future ballots.

What caused Genis and Leece to oppose the wishes of most Costa Mesa residents, even though they don’t want toll lanes either, is petty politics. They were mad that the council majority voted to have Mayor Jim Righeimer handle who gets to sign the ballot argument for the measure.

Righeimer wanted to show voters that the “defeat the toll lanes” movement had a broad cross section of supporters, including mayors and council members from other 405 corridor cities.

The disagreement should have stopped there for the good of Costa Mesa residents.

But the two councilwomen went ahead and unbelievably wrote the argument against the measure, saying that the advisory vote was some sort of political ploy by Righeimer. Pot, meet kettle.

Please ignore Genis and Leece’s argument against the measure, and vote yes on Measure P (for plain common sense).

Janet Lee Krochman

Costa Mesa

*

Opposition statement baffles

Staff writer Jeremiah Dobruck nails it with his opening sentence: “In Costa Mesa, even what should be a kumbaya political moment has a way of becoming contentious” (“Costa Mesa councilwomen call toll-lane ballot measure political,” Aug. 15).

I applaud Mayor Jim Righeimer for carrying on the good fight against the proposed 405 Freeway toll lanes. And kudos to all in the corridor who continue this fight.

When this battle began with the Orange County Transportation Authority, all of the corridor city mayors came together to sign a letter that represented a unified position. All of the cities’ councils had adopted similar resolutions opposing 405 toll lanes. Yet none of those dozens of council members let their petty squabbles intrude on the strong message that was being sent.

Recently, however, two Costa Mesa councilwomen made a fuss, because they think that all corridor cities working together to put these advisory votes on their ballots is somehow a political stunt. Councilwomen Sandra Genis and Wendy Leece then pulled the ultimate political stunt: They submitted an official ballot argument with themselves as signatories urging a vote in opposition to the city’s long-held position against tolls.

Their action potentially dilutes the strength of the anti-405 toll lane message being sent to Sacramento. That these two leaders have submitted official opposition to something they voted for on the dais reflects a lack of consistency and calls their commitment to our residents into question.

With any luck, their foolish act will not undermine the fight against the California Department of Transportation’s imposition of that which is literally highway robbery, but rather will expose them and their associates as the power-hungry obstructionists they really are.

Eric Bever

Costa Mesa

The writer is a former Costa Mesa mayor.