Political endorsements don’t come easy in Costa Mesa

For the past few columns I’ve focused on the Newport Beach City Council race. This week I turn my attention to Costa Mesa.

And like last week, , I continue to examine issues surrounding endorsements.

The Costa Mesa Firefighters Assn. (cmfd.com) has endorsed Councilwoman Sandy Genis and candidates John Stephens and Jay Humphrey over Mayor Steve Mensinger, candidates Lee Ramos, Allan Mansoor and Al Melone.

So far, the Costa Mesa Police Assn. (costamesapa.com) seems to be silent here. I left the police association president a message to see if the organization was going to endorse but didn’t hear back.

It’s probably a smart move to stay out of the race, given the legal issues between the association and a couple of Costa Mesa politicians.

In 2012, the police union’s law firm at the time, Lackie, Dammeier, McGill and Ethir, hired investigator Chris Lanzillo, who allegedly put a tracker on Mensinger’s car, (lat.ms/2cAV9Dm) and falsely accused Councilman Jim Righeimer of drinking and driving in 2014 (lat.ms/2cJzMAl). The police association has long said it did not know in advance or agree to the methods allegedly employed by Lanzillo.

The state appellate court heard arguments in this case in January (lat.ms/2czG1og) and the criminal trial is slated to begin Sept. 20.

When it comes to the firefighters, Mensinger tells me the Costa Mesa Firefighters Assn. is involved in contract negations with the city, and has hired Mike McGill, formerly of Lackie, Dammeier, McGill and Ethir, to represent them.

Rob Gagne, president of the association., says although McGill works for the law firm his association hired — Adams, Ferrone & Ferrone —”McGill in no way had anything to do with what’s going on with Steve.”

Looking at the law firm’s site, adamsferrone.com, it states they specialize “exclusively in the representation of public safety associations and their members in labor and contract negotiations.”

On McGill’s bio page there’s no mention of his former firm of which he was a named partner.

But moving forward, critics like Mensinger wonder whether it’s a conflict of interest having the firefighters’ union endorsing and helping elect candidates who ultimately will negotiate their contracts.

Mensinger says though he has “great respect for the role and the men and women in police and fire,” he doesn’t believe they should be endorsing candidates.

“I believe the role of unions should be in bargaining for their members, and not in electing the policy makers who vote on their contracts,” he says.

He also feels accepting endorsements, and thousands of dollars from associations, is an “inherent conflict when contracts represent 80 percent of your budgets and job.”

Stephens doesn’t agree at all. He says firefighters and police are concerned about their own safety and have a vested interest in the community.

“I think the primary motivation is to protect the city and themselves,” he says, pointing to safe levels of staffing in both departments that now should be met.

Stephens tells me he’s negotiated far more contracts than anyone else running for council and, “If we’re going to get real pension reform, we have to start collaborating between the council and the associations.”

I should mention Gagne told me candidates Mansoor and Ramos were invited to be interviewed by his endorsement panel. Ramos originally agreed, then rescinded, and “Mansoor respectfully declined,” Gagne says.

What about Mensinger?

Gagne says they didn’t invite him because, “We know where he stands.”

Without a contract for 27 months, Gagne says call loads are up, staffing is down, and these factors are the association’s main concerns in relation to safety in the city.

He tells me that after the half-hour interviews of Genis, Humphrey and Stephens, his group felt they were best suited to open meaningful dialogue as contract negotiations move forward.

Gagne says Mensinger and Righeimer have “shown their true colors.”

Gagne says like every business, the city has to make adjustments because of the rising costs of water, fuel, vehicles, and so on.

Council members don’t want to raise taxes, but the answer isn’t laying off people and disseminating the department, he explains.

Gagne says his association members haven’t seen a raise in 10 years, and their out-of-pocket health insurance costs have risen, as has cost of living.

I asked Gagne how many firefighters live in Costa Mesa.

He said none, as Costa Mesa is expensive and some don’t want to live and work in the same city.

But the question remains: Should unions be involved in council elections at all since members are not residents and their interest is purely financial?

Gagne wouldn’t say what the Firefighters’ Assn. Independent Expenditure (IE) committee will spend on this council race, but did say, “If it gets ugly, then the price goes up.”

Historically this city’s council races aren’t pretty. Gagne better get ready to dig deep into those union pockets.

And it’ll be interesting to see how voters view all of this since ultimately it’s their tax dollars in play here.

BARBARA VENEZIA lives in Newport Beach. She can be reached at bvontv1@gmail.com.