Mailbag: Political mailers paint a misleading portrait of Mayor Katrina Foley
I received a negative political mailer that weakly attempted to criticize Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley, a candidate for state Senate District 37. The facts behind each of the implications in the mailer actually support Foley’s actions.
Additionally, these implications about Foley’s lack of support for the police don’t make sense because she is endorsed by the Costa Mesa Police Assn.
The following summarizes the important parts left out of the mailer that were in the referenced articles in the mailer.
The headline, “Police, city staff to take furloughs,” (Daily Pilot, Aug. 4, 2009), and “Mandatory furloughs approved for Costa Mesa employees,” (Orange County Register, Aug. 5, 2009), references a City Council resolution at the Aug. 4, 2009 meeting pertaining to actions taken during the Great Recession.
The furloughs were an attempt to mitigate the impact of the reduced city revenues caused by the recession, which included a $19.9 million gap between requested budget and expected revenues, according to a City Council agenda report.
The report recommended the adoption of the 5% salary reduction through a one-year furlough, which, most importantly, was also agreed to by the Costa Mesa Employees, Costa Mesa Police and Costa Mesa Police Management associations.
In the final analysis, Foley supported the furlough plan because it was a good, joint cooperative agreement between the city and the employee associations to help resolve a difficult financial situation.
As a 30-year veteran of the Costa Mesa Police Department, I can categorically state that no City Council member has done more for the Police Department and public safety than Foley. To suggest otherwise in a political mailer is a lie.
Clay G. Epperson
Costa Mesa
The writer is a retired CMPD police lieutenant.
Mailer takes Foley’s actions out of context
A few days ago I received a negative political mailer about Costa Mayor Katrina Foley. Many of the issues referenced occurred under previous Costa Mesa City Council mayors and majorities when Foley was a minority council member.
Foley was in the minority until 2016 when Mayor Pro Tem John Stephens was elected to the City Council. In addition, these negative implications about Foley’s support for the police are inconsistent with the fact that Foley is endorsed by the Costa Mesa Police Assn.
The mailer references seven articles. One, from 2011, was when Foley was not on the City Council. Three were when she was not the mayor and was in the council minority.
My conclusion is that Mayor Foley would make a great state senator for District 37 because, if you look beyond the headlines of the deceptive political mailer, you find that Foley has consistently supported public safety by increasing the number of police officers, regulating sober living homes using the successful sober living homes ordinance, and addressed homelessness by establishing a 50-bed shelter. All of this will improve many things in the city, including reducing crime rates which have steadily declined since 2016.
Charles Mooney
Costa Mesa
How to get published: Email us at john.canalis@latimes.com. All correspondence must include full name, hometown and phone number (for verification purposes). The Pilot reserves the right to edit all submissions for clarity and length.
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