Through My Eyes -- Ron Davis

Lately I’ve gotten into a whimsical and fanciful mood and written

about the trivial Huntington Beach issues of the day -- things like

no-kill animal shelters, the effect of school gyms on neighborhoods, the

ethics of name calling and property rights versus public needs.

Stuff of little significance and value.

I’ll be the first to tell you that my editors have been breathing down

my neck wondering when I was going to tackle something of importance --

something of substance.

During the past two years, I’ve pretty much slighted Fountain Valley.

Instead I’ve taken the easy way out. I’ve copped out by talking about the

mundane and written only about the who-gives-a-darn issues in Huntington

Beach.

After several years of counseling and confronting my overwhelming

shyness and the constant inability to step to the plate and express a

firm opinion on any subject of significance, I felt I might be ready for

the big-time -- ready to tackle issues of real substance and importance.

A chance to confront the burning caldron that is Fountain Valley.

All of Orange County recognizes Fountain Valley as a hotbed of

controversy.

Fountain Valley? Hardly!

They should rename the place Volcano Valley! A place where smoldering

issues bubble to the surface and erupt in waves of scalding, molten

controversy, seldom silenced in the churning sea of restless activism.

I’m trying to be a little more descriptive in my writing. Can you tell?

All the world watches as Fountain Valley attempts to fill the council

seat vacated by Councilman Chuck Conlosh. (While I’ve been publicly

critical of Chuck’s political style, I still consider him a friend and

wish him well.)

The burning issue in the city is how the council fills this vacancy.

Some of the whiners in the community criticize the remaining council

members for opting to appoint a new member. They argue that the $60,000

to call a special election is worth it in the great democratic scheme.

What do you bet that if the council had called a special election

they’d be hollering about the expense? Some people never met a solution

they ever liked.

But, back to the real issue. The council missed a golden opportunity

to make national news filling the council seat, not to mention generating

buckets and buckets of extra revenue. For those of you living in

Huntington Beach, extra revenue is revenue generated by the city other

than on the backs of the residents.

The object of the council member selection process is to select the

person most qualified. Right? Who knows more about who is better

qualified than the candidates themselves? No one!

Now pay close attention, since a creative selection and a quick-bucks

scheme is about to follow:

Survivor! That’s right, Fountain Valley should have selected the next

council member from among the 12 applicants by playing survivor.

Those 12 souls could have been cast away in some hostile environment

devoid of serious shopping and hurting for sales-tax revenue. Huntington

Beach for example.

Immunity challenges could have consisted of trying to provide for all

the needs of the tribe without sufficient resources.

One by one the competitors would have eliminated one another while

providing even the most casual observer with some insight into political

realities.

I can see me now, wearing my shorts, jungle shirt and a pith helmet

and dousing the flame of the Tiki torch in the fountain. The television

market would have been tremendous.

You think televised politics in Huntington Beach is entertaining, you

ain’t seen nothing until you’ve seen “Survivor - Twelve compete for just

one seat .”

It’s emotionally draining discussing this heavy, controversial stuff.

Next week I’ll probably revert to my usual waffling,

can’t-make-up-my-mind approach on some issue of little consequence to

quiet, uninvolved Huntington Beach.

Fountain Valley is indeed a great place to live, but only if you can

survive the unrelenting swirl of important philosophical and political

issues.

* RON DAVIS is a private attorney who lives in Huntington Beach. He

can be reached by e-mail at o7 [email protected]