Everybody loves recalls

HUMBERTO CASPA

The hit television series “Everybody Loves Raymond” is going off the

air soon. CBS needs to get ideas to replace what has been a lucrative

show since it began nine years ago. How about a new series with

another eye-catching title: “No one Likes Armando?”

It would be a reality show, starring our beleaguered Coast

Community College District trustee Armando Ruiz. The set would

include Jerry Patterson, Ruiz’s colleague and his most fervent inside

critic, playing the antagonist.

To get Ruiz out of his district seat, Patterson has gone the extra

mile. He and a group of prominent individuals have signed a notice of

intention with the Registrar of Voters to recall him.

Offstage stirring the angry masses is Bonnie Castrey, a longtime

Huntington Beach Unified School District trustee.

To recap her story, she failed to unseat Ruiz in the 2004 November

election. She got only 31.8% of the vote, while Diane A. Lenning

received 26.8% and the incumbent Ruiz earned 41.5%.

Castrey claims that Ruiz’ dirty tricks cost her many votes. “It’s

the whole issue of his unethical behavior that caused me to look into

recalling him,” she told the Daily Pilot.

Also, outside the stage and unable to affect the drama in any

reasonable way, the people of the Newport-Mesa district stand

quietly.

“No one Likes Armando” may not be an immediate hit or a successful

series, but at least it would be a more fair representation of our

community’s social and especially political life.

Other hit series, such as “The OC,” are only in touch with a small

number of upscale residents; not with the larger Orange County

population. They simply don’t portray our reality.

On the contrary, “No one Likes Armando” sets the stage for a true

O.C. story. It shows how a public official develops from a respected

individual to one of the most cynical men in town.

In this context, most critics accurately blame Ruiz for his

unethical behavior, but they forget or ignore that the problems

around him arise also from an out-of-balance system. It allows such

permissive behavior as that of Ruiz’ to take place. He isn’t the

first one and won’t be last if the system isn’t adequately dealt

with.

Today, it looks like a few people own the Coast Community College

District. When someone is elected so many times and for so many

years, then we should question not only the individual but also the

ways which people operate on a daily basis. Armando Ruiz has been

there for more than 20 years, Jerry Patterson for over eight, and who

knows how many more years he will last there. We need new people with

different mentalities, regardless of their administrative views.

We should push for term limits in the college district. This isn’t

an entirely new idea. In fact, it is a common practice for the Costa

Mesa City Council and other public agencies in the county.

Thus, incumbents in the college district, like in most

governmental institutions, should have constraints to operate in a

more transparent fashion.

Furthermore, Ruiz must understand that most people in the

Newport-Mesa area, including the Latino community, don’t want him in

the district office any more.

His poor judgment, particularly regarding his retirement plan, has

created profound doubts about his leadership skills. I would simply

say to him that he should apologize publicly, give half his

retirement plan (that’s what he really deserves) to a nonprofit

organization and step aside honorably. He’s got small room for

redemption.

However, I don’t agree with a recall. It only shifts the whole

problem on the individual when, in fact, the issue also resides

within the district office.

Conservative figures estimate that it would cost about $850,000 to

get Ruiz out of office. But it could go higher if he decides to fight

back.

In the past, I demonstrated the lack of interest from school

administrators to solve part-time professors’ grievances. As I said

many times, they get paid low wages despite the hard work they do

every semester.

Instead of wasting money on an expensive recall process, the

district office could use such money to improve part-time professor’s

salaries. This is also a time for adjunct professors to rethink their

situation and begin to organize, so that their objectives are

represented at higher levels.

Meanwhile, Ruiz’s demeanor erroneously refortifies misleading

stereotypes about the Latino community. Unfortunately we Latinos pay

for his errors and his lack of character.

I’m quite encouraged, however, to see more people eager to get

involved in the community, working across ethnic lines and helping

the entire city grow healthier and better.

* HUMBERTO CASPA is a Costa Mesa resident and bilingual writer. He

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