SOUNDING OFF:Bully gets his pulpit in Costa Mesa

At the Costa Mesa planning commission meeting on Monday, those of us watching saw a very unusual occurrence. We saw rookie commissioner James Righeimer aggressively interrogate applicant Barry Saywitz in a manner that veteran commissioner Eleanor Egan later referred to as a “cross-examination� and “unique� in her experience. The project for which Saywitz was seeking approval is a condominium conversion on the Westside. Although the City Council invoked an emergency ordinance to place a moratorium on all such developments until the council makes up its mind about what standards will be imposed on them, his project was already in the works and thereby exempt from the moratorium.

Righeimer, who won’t celebrate his first anniversary as a Costa Mesa resident for a few more months, was relentless and ruthless in his attack on Saywitz. The ferocity of his questioning and the fact that many of the things he ranted about were already covered by previously accepted conditions might lead one to believe there’s something else going on between Righeimer and Saywitz. Certainly, no applicant who stands before the planning commission should be subjected to the kind of treatment Saywitz experienced.

The project was eventually approved, but conditions were imposed that will reduce the number of units from 12 to 9, which may cause Saywitz to reconsider his plans and simply leave the units as rental apartments.

A cynic might suspect that Righeimer’s pontificating was just political posturing now that he has a perch from which to squawk until the next election cycle rolls around in 2008. I’ll be very surprised if he doesn’t make a run for higher office at that time. He can thank his benefactor, Mayor Allan Mansoor — who brushed aside the nomination of long-time political ally Paul Bunney three times — for his appointment and the opportunity for us all to see the real “Riggy� in action.

So far, Righeimer has demonstrated that he is usually prepared, unusually smart, perpetually impatient, tenacious to a fault and, at times, a flat-out bully. We can only hope the higher office he seeks will take him out of Costa Mesa — the rung he’s chosen to hang onto until a better spot on the political ladder opens up.

lives in Costa Mesa.