SOUNDING OFF:

Once upon a time there was a longtime Costa Mesa resident named Bill Sneen who decided to throw his hat and heart into the ring and run for City Council. During my campaign, I met face to face with all our city staff directors and their great support staff, plus the fire chief, police chief, one lieutenant and three sergeants, several past City Council members and mayors of Costa Mesa, our schools superintendent, deputy superintendent, facilities director and with many of our longtime business owners and residents

One of the nice things about the community forums was that I got to know the other candidates running for City Council. It was clear to me that some of the prospective candidates’ motivation for running was definitely not in line with mine. There were a few others, however, that I was very impressed with and I hope to remain friends with in the future.

As I continued to move through this new adventure I also realized that money sure sets one candidate apart from another. The unfortunate part about that is that our City Council, which represents the interests of its residents, may miss out on getting the best person for the job due to lack of funding. It was amazing to me to think that our little City Council race has candidate budgets in excess of $60,000 in contributions. There was even a contribution of $10,000 made to two candidates.

When questioned, the person who made the donations said he had never met either of the two candidates he sent the checks to. His comment was, “I got a phone call from a friend that said send the money and that’s all it took, so I did.”

And then there is the issue that is still pending about a past mayor regarding a contribution that should have been reported as income instead of a campaign contribution, at least as was reported by the person who owns the company that was shown as the campaign contributor. I can still hold my head up high and know that I stood by the truth regardless of the backpedaling that is going on.

Beyond all that, though, it has been a memorable journey. Regardless of the outcome I feel much more connected to my city and even more passionate about its future. I hope all of you, as caring residents, will also get involved more because it does make a difference.

See you at the next City Council meeting!

BILL SNEEN lives in Costa Mesa.