Newport Beach? Today, one of our favorite Judges Kelly
McEachern threw out the charges against Benito Acosta on
a technicality: The City Attorney did not swear in as a
State approved Prosecutor!
First of all, we should get this landscape right. Benito
Acosta is a disruptive community activist that tried several
times to upset City Council activities in Costa Mesa. His
issues regarding race, ethnic bigotry and political fairness
aside...have little bearing on his conduct in Council Chambers.
He called the Council names and encouraged insurrection in
Council Chambers. Right or wrong on the issues....his conduct
was incompatible with the proper goings on of Representative
Government. It has become popular to look at Governments in
Japan, Korea or Iraq and enjoy seeing the fist fights, yelling
and abhorrent behavior as "entertaining" rather than disturbing.
The truth of the matter is that "Decorum" and "Order" must be
maintained in order to continue intelligent dialogue or discussion.
Years ago, it was the great Sid Soffer that said: "You people
are a bunch of Nazi Fascists!" Free Speech? OK! But even
Sid...didn't ask the peasants to storm the Bastille! It was
known as "the parting shot" of a desperate and frustrated
citizen! Benito Acosta made this issue personal. We won't
repeat his accusations or words...because they still may be
open to legal proceedings, in spite of the current dismissal
of charges.
There is little doubt that the days of elected Council Members
declaring that they are nothing more than underpaid volunteers
doesn't quite meet the realities of modern day government.
Perhaps it never did! There are "special interest" that call
the shots, there are "political considerations" that matter at
election time, there are biases and hidden agendas - this even
a 4th grader knows!
So, the question remains: How does this relate to Newport Beach?
Firstly, Robin Clauson is the NB City Attorney. She wants to
hire or select a City Prosecutor to deal with the various Code
Enforcement issues in Newport Beach. Currently, only Anaheim
has a State Approved City Prosecutor and that is only for high
visibility cases! We wonder is Clauson has touched bases with
Anaheim and found out how they apply this limited Prosecutor
position.
Ostensibly, The Prosecutor position is designed solely for
Criminal proceedings. Should Costa Mesa have such a Prosecutor
they could have taken on Benito Acosta legally. What they missed
was - they need to have the Orange County District Attorney
Office - take up the issue of Acosta! Evidently, they thought
the issue was too hot to handle. Whatever the reasons we
believe that Disorderly Conduct is usually dictated by a sworn
police officer. The person is taken to jail and they have to
pay for bail to get out. They have to appear before a Superior
Court Orange County Judge and face those charges. What in the
world was the Costa Mesa City Attorney doing involved in the
process? What in world we would need a Newport Beach Prosecutor
to do in the future?
This "Acosta Affair" should serve notice....that Disorderly
Conduct needs to be addressed - but to be done properly and
legally. Any citizen can call any elected politician any
name they choose. It is also in the purview of the Council
Members to say "when in a Public Forum" - that enough is
enough. The members can call on Police to remove anyone they
determine that might endanger the physical property or persons
in Council Chambers and maintain order. Acosta definitely
went over the line. He should have received fair warning that
any further "outburst" would put him at risk of charges. City
Council Members need to know how to fairly, clearly and honestly
explain to citizens their rights and privileges! These people
that come to City Council...need their say. They should also
be able to vent their anger and frustrations...all within the
purview of "Rational Decorum"!
Elected Officials, no matter how personally attacked....need
to maintain their cool. They need to be the City Fathers and
Moms that we can be proud of! We will always need the open
and honest remarks of the Gad Flies and Community Activists
to keep our rudder headed in the right direction. Hopefully,
both Costa Mesa and Newport Beach can learn from the Acosta
issue and the fair opinion of Judge McEachern!
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