Years ago, a very connected and involved GOP Politico told me that in Politics, you can only truly trust two types of people. Ultra-Conservatives and Ultra-Liberals (notice he didn't say Republicans or Democrats), because you always know where they stand. Even in the State Assembly and the State Senate, those are the two groups of people who also go along with others always, because there would never be any surprises on policy decisions. That's why watching our Governor, and his decisions, can be soo hair raising, and fun, because every one on both sides of the Aisle really don't know where he's going to go on decisions until he actually makes them.
I make a distinction between Conservatives and Republicans because as many people know, just because one is Republican, it doesn't guarantee that they are Conservative, or vice versa. For instance, Council member Mike Henn was, for almost 20 years, registered as Decline to State, and re-registered as a Republican last March. But regardless of Party Registration, he stated that he has always considered himself Conservative. Then you have many many Republicans who are affectionately known as RINOS (Republicans in Name Only - I'll spare the list) who are Republicans because...well...only they know why.
But that's what I'll use to segue into today's topic. In today's Daily Pilot is this Pol Position column written by Council member Keith Curry. Now, Council member Curry has always been known as someone who's been involved in Politics outside of the City (The Lincoln Club of Orange County) and as someone who could be called a Conservative and a Republican. You should know where he stands on the issues, especially fiscally, since most Fiscal-Conservatives, as Council member Curry is, believe in smaller government, less debt and responsible spending. But all of that contradicts his Pol Position column today.
When building a new City Hall is brought into the picture, most of the Republicans forget they are Conservatives. Heck, even Jim Righeimer, now a Costa Mesa Planning Commissioner, and a well known Republican, and Conservative, activist, got into the fray with his weekly Daily Pilot column opining why the City Hall initiative should go to the ballot. As a non-elected Conservative, why wasn't the discussion about being fiscally responsible by NOT borrowing $50 million bucks to build a New City Hall which will accommodate MORE City Employees? Let's me reprint this post.
City of Newport Beach - Est. Population - 84,218 + City Workforce - 944.20 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employees = 89 residents per employee
City of Costa Mesa - Est. Population - 113,440 + City Workforce - 700.69 FTE employees = 162 residents per employee
City of Irvine - Est. Population - 202,079 + City Workforce - 978.33 FTE employees (*contracts out for fire and library services) = 206 residents per employee.
City of Huntington Beach - Est. Population - 202,788 + City Workforce - 1105.5 FTE employees = 183 residents per employee
Note #1 - Irvine has been controlled by the very liberal Emperor Agran and his Democrat City Council majority on and off since 1978.
Note #2 - Huntington Beach has also been controlled by a Democrat City Council for the past few years.
Note #3 - Newport Beach's City Council has been Republican controlled for many years now, including a "narrow" 6-1 Republican current edge.
So I don't understand what is going on here. The City of Newport Beach, which holds a supposed 6-1 "Republican" edge has more city employees, and more city employee pension liability, wants to build a new City Hall which most likely will be built to accommodate for future employee growth. The New City Hall will put the City of Newport Beach into major debt ranging from $40 to $60 million. Mayor Pro-Tem Ed Selich once told me that financing the City Hall is like using a mortgage to pay for your house. True, except that I'm not mortgaging my house using your money, or how about I'm not mortgaging your house using my money. City Hall is supposed to be for all the residents, but how many of Newport's 80,000 plus residents have actually set foot into our current City Hall. Maybe 10%, maybe 20%. But ALL of us will be paying for it. Shoot, my aunt from Lancaster who gets a parking ticket in Newport will be paying for it. Once, I tried to take a picture of my in-laws in front of the City Hall chambers once and a City Staffer shoo-ed us off. Does the City Hall have Story Time for the kids? You don't even have to go to City Hall to pay for things anymore.
So today's Pol Position by Council member Curry. He talks about a new City Hall, where he thinks it should go, why it shouldn't go where others want it to. How to take your name off the petition you signed (didn't know you could do that). Throws around the difference between tens to twenties of millions dollars between one site or the other. But where is his concern about what borrowing that kind of money will do to the future of Newport Beach? On the Facilities Finance Review committee, he said that the City could afford it using Certificates of Participation. But to me, it's still debt (Yes, I know that Municipal Debt financing is Keith Curry's profession), and by the time it's paid off at 6%-8% interest, guess what...we'll need another City Hall and what we've paid will be double the amount of the original price (because of interest). Also, what about the torrid rate at which our fair City is increasing it's City Employee load? One of the reasons our current City Hall doesn't work is because the City has employed more people than their building can fit. We already have more employees per resident (almost more total City Employees) than the People's Republic of Irvine, with Chairman Agran at the helm since 1978. Where is Councilman Curry's concern about the size of Government? It's much easier not to give, then to take away later. Will Newport have the...guts (another word actually came to mind first) to do like Supervisor Moorlach in trying to change the Employee Pensions? Let's not forget that the Pension Liability (Funded or not) is still future debt.
Conservatives like Councilman Curry should know this and should tread a bit more carefully when it comes to financing Newport's future in a potentially uncertain economic future. I know that as a Newport Beach City Councilman, you have to go with the "flow" of what Republican dominated Newport Beach wants, but being a Conservative is more than a term, it's also your philosophy, and as evidenced by your pre-City Council involvement with the Lincoln Club, it's who you are. As a wise man once said, sometimes the ends may justify the means, but remember that while ends come and go, you'll have to live with the means for the rest of your life.
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