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Monday, July 31, 2006

MINUTEMAN FUNDRAISER DRAWS NEWPORT BEACH CITY

COUNCILMAN CENSURED FOR RACIST INSULTS

80 anti-immigrant activists, most from outside Costa

Mesa, join the festivities

By DUANE J. ROBERTS

duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com

COSTA MESA, CALIF -- It was a perfect Sunday afternoon

for a barbecue in Fairview Park. Not a cloud was in

the sky and a cool ocean breeze blew off most of the

muggy heat that Californians have endured lately.

Gilchrist Angels, a group co-founded by wealthy Laguna

Beach "Minutewoman" Eileen Garcia, was holding a

fundraiser for Costa Mesa mayor and honorary

"Minuteman Project" member Allan Mansoor, who is

seeking re-election this November.

Everybody had a good time, including Mansoor. A boyish

grin stretched across his face as he sat down and

autographed T-shirts with American flags imprinted on

the backside for each. He gleefully accepted when

Garcia plunked down a final 0 bid to lock in a

future date with the eligible

bachelor/Minuteman/Mayor.

Where there is cash, there are politicians. Costa Mesa

mayor pro-tem Eric Bever munched down hot dogs and

chips. Huntington Beach congressman Dana Rohrabacher

made his standard, long-winded, anti-immigrant, "pro

America" speech.

Also present was Newport Beach city council member

Dick Nichols, whom Mansoor introduced as an honored

guest. But like many of the other Minuteman types

present, Nichols has a colorful past. He was censured

in 2003 by his council colleagues for making racist

insults about Mexicans.

Nichols had told a reporter at the time that he was

concerned with a proposed expansion of the park area

at Corona del Mar State Beach because "with grass we

usually get Mexicans coming in there early in the

morning and they claim it as theirs, and it becomes

their personal, private grounds all day." {1}

It was no surprise to see Nichols at the mayor's

fund raising event. After all, Mansoor is a bigot magnet.

There seems to be a mutual attraction between the

mayor and a wide variety of racists, mostly from

outside of Costa Mesa, who he obviously hopes to rely

on to fund his political future (not many local

residents attended the Sunday barbecue, incidently).

Since being elected to the city council in 2002,

Mansoor has made his reputation by bashing gays,

trying to "clean up" the city's (immigrant) west side,

appointing a known white supremacist to a

redevelopment board (2), scapegoating local "illegal"

immigrants for heinous crimes -- despite a low crime

rate, and by stifling free speech at city council

meetings.

Good times at the fundraiser were interrupted by

occasional shouts of "Mansoor you're a racist" and

"racists go home" from a small group of demonstrators.

Most of the mayor's supporters handled it in stride

and some engaged in spirited discussions with their political

opponents.

Garcia, the Minutewoman, and the Minuteman ("law and

order") Mayor seemed to be the only ones who couldn't

handle free speech in the park. Garcia tried to

mislead demonstrators and unembedded journalists into

believing that they were "illegals" and the park was

closed to them. And when the mayor noticed he was

being photographed by unembedded journalists, he raced

off in a huff to complain to the

police, but to no avail.

========

John Earl of www.ocorganizer.com contributed to this

report. All photographs and videos were taken by him.

###



NOTES:

{1} See the following links for more information about

the controversy over Newport Beach city councilman

Dick Nichols' racist insults toward Mexicans.

Unamended resolution condemning Nichols' comments:

http://www.city.newport-beach.ca.us/CouncilAgendas/2003/i07-0815.htm

See Item 15 under "Current Business" for debate on

Nichols' comments:

http://www.city.newport-beach.ca.us/CouncilAgendas/2003/Mn07-08.htm

Other Newport Beach City Council minutes:

http://www.city.newport-beach.ca.us/CouncilAgendas/2003/Mn06-24.htm

Mainstream news accounts about the Nichols

controversy:

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/2280595/detail.html

http://www.nbc4.tv/politics/2318312/detail.html

(2) Protesters Rally Against Costa Mesa Junta’s Minuteman Agenda And Neo-Nazi Ties www.ocorganizer.com