Costa Mesa residents are gearing up for the upcoming November election – grilling candidates on immigration and housing – issues that the city has long since grappled with.
A host of city council candidates spoke to voters last Thursday in a candidate forum hosted by several nonprofit and community organizations including Resilience OC, Lucha Costa Mesa, Costa Mesa Mutual Aid, Costa Mesa Unidos, CHAMOY, Underground Grit, Project Kinship and OC Action.
While all candidates running for mayor and city council were invited by organizers – several including Mike Buley, Daniel Morgan, Fisher Derderian and Steve Smith did not participate.
The forum comes as the city is struggling to catch up with state-mandated housing numbers, being sued by the state in July over a lack of a legally compliant housing plan.
It also comes on the heels of a surge in immigration enforcement in Southern California. In Santa Ana – OC’s only sanctuary city – two immigrant advocates were recently arrested by city police officers while observing ICE agents and another advocate claims she was beaten and detained by federal agents for the same.
Candidates’ Stance on Immigration Support in Costa Mesa
Many questions from the organizations and audience members focused on how the city would support its immigrant communities.
A representative from Lucha Costa Mesa – a community led mutual aid and safety network helping to support day laborer communities in the city – asked candidates whether or not they would support revitalizing a city-funded day laborer job center.
All of the candidates at the forum were in favor of funding a day laborer job center, sharing their additional ideas on how the city could support them in accessing fair and safe employment options.
Kelly Brown, a candidate for district five, said she would be interested in learning about the problems day laborers in Costa Mesa face.
“I would be interested to learn more about the particular needs of day laborers in Costa Mesa,” she said. “I would want to learn more about the problem before suggesting the solution.”
District Four Candidate Angely Andrade Vallarta echoed Brown’s statement, saying that day laborers play a huge role in moving Costa Mesa forward.
She said she would want to find out more about what happened to the previous day laborer program that existed in 2005 and why the city shut it down.
“This is workforce development opportunities, I see it. Provide them with a location where they can be physically safely because most of the time, they’re also enjoying the weather,” Vallarta said.
Cara Stewart, candidate for district three, said the question gets to the heart of many issues the city is facing, explaining how the question is also asking how the city will protect working families.
She said the city needs to bring in organizations, such as Lucha Costa Mesa, to help the city revitalize the day-laborer center.
“We are seeing racism and discrimination throughout our country, in Orange County and in Costa Mesa,” Stewart said. “In order to create a safe environment, I want to echo what so many have said tonight. Our city has a responsibility to protect everyone here.”
District 2 Councilmember Loren Gameros, who’s also running for mayor, shared his experience being a laborer himself, saying he would love to see a center in the city.
He said the city could look into reinforcing some of its community development programs and funding workforce development programs with grants from the Department of Labor.
In July, Costa Mesa city council members voted to keep flock cameras in the city until their expected expiration date in April 2027, despite many Costa Mesa residents asking the council to cease their contract for months.
While every candidate at the forum said they were not in favor of flock cameras, Gameros voted to keep the contract intact with the company until its expiration date.
According to Data USA, 22.3% of Costa Mesa residents were born outside the country as of 2024.
Costa Mesa Mutual Aid – a grassroots organization that runs monthly distributions of food and essential items to families in the city – asked candidates how they would support residents affected by immigration enforcement.
Vallarta said she wants to properly allocate funds into Costa Mesa’s immigrant aid fund – which city council donated $100,000 to in 2023 – and expand it.
Brown said she would want to understand what role the city plays in supporting affected residents.
“Lastly is to really try and better understand what kind of support a city can appropriately provide or appropriately support the network of organizations that are out there doing this,” she said.
Gameros said the city “goes beyond” giving legal services to residents, explaining that the city houses affected families regularly.
“The best thing we can do right now is defend those that need defending through legal services and by funding it. When it comes around again, I can guarantee you I’m gonna support funding all legal services that anyone in the city would need,” he said.
Stewart said the city needs to make sure the city is taking care of the affected families and the groups and organizations supporting them while making sure that legal and housing services are there for families to use.
“This issue touches upon our civil liberties here in the United States and sometimes it hinges upon federal and state law. We have a responsibility as a city to stand with everyone here,” Stewart said.
How Will the Candidates Keep Housing Affordable?
Many organizations and audience members questioned candidates on affordable housing for residents – with many concerned about how the city would be able to support its current residents and youth with buying and maintaining home ownership.
According to a database from the California Department of Housing and Community Development, Costa Mesa has permitted over 550 units of state-mandated housing while the city council recently approved a plan to build 2,300 units at the Fairview Development Center.
However, according to the database, the city needs to plan for 11,760 new units before the 2029 deadline – meaning the city has only permitted less than 5% of its state-mandated housing goals.
The candidates laid out similar approaches to increasing affordable housing in the city for existing residents and first-time buyers.
Vallarta, Brown and Stewart all identified themselves as renters in the city, saying how this issue is personal to them.
Vallarta suggested the idea for the city to create a rental registry for residents to easily navigate the process of finding affordable housing in Costa Mesa, which Stewart agreed with.
“That’s definitely essential to assure that every resident has quality of life. I think that’ll also help identify opportunities to track affordability, continue to build affordable housing opportunities,” she said.
Brown said she didn’t have the answer to solve the issue of affordability in the city, but that she would want to “continue talking with people” about the housing situation.
Gameros pointed to the city’s efforts to attain more affordable housing, explaining how the city has an affordable housing element.
“If it were up to me, we could provide homes for every single person that needed to live here. I want you to live here,” he said.
Sara Leon is a Voice of OC reporting fellow. You can reach her at admin@voiceofoc.org
