Giving it the ol’ Lions try

Costa Mesa Councilman Mike Scheafer attended his first meeting on

Monday. It wasn’t the most typical of meetings, in that it ended at

11 p.m., an earlier than usual finish. But Scheafer got a taste of

what’s in store.

The Mesa Verde resident has something else on his mind for the

next week: the Fish Fry. The once annual event returns to Lions Park

on Saturday and June 1 in a toned-down form.

On Tuesday, City Editor James Meier caught up with the new

councilman and Lions Club president at his State Farm Insurance

office to discuss the recent events in his life.

How was your first official City Council meeting?

It was interesting. I actually enjoyed it.

Did you expect to not enjoy it?

I did expect to enjoy it. There really wasn’t much that I didn’t

expect. [City Manager] Allan Roeder made the comment, “You won’t have

any trouble. You’ve sat up here before.”

Was that reassuring?

Yeah, it really was.

Was what transpired throughout this month how you expected to land

a City Council seat?

No, I thought the process would go a little differently and really

wasn’t sure I’d be the one selected. There were some really qualified

applicants. Not that I’m not qualified. I think I am, obviously.

There were some folks with some really impressive credentials.

What issues do you think need to be addressed most in Costa Mesa?

I think, first and foremost, we have to make sure the budget fits

whatever programs we’re going to have for the next couple of years.

Not knowing what the state and governor are going to do, I think we

need to make sure the budget is fiscally sound and balanced.

After that, I think this whole idea of improvements that need to

be made all over the city. We need to continue to look at what

they’re doing on the Westside and make sure that that doesn’t grind

to a halt.

What specifically drew you to the City Council to begin with?

I have a pretty long record of serving the community and felt that

this was the ultimate place to serve in the community. I think that,

more than anything, that service to the community is what drew me to

it.

How long have you been involved with the Lions Club now?

I’ve been involved with Lions most of my life because my dad was

involved. I joined in 1984.

What are your proudest moments in the Lions Club?

My proudest moment was joining the club, the Newport Harbor-Costa

Mesa club, and becoming district governor in 1997. Hopefully, my

proudest moment will come in two weeks when we get the Fish Fry back.

How has it been for you over the last two years not to have the

Fish Fry?

It’s been a little disheartening. Every year about this time, the

phones are ringing: “Why aren’t you doing the Fish Fry?” I caught a

little flack from your paper last year because I really went out

strong. I really thought we were going to do it. But from a legal

standpoint, from a logistics standpoint, we just couldn’t do it. So I

was very disappointed. Obviously, not [having] to do the work was

some relief, but that’s secondary to not being able to do the event.

What changed this year to make it happen?

The fact that the community center is done at Lions Park opened up

the park to us. We have some renewed vigor from the members of our

club. A lot of the guys -- you talked to Rollo [McClellan] -- he was

really passionate about this thing. He was really the one that

kick-started me.

Any thoughts about expanding next year’s event?

Hopefully, we can expand it, get it back to more of what it was

before. We’d like to get more community involvement next year. More

groups.

Back to the council: Is it too early to ask whether you’ll seek

reelection?

It’s not too early to ask. It’s too early for me to decide.

Obviously, I am considering that, but I want to make sure that what

I’m doing is the right thing.

Any final thoughts?

I made a comment [at Monday’s City Council meeting] that I’m going

to make decisions that folks aren’t going to like and I’m going to

make decisions that folks are going to like. And those are as

important, and I hope I can earn the respect of the community.

Obviously, every decision affects different people different ways,

and as long as I’m respected for what I do and can do what’s best for

the city, then I will be a success.