Crossposted at OC Progressive

Los Alamitos mayor resigns from City Council over racial e-mail

Dean Grose announced his resignation from the City Council in a letter this morning to the city manager.

Last week he said he would step down as mayor after coming under fire for sending an e-mail depicting the White House lawn planted with watermelons and the title “No Easter egg hunt this year.” But city officials had said he would retain his seat on the council.

LA Times Email Alert

Here is the update at the LA Times.  Police will be patrolling Grose’s home since a decimated watermelon was found outside his place of business.

I can tell you that this will make many happy to know that he will not try to hold his City Council seat.  His behavior and reaction were completely unacceptable and we can no longer tolerate the, I didn’t know crowd.

Local businesswoman and city volunteer Keyanus Price, who is black, told the Associated Press on Tuesday that she was offended by the e-mail she received from the mayor’s personal account Sunday.

If you don’t know what the uproar is all about (Seriously, I heard self proclaimed liberals say they didn’t get it), try reading this diary, Lessons from the Watermelon Man at the Daily Kos.  Everyone should know their African American history if they expect to serve public office.  

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As a resident of Orange County and a local progressive blogger, this is good news.  Orange County doesn’t want to be in the news for all the wrong reasons, our reputation as the most intolerant and conservative County in the Country is coming to an end and everyone at the OC Progressive hopes to be part of that shift.

Not only has the DCCC decided to help Bill Hedrick oust Ken Calvert (CA-44), we also have the great news of another successful progressive OC Politician taking on John Campbell (CA-48).  The OC Progressive broke this story on Saturday and I was honored to have an opportunity to talk to Beth Krom, City Council person for Irvine and former Mayor (Irvine, Safest city in America is also turning blue!).

Fellow blogger Joe Shaw put together the reasons why this run might work and we could be blessed with three progressive Dems in Congress for Orange County in 2010.

Here are a few of the reasons Beth Krom is such an excellent candidate for California’s 48th District:

She can win elections.

Beth Krom has won five campaigns, In 2006, she garnered 60% of the vote in her re-election as Mayor and in 2008, won her current City Council seat with 8000 votes more than the next candidate.

She gets things done.

We need elected officials who have experience getting things done for their constituents. Beth Krom is a strong advocate for environmental stewardship. Her vote was instrumental in cleaning up the water along the Orange County coast: she was the first “inland” representative to advocate for full secondary treatment of the effluent the OC Sanitation District pumped out into the ocean and was the “swing vote” in getting the board to fund implementation.

She’s a visionary.

Beth Krom understands that Orange County needs leadership that will advance innovative, integrated transit solutions, sustainable development practices and green technology and jobs initiatives.

She can work across party lines.

Beth Krom has the respect of so many people throughout Orange County because she works with people, regardless of political affiliation, to get things done.

Irvine is one of America’s best run cities.

What other Orange County elected, at the local, state or federal level, can lay claim to the legacy of forward-thinking leadership that Beth Krom has provided in the City of Irvine? “Safest City in America” four years straight; a balanced budget and more than tripling city reserves during her term as Mayor, and advancing a project of regional importance – the Orange County Great Park

The people of the 48th Congressional District – which includes Irvine, Tustin, Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Lake Forest, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Dana Point and parts of Santa Ana and San Juan Capistrano – deserve real representation and not just a “congressional seat-warmer.” Beth Krom is a candidate they can enthusiastically support.