COSTA MESA — The city’s three commissions were essentially swept clean Tuesday after all commissioners were released from their appointments and told they could reapply following a spirited City Council debate.

New Mayor Katrina Foley said the change was needed to bring in more diversity of thought to the city’s decision-making process.

“To serve our residents well and our business interests well, we need to have a diverse group of commissioners so that we have representative voices,” she said. “It’s not about grabbing power. It’s about balance.”

The 3-2 vote, with council members Jim Righeimer and Allan Mansoor dissenting, opened all 17 seats on the Parks and Recreation, Planning and Senior commissions.

The terms for the released Parks and Recreation, Planning and Senior commissioners were scheduled to end in 2019 and 2021. All commissioners serve four-year terms.

Mansoor’s motion to let the commissioner terms expire naturally went nowhere.

“If we do a clean sweep you potentially have five inexperienced people on the Planning Commission and that is a huge mistake,” he argued.

The five-member Planning Commission reviews issues related to growth and development. The Parks and Recreation Commission has five members and seven are appointed to the Senior Commission.

Foley accused the previous council of politicizing the commission appointment process, saying that she and previous council members were unable to get their choices of candidates appointed because of the previous council voting bloc.

Righeimer characterized the move as a “slap in the face” to the commissioners, adding that most commission decisions can be appealed to the City Council.

“I think to go to people and say ‘You’ve been on the commission, you’ve done a good job and now you’re fired and then reapply’… I wouldn’t even want to reapply,” he said. “Any decision they make can be brought to the council and appealed.”

Appeals to commission decisions will continue to come to the council, creating a backlog and dragging meetings into the late hours if the same commission majorities were allowed to stay, Councilwoman Sandra Genis said.

“The whole point of having a commission is it’s somebody you can delegate things to,” she said. “Why would we even have a commission if we knew that they were probably not going to be agreeing with us on a substantial numbers of items and always having to call stuff up.”

In addition, Genis said some residents lacking political connections have become discouraged from applying for vacancies.

Parks and Recreation Commissioner Julie Mercurio, whose term expires next month, said she was disturbed to see the loss of experience that will result from the move and chalked it up to a move by the new council majority.

“I fear petty retribution is being put ahead of the best interests of Costa Mesa,” she said. “As the saying goes, ‘to the victor goes the spoils’. However the wholesale rejection of those that have given their time, energy and expertise in service to the city is unprecedented.”

She said she will not reapply.

The commission application period is open through Jan. 18. A special meeting is scheduled for Jan. 24 for interviews, with appointments expected to made at the council’s Feb. 7 meeting.

Each council member can choose up to three applicants to interview for each commission. No commission meetings will be held until appointments are made.

To apply to one of the commissions, visit costamesaca.gov.

Contact the writer: 714-796-2478 or lcasiano@scng.com