I suppose there are some clear reasons why.
In Costa Mesa, this election does seem to be a crucial one. The vision for the city's future held by Mayor Allan Mansoor (yes, we did pick him as our most influential person this year) and parks commissioner Wendy Leece is decidedly different from the rest of the candidates — most notably the Return to Reason-backed duo of planning commissioner Bruce Garlich and former Councilman Mike Scheafer.
The pick — and voters' choices when they reach for their ballot — is the most important I've seen since I began paying attention to Costa Mesa in 1998.
The school board picks were tough because, well, more than once candidates mentioned our Feb. 12 editorial when we asked for new faces to rise to the challenge of running. Having heard about that editorial a couple of times, I went back and took another look at it.
I kind of understand why it made an impression. Among the things we said:
"The second [piece of surprising news] was that any surprising news would come from this school board, which seemingly does so little in the way of major policy programs that it is difficult to think of any recent accomplishments other than the passage of two bond measures. And opponents probably could argue convincingly that those bonds represent the board's failure to plan adequately for the district's growth and needs."
And:
