Mosca’s history repeats

Pasadena Star-News:

While more recent arrivals in town may be unaware of this fellow’s significance, veteran Sierra Madreanos are likely to remember Joe Mosca. The one-time mayor of Sierra Madre first arrived in town in late 2005, only to run for City Council less than a year later. Obviously he was a young man in a hurry. One of splendid gifts and much promise all were assured by his handlers.

Running as a preservationist opposed to a clunky mixed-use nightmare known as the “Downtown Specific Plan,” Joe rode to elective glory upon a wave of local revulsion at the city’s fraudulent proto-development political establishment. When his election gave slow-growthers a clear City Council majority, many declared the town’s troubles over.

Alas, no. As often happens with local baby-kissers, Mosca quickly flipped on everything he’d previously promised. He became an aggressive supporter of the very project he’d opposed when running for office. Something that led to a successful resident land use revolt called Measure V, an unsuccessful recall, general civic mayhem, plus some annoying blogs.

Then, for reasons remaining unclear to this day, in 2011 Joe suddenly resigned his office. This only months after he’d won re-election with a campaign vowing his eternal love of Sierra Madre. Some credited Chris Holden for effortlessly crushing Mosca’s state Assembly ambitions, leaving him with little reason to stay. Others pointed to his physician husband being awarded a lucrative job in San Diego, bread winner’s needs carrying the day.

Shortly after landing in the San Diego County surf and sand suburb of Encinitas, Mosca somehow managed to get himself appointed to an open seat on that City Council. This despite the many other hopeful applicants who’d lived there for more than a hot minute. When he actually needed to run for that seat a few years later, he barely eked out a victory over an 80-year-old resident who rarely left the house due to his ailments.