Last night, Mayor Margie Rice (pictured left) moved to strike Item 5.3, the Traffic Abatement Project (Janet's bridge) from the city council's agenda.  The motion passes 4-0 with Councilman Frank Fry abstaining.

It was a shocker to Janet Nguyen and her supporters because Margie was the person who placed the issue on the agenda.

What happened:

A few weeks ago, Janet demanded that Margie placed her "Bolsa Bridge" on the Consent Calendar for approval.  The Mayor rightfully refuses because the matter was deemed too important to be voted upon along with all the other routine items.

The item was then scheduled for the August 27 meeting.

On August 15, County CEO Tom Mauk sent Westminster another letter detailing all the line items that were agreed upon based on the "negotiation between the County and City, which took place subsequent to the Cooperative Agreement being sent to the City in March 2008..."

Margie Rice and the majority of the Council Members were livid because there was never any negotiation between the County and City.  According to the council, Tom Mauk basically sent Westminster a letter stating the terms of the agreement and expect the city to rubber stamp it.

The Westminster City Council didn't rubber stamp it, they acted wisely by not acting on it at all.

After the 4-0 vote, Janet and her entourage stormed outside and held an impromptu press conference to further attack the city council for not approving her $3 million bridge.

Following this episode, Margie Rice felt she was stabbed in the back by her own County Supervisor.

Janet Nguyen cannot find a bigger cheerleader for her in Westminster than Margie.  The Mayor went out of her way to campaign for Janet during the June Election.  She's is the only one in the city who is carrying water for Janet on her bridge.

That's why I think it is foolish for Janet to betray Margie Rice by accusing the Mayor and Westminster for backtracking on the "negotiation".  What negotiation?