MILLENNIUM MOMENT

Sandy Genis served on the Costa Mesa City Council from 1988 to

1996, as a city planner for Newport Beach from 1980 to 1991 and as mayor

of Costa Mesa from 1992 to 1994.

“I was known for being very persnickety,” the Costa Mesa resident

said. Genis was and continues to be a critic of development and an

advocate for environmental causes.

Since leaving the council, Genis has remained actively involved in

politics, contributing her fighting spirit to groups like Orange County

Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks, the Bolsa Chica Land Trust and

Stop Polluting Our Newport.

She has also begun training sheep dogs, a hobby she says has given her

an education in leadership.

“I’ve learned more about power dynamics in this dog training than in

all the time on the City Council,” Genis said. “I should have done this

first and then got involved in politics.”

MILLENNIUM MOMENT celebrates the people who have made a major

contribution to the Newport-Mesa community during this century.