EDITORIALS

For as long as we or anyone else can remember, the Newport Beach City

Council has met on Monday nights. So it may seem an odd break of

tradition for the council to suddenly make the switch to Tuesdays.

But there is a good reason behind the move, and amazingly it has nothing

to do with Monday Night Football or the schedule of the popular

television series “Ally McBeal.”

Because council members traditionally go through their council staff

reports on the weekends when they have more time, all city officials have

felt a noticeable crunch on Mondays to get every question answered and

every detail ironed out before the 4 p.m. study sessions and 7 p.m.

meetings.

One more day will give council members, city staffers and the public that

much more time to digest all the information and prepare for the

nighttime meeting.

We also think the change, which won’t take effect until January, will

improve public participation. Aside from what’s on TV, Mondays tend to be

bad days all around, and attending a City Council meeting is probably the

last thing on most people’s minds.

Though it may not seem that big of a deal, the shuffle to Tuesdays is a

good move that should have an effect -- if only indirectly -- on local

decision-making.

System to pick mayor ensures best leaders

Every year around this time, regardless of what major public policy

issues are looming over Newport Beach city leaders, the most-discussed

matter is by far who will be the next mayor.

While some argue that this is counterproductive and advocate for a strict

rotation for the mayoral post, we disagree. Yes, this annual jockeying

for position may take away some from the business of the city for a

couple months out of the year. And yes, it does exclude the public in

some way because much of the deal-making is done via phone conversations

and behind closed doors.

But until Newport Beach decides to change its entire government structure

and have a publicly elected mayor, the process at least gives the

electorate some sense of comfort that the person who is chosen as mayor

is the best one for the job.

We agree, the mayor is just one of seven council members and has no more

power than any other individual on the council. But as a representative

for the city and as a visible leader on the council, it is important to

have the right person.

And we admit, the process is not without its faults. Many qualified civic

leaders -- one example being former Councilwoman Jean Watt -- have been

cheated out of the mayoral post because of the politics at the time.

We would like to think that every politician elected by the public to

serve on the City Council is capable of the leadership the mayoral role

requires.

But recognizing that is not always the case, we must have a system in

which only the best and most qualified council members assume the top

post.