The race for the Costa Mesa City Council

Jennifer Kho

COSTA MESA -- City Council candidate William Perkins said it has

always been easy for him to make people laugh.

“I have a personality that I can make people laugh without really

trying,” he said. “I’ve always been kind of funny. If I’m elected, I will

be the one up there cracking jokes at the meetings.”

Sometimes when Perkins meets someone at an event and strikes up a

conversation, his wife, Amber, is surprised he didn’t know the person

before the event.

“She’ll say, ‘You talked to them like you’ve known them for 50

years.”’ he said.

Being a people person is part of what made Perkins choose his job as a

retail salesman at In-N-Out Burger Corp.

He has managed Hollywood Video and Blockbuster stores, and has worked

at a law firm, in escrow and for the Republican Party. But his job with

In-N-Out is his favorite.

“I’ve got a whole broad base,” he said. “When I was a manager, I liked

being the guy in charge, but I actually made a choice to do this instead.

I can focus more on school, my family and the race, and I enjoy it more.

My favorite part is actually being up front taking orders because I enjoy

people.”

Perkins also prefers the regular hours, he said.

“At Hollywood Video, I worked 80-hour weeks and had to introduce

myself to my wife when I went home,” he said.

Perkins said humor, as well as enthusiasm, is part of his outlook on

life.

“I try to look at everything for what it is,” he said. “Everything can

be stressful, or you can laugh about it.”

People have always fascinated him, Perkins said, because everybody is

different.

The reason he is interested in learning about history and politics, he

said, is because those subjects teach him about people.

He still remember when his interest in politics began, he said.

“I was 6 years old, and my father brought home a book about the

presidents of the United States,” he said. “I began reading and just

started following them through history, and I realized just how much

influence they had on society. I wanted to be someone who wakes up, goes

to work and makes a decision or says something that might benefit

someone’s life. That’s why I’m running. I want to be involved.”