Proctor, Bromberg, Heffernan ahead in Newport

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- With all but one of the City Council races too close

to call late Tuesday night, the District 7 race mirrored the tight

presidential race while the biggest fund-raisers led the polls in the

other two districts.

Businessman and attorney Gary L. Proctor, 55, is likely to succeed

Councilwoman Jan Debay as the council member for District 2. Steve

Bromberg, a 56-year-old mediator, will probably replace Mayor John Noyes

in the District 5 seat and businessman and attorney John Heffernan seems

to have taken the District 7 seat from incumbent Tom Thomson.

At press time, Proctor had 65.3% of the vote, Bromberg 44.4% and

Heffernan 38.2%.

Proctor, who had made the El Toro airport his No. 1 issue, said

energizing the residents to combat the threat of a possible expansion of

John Wayne Airport would be his first objective as a councilman.

“This is just the beginning,” Proctor said, adding that he hoped the

victorious Measure S supporters would direct their efforts to fight for

an extension of flight caps beyond 2005, when the current restrictions

end.

“It’s pretty clear that [voters] don’t want traffic,” Proctor said.

“We’ve got to face the next traffic issue, which is the airport.”

Computer sales consultant Dennis Lahey, 58, as well as real estate

broker Steven Rosansky, 40, trailed Proctor by a wide margin.

While Lahey raised $2,449 and Rosansky less than $1,000, Proctor

collected $47,180. An independent committee raised another $32,000 to

support his election.

Just before 11 p.m., with 15 out of 76 precincts counted, Bromberg

said that it was too early to tell whether he’d won the election.

“We’re just going to wait it out,” said Bromberg, who had raised

$57,878. “It’s a close race. We’re still having fun with it.”

Patricia M. Beek, 52, a retired retail manager, closely trailed her

opponent late Tuesday night with 41.3% of the vote. She had raised

$21,997 during the campaign. Robert Schoonmaker, 68, a retired engineer

and the third candidate for the District 5 seat, remained far behind the

others with just 14.3%. He had spent less than $1,000 of his own money in

the campaign.

In District 7, Heffernan, 50, a businessman and attorney, had a tight

lead over opponent former City Manager Bob Wynn, 69, who had collected

36.4%. While Wynn had spent $62,222, Heffernan, 50, a businessman and

attorney had put up $10,500 of his own money to run.

Incumbent Tom Thomson was staying behind his opponents in the vote

count late Tuesday with 25%. The 55-year-old real estate broker had

collected $43,577 for his reelection campaign.