Ridgeway, Adams announce City Council reelection bids

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- Mayor Tod Ridgeway and Councilman Gary Adams will

both seek reelection in November.

The separate announcements round out the current slate of candidates

for the upcoming ballot, with one contender for each of the four seats

that will be up for grabs.

In April, longtime Corona del Mar activist Laura Bekeart Dietz

announced she would run for Dennis O’Neil’s District 6 council seat.

Later that month, the city’s former public works director, Don Webb,

announced he would run for Norma Glover’s District 3 council seat. Glover

and O’Neil must leave because of term limits.

No other challengers have emerged for any of these four seats. Nor has

anyone stepped forward to vie for John Heffernan’s District 7 seat.

Heffernan announced in April that he would leave before the end of his

term but now says he is reconsidering whether to stay.

News that Ridgeway and Adams would run again does not come as a

surprise. Both councilmen say they believe there is more work to be done

in their districts and throughout the city.

“My district was in a significant state of disrepair when I started

office, and I’d like to complete the improvements that we’ve been able to

begin in that area,” said Ridgeway, whose District 1 is the site of a

far-reaching Balboa Village revitalization plan, as well as plans to

improve Via Lido Marina and the Southcoast Shipyard.

In addition to improvements in his own district, Ridgeway said

maintaining water quality throughout the city and the region is a top

priority.

“Water quality is near and dear to my heart, and I want to continue my

involvement with the sanitation district in trying to prevent the 301H

waiver and maintaining clean water in and around the bay,” Ridgeway said.

The 301H waiver would allow the Orange County Sanitation District to

continue offshore disposal of sewage that has undergone treatment that

does not meet Clean Water Act standards.

Adams cited the general plan update process as one of his main areas

of concern for the coming term.

“We need to make sure that our general plan update really reflects

what the citizens want for Newport Beach,” Adams said.

Among his accomplishments in his first term, Adams cites his work in

reinstituting the council’s finance committee, his work to extend the

John Wayne Airport settlement agreement and helping to implement policy

and guidelines for operating under the city’s new Greenlight rule, which

mandates a citywide vote on developments beyond general plan allowances.

“I think when I ran I made a commitment that I was going to look at

every issue that came before the council on its own merit and be

practical and pragmatic in my decisions,” Adams said. “I think I’ve been

able to stay focused on being fair and letting the process work.”

Still to join the race is a promised slate of candidates supported by

Greenlight leaders. At the beginning of the year, the Greenlight camp

promised to field a contender for each of four seats.

Heffernan, alone, would not face a Greenlight challenge as he is the

only council member with strong Greenlight support.

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 june.casagrande@latimes.comf7 .