Bring out the water balloons

Paul Clinton

Two former Newport-Mesa councilwomen, still familiar names in city

circles, are squaring off for a seat on the 10-member Orange County

Water District board.

Jan Debay, a former Newport Beach mayor and councilwoman from 1992

to 2000, and Heather Somers, a former Costa Mesa councilwoman from

1996 to 2000, will meet in the Nov. 5 election. Five other candidates

are also vying for the water district’s Division 7 seat, which

includes Costa Mesa and West Newport, the area Debay represented on

the council.

Edward Beneville and Bradford Calvin, both Costa Mesa attorneys,

are joining David Richards, a Costa Mesa engineer, Tara Drennen, a

Tustin electronics engineer and Timothy Johnson, a Fountain Valley

businessman, in the race.

Debay is the incumbent in the race, yet she has never run for the

seat. She was appointed to the board in February of 2001, three

months after leaving the City Council. Debay replaced Kelly Rowe, who

resigned Dec. 23, 2000 to pursue a career as a consultant.

Somers aborted a run for the Costa Mesa City Council in August

after announcing she would seek one of the two seats up for grabs.

Somers also contemplated running for a seat on the Mesa Consolidated

Water District.

Somers said she hopes to make some changes at the district and

isn’t just a perennial candidate looking for public office.

“That would be an inappropriate assumption,” Somers said. “The

water race got thrown at me at the 11th hour. When I heard about all

the things going on there, it caught my attention.”

D.A. UNDER SILVA’S GUN

As a way to restore some credibility to the District Attorney’s

office, Supervisor Jim Silva wants the state Attorney General to

investigate Tony Rackauckus.

Rackauckus, Orange County’s district attorney, has been under fire

since a grand jury accused him of promoting he friends, punishing his

enemies and giving his wife undue influence in the running of the

office. He called the report “a one-sided view of history” last

month.

“It’s always frustrating when you have an issue like this that

comes before the public,” Silva said. “We want to make sure that

people have faith in the system.”

While Silva, who represents Newport-Mesa, said he couldn’t speak

to the merit of the charges, he said he would like the matter

resolved. The board has no oversight over Rackauckus other than

approving his budget.

DREDGING UP SOME FUNDS

It never hurts to ask.

Newport Beach Asst. City Manager Dave Kiff made the trek to

Washington D.C. this week hoping to pin down some federal money for

local water-quality projects.

Kiff, a former legislative director for state Senator Marian

Bergeson, met with federal officials in the nation’s capital on

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Kiff joined a delegation of other Orange County officials, who met

with the Environmental Protection Agency, City Manager Homer Bludau

said.

City leaders are hopeful funding could be pulled loose for

dredging and other projects that would improve water quality in the

Upper Newport Bay. Beginning in 2004, a coalition of agencies are

scheduled to begin a $34-million dredging project to remove polluted

sediment at the bottom of Back Bay.

The project is being spearheaded by the Army Corps of Engineers.

“You have nothing to lose by asking and lobbying,” Bludau said

about Kiff’s trip.