For Glover, serving city was worth it

June Casagrande

It wasn’t fun, but it was definitely worth it. That sums up the

feelings of Norma Glover, whose eight years of service on the City

Council ended Tuesday.

“If I had to do it all over again, knowing in advance what it

would be like, I’d still do it,” Glover said, adding that she has no

plans to run for public office again. “It was not fun, but it was

definitely a positive experience.”

Giving back to the community, working hard for a larger whole, is

gratifying, she said. But politics can have its downside.

Glover said that in the last two years, she has seen a trend in

the city that she finds somewhat disturbing.

“Over the last two years there has been a change in tenor from the

community. There have been unhappy, angry citizens coming to

meetings,” she said. “I’ve thought about this a lot and I feel sorry

for them. There are so many wonderful things about living in Newport

Beach, and they just don’t see it.”

Glover, who left office because of term limits, said she is happy

to have played a part in helping to preserve Newport Beach as a

special place.

Top on her list has always been water quality. For most of her

time on the council, Glover played an active role in cleaning up the

harbor and ocean. This year, she asked city staff to envision what

could be done if the city had $5 million to spend on water quality.

Their answers served as a basis of what could be the city’s strategy

for years to come.

The biggest milestones of her terms in office include the

annexation of Newport Coast, the creation of four groundwater wells

in Fountain Valley to serve Newport Beach and securing the John Wayne

settlement agreement.

“Things like the groundwater system and the annexation may not

seem to people to be all that important in the short term, but I

think the long term benefits are very great,” Glover said.

Glover’s terms on the council were just part of her long history

of community service, which has included roles on the South Coast Air

Quality Management District and on the Orange County Waste Management

Board.

She will continue to chair the California Natural Gas Vehicle

Partnership through 2004, but she has had to step down from her post

at the air quality district because that post is only available to

members of city councils.

Her time helping to govern Newport Beach will remain one of the

most memorable times in her life, she said.

“I have worked with some very good people and I will always

respect them as associates,” she said.

“I’m very fortunate to have had an opportunity like this.”

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.