Newport election integrity takes hits

If Councilman Gary Adams had given explicit instructions to Dave

Ellis to run a clean campaign, why did Ellis, a businessman, spend

his own money to prepare a phony phone message, reserve a mailbox at

a telemarketing service center and pay for the distribution of

messages in advance if there was no chance that Adams would ever use

it (“Heffernan welcomes conflict rule ally,” Dec. 11)? It doesn’t

ring true.

Why did Adams even hire Ellis, who was known to have used

deceptive tactics including phony phone messages in the previous

Bromberg campaign, if he wanted a squeaky clean campaign?

The real issue is integrity in government. Serving on the City

Council requires high integrity and the support of a dirty tactics

campaign should disqualify him from serving on the council.

Even if Adams had 90% of the vote, the fact that he engaged a

consultant known to have used deceptive tactics in the past shows

that he has no integrity.

The messages did impact the election. Their main purpose was to

disgust the supporters of Greenlight so they would stay away from

voting. The phony phone messages did impact the outcome of the

election and Adams should resign so a new election can be held.

TOM BILLINGS

Newport Beach

I don’t believe for one second that the Orange County District

Attorney’s Office, with its own lack of ethics and integrity issues

(currently under investigation by the states attorney general)

can/will do anything about Newport Beach City Council’s lack of

ethics and integrity.

To me, the real issue here is be careful who you vote into office

and what happens when the majority of registered voters don’t vote.

Mark Petracca is correct, “it shows a profound disregard for the

integrity of the electoral process.” What the residents of Newport

Beach should be doing is attending City Council meetings and

e-mailing the City Council with their concerns and issues. The City

Council should immediately discuss and pass Councilman John

Heffernan’s conflict of interest policy.

BARBARA JOHNSON

Newport Coast