Nichols recall reconsidered

June Casagrande

Businessman Lloyd Ikerd is reconsidering an effort to oust Councilman

Dick Nichols, weighing whether a recall would do the city more harm

than good.

After attending Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, at which

nearly 50 people spoke in a council chamber lined with TV cameras,

Ikerd said that the harm of perpetuating the controversy might

outweigh the benefits of a recall.

“We want to do what’s best for the community,” Ikerd said. “The

community’s our main concern.”

He said that he expects to make a decision by early next week,

after talking with supporters and weighing the outcomes.

But his stance on the recall in no way reflects a softened stance

on Nichols’ comments about Mexicans.

On the contrary, Ikerd said, he was “aghast” at some of the more

extreme views voiced by Nichols’ supporters who spoke at the meeting.

“We don’t feel Mr. Nichols represents the community and the people

speaking at that meeting definitely don’t represent the community,”

Ikerd said, referring to reports that most of Nichols’ supporters who

spoke at the meeting were not Newport Beach residents. “The big

concern is if Nichols is taking this support that he had from outside

the community as a mandate for what he’s doing and he continues to do

so, that this is just going to get worse and worse and worse. We’re

hoping that Mr. Nichols will back down and not take it as a mandate.”

Ikerd had announced last month that he planned to begin a citizen

recall of Nichols in response to several comments Nichols has made

about Mexicans.

* 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.