Groups press for special election

Deirdre Newman

Despite the City Council starting the appointment process to replace

Councilman Gary Proctor, representatives from two groups say a fairer

way to pick the next council member would be by holding a special

election.

Proctor will step down at the end of the month. The council is

accepting applications from residents of West Newport’s District 2

until noon on Oct. 9. It has until Oct. 29 to make an appointment,

which will be effective immediately.

According to the City Charter, the council has 30 days after a

council member’s departure to appoint a replacement. If no

replacement is selected, the matter goes to a special election.

Mayor Steve Bromberg said an election can only be declared as a

last resort and announcing one any sooner would signify that the six

remaining councilmen were not able to do their jobs.

But representatives from Greenlight and Free Newport.com say

letting the voters choose would be more democratic.

“We think there should be a public election where the voters can

examine the credentials or capabilities of the candidates, rather

than a council appointment,” said Phil Arst, spokesman for the

Greenlight managed-growth group.

Bromberg said the appointment process would be divided into two

phases -- collecting applications and interviewing candidates -- and

that the intricacies of the interviewing process would be worked out

by the council on Oct. 14.

If the council gets a whopping number of applicants and

interviewing them all is not feasible, then it will probably create

an ad hoc committee of three council members to winnow the applicants

down to a manageable number, Bromberg said.

The council then would interview the smaller number of candidates

at a subsequent council meeting.

“I don’t think we will get a truckload of applicants,” Bromberg

said. “I suspect, if it’s manageable, what I would like to see happen

is that the full City Council, all six of us, interview everybody.

Whether that’s feasible, we won’t know until the close of business on

Oct. 9.”

Brian Clarkson, spokesman for FreeNewport.com, which has agitated

for fewer restrictions on residents of West Newport, said there are

some people whom he would like to see apply, but that he won’t

disclose who they are.

“Will I encourage people to go though this process? Of course, I

will,” Clarkson said. “Will I publicly state who they are and back

them publicly? No, it’s not in their best interest. Not right now,

when the [council members] are appointing someone ... . They’d be

like, ‘Next.’ It’d be a joke.”

Applicants must live in District 2 and have been a registered

voter of that district for at least 30 days immediately preceding an

appointment. Applications are available through the city clerk’s

office at 3300 Newport Blvd., by calling (949) 644-3005, or through

the city’s Web site at https://www.city.Newport-beach.ca.us under

“News/Events/District 2 Council Vacancy.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.