Daigle takes vacated seat on council dais

Deirdre Newman

It came down to a choice between experience and a fresh face with a

resume.

The City Council appointed Planning Commissioner Leslie Daigle to

fill the vacant District 4 seat left by Gary Adams.

After three rounds of council votes, Daigle got the nod after

Councilman Steve Bromberg broke a 3-3 deadlock in which three members

voted for Daigle and three others voted for Planning Commissioner

Barry Eaton.

On the third vote, Bromberg, who had voted for Eaton, went with

Daigle to break the tie.

“I gave Barry Eaton the edge because of experience,” Bromberg

said. “At the same time, I did not think Linda Daigle was second

best. I put them in parity. I felt it was appropriate for me to break

the tie because they were equally qualified. Eaton had the edge on

experience, but it wasn’t going there.”

Daigle was sworn in shortly after the vote, which came at about 10

p.m., after an evening in which the seven other hopefuls took turns

answering council members’ questions.

The others vying to be appointed were: John Blom, a Corona del Mar

photography studio owner; Timothy Brown, chair of the English and

speech communication department at Riverside Community College and a

Parks, Beaches and Recreation commissioner; Michael Browning, owner

of a real estate firm; Charles Griffin, a retired aviation engineer;

Gerald Hegger, an independent insurance agent; Richard Luehrs,

president of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce; and Ron Winship,

owner of a film-production company. Winship was absent for medical

reasons.

Adams resigned, leaving the seat representing the city’s fourth

district open for the council to appoint.

The threat of John Wayne expansion and water quality topped the

list of answers to the question of what challenges the city faces.

“I know there are limitations on the amount of traffic, but they

will expire and our quality of life largely swings on what happens

when they expire,” said hopeful Michael Browning, referring to flight

caps.

Some candidates received questions based on their job, like

Luehrs, who was asked how he could be objective despite working as an

advocate for business.

“I believe I can separate myself from my job ... I think you guys

know me well enough to know I could be objective.”

But in the end, it came to Daigle and Eaton, the two planning

commissioners.

During the question period, Daigle was already outlining her

approach.

“I think [councilpersons] should be accessible and have a lot of

fortitude,” she said. “Good decision-making is important. I will look

into the issues, consult with others and try to work as a team.”