Bever in but all votes aren’t

Deirdre Newman

Planning Commissioner Eric Bever narrowly edged into the third open

seat on the City Council with 12.1% of the vote, while provision,

paper and absentee ballots are still to be counted.

The outstanding ballots will be tallied within 28 days from

election day, said Brett Rowley, spokesman with the Orange County

Registrar of Voters. Their website will be updated every day with the

outstanding ballots that are processed each day, Rowley added.

Breathing down Bever’s neck are Planning Commission chairman Bruce

Garlich, with 11.9% and incumbent Mike Scheafer with 11.7% of the

vote. Only 269 votes separate Bever and Scheafer.

Planning Commissioner Katrina Foley and former Mayor Linda Dixon

have the first two spots pretty well sewn up. Foley finished

Wednesday with 15.6% and Dixon trailed her with 14.9%.

Bever said he was thrilled to be in third place on Wednesday.

“We really worked hard to do this,” Bever said. “It was an uphill

battle to do this, because many of the major institutions in the city

endorsed others. I feel like it was worth the effort, and I can’t

wait to get to work.”

One clear result is that Councilman Chris Steel will not be back

on the dais come December. He finished sixth with 8% of the vote.

Foley, Dixon and Bever are expected to join Mayor Gary Monahan and

Councilman Allan Mansoor on the dais in December. Foley said she

isn’t quite sure yet who she will be most closely aligned with on the

council but is keeping an open mind.

“Certainly Linda Dixon and I share a lot of values, but I’m

willing to build alliances with all the City Council members,” Foley

said. “One of the other important issues I think the voters were

concerned about is that the City Council be people who can work

together. I will be committed to doing that.”

Dixon, who finished fourth in the council race two years ago, said

she is also open to working with the rest of the council.

“I’m Linda Dixon -- I look at each issue, and I talk to a lot of

community members,” she said. “I have always been accessible to

people. I read staff reports. I take input from the community, listen

to other City Council members’ concerns. I am excited to work with

the other four City Council members.”

Bever said he will most likely be aligned with Mansoor, but is

also keeping his options open.

“I see a number of potential coalitions here,” Bever said. “It’s

all good. It will be an interesting mix, and I can see myself -- and

I know that will probably surprise some people -- but I can see

myself working with everyone on the City Council. I hope we have a

sense of cooperation.”

Bever and Foley grew antagonistic toward the end of the campaign,

however. His camp sent out a press release attacking Foley for being

deceptive by paying, as a Democrat, to be on a Republican mailer.

Bever said he is now “forewarned” about Foley but would strive to

work with her on the council.

“I’m interested in what’s important to the citizens of Costa Mesa

and if Katrina Foley’s willing to work with me to find the solutions

that will serve the citizens of Costa Mesa, I’ll work with her,” he

said. “I don’t care if she has pink hair, as long as she’s willing to

work for the best interests of the citizens of Costa Mesa.”

Foley said it’s time to move on from the negativity of some of the

campaigns.

“I did not campaign against anyone,” Foley said. “l ran a campaign

for what I believe in. I will do that on the City Council. I will

work for what I believe in and try to work with other City Council

members to find positive solutions for things. It’s a new day.”

Scheafer, appointed in May 2003 to fill the vacancy left when

former Mayor Karen Robinson left to become an Orange County Superior

Court judge, said he was disappointed by his finish Wednesday.

“I thought people recognized I was trying to make a difference,”

Scheafer said. “There was some good campaigning on the part of the

others.”

Steel could not be reached for comment.

Some of the issues the new council will be grappling with are how

to revitalize the Westside, based on the recommendations of the

Westside Revitalization Oversight Committee, and whether to continue

supporting CenterLine -- the proposed light-rail system running

through the city -- which Bever adamantly opposes.

“I will continue, of course, to oppose CenterLine and will take

whatever avenues are necessary to see that we stop it from being part

of Costa Mesa’s future,” Bever said. “I don’t think it’s a viable

transportation alternative.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers government. She may be reached at (714)

966-4623 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.