Council candidates spar at public forum

NEWPORT BEACH — Mayor Ed Selich is running unopposed for reelection this year, so he opted out of most of Wednesday night’s candidates forum at the Newport Beach Yacht Club. Still, the mayor delivered an opening address that amounted to a ringing endorsement for his two colleagues seeking a second term.

“I ask you to think real hard on election day,” he said. “As well as this city is running, why would you want to change horses?”

It was a rhetorical question, but the two challengers for City Council seats this year, businesswoman Dolores Otting and retired educator Gloria Alkire, answered it more than once. Throughout the hourlong debate, Councilmen Keith Curry and Steve Rosansky cited their achievements in office while Otting attacked the city government as secretive and financially irresponsible and Alkire made a broad appeal to voters to consider new voices on the council.

About 50 people attended the debate, which was sponsored by the nonprofit Speak Up Newport. George Schroeder, the nonprofit’s president, moderated and asked the questions submitted by the audience. Each candidate got to direct a question to his or her opponent.

Echoing the mayor’s opening comments, Rosansky and Curry used their track records to make cases for reelection. Rosansky mentioned his efforts to limit expansion of John Wayne Airport and install road improvements. Curry cited the Newport Coast Community Center and other facilities that were built or started construction during his term.

“Long Beach has a bay. Huntington Beach has a beach. What makes Newport special? It’s the quality of the decisions we make as a community,” Curry said at one point.

Otting, his opponent, disputed the notion that most of Newport’s recent projects have been community efforts. She accused the council of relying too heavily on ad hoc committees that operated out of the public eye and urged the city to spend less. As an alternative, she said, the city could rely on wealthy citizens to contribute money for fire stations and other projects.

After the debate, Curry dismissed that idea, saying donations wouldn’t be reliable to keep the city growing steadily. He also said ad hoc committees helped the city negotiate the best deals possible.

“Our officials are not corrupt,” Curry said. “Our government is not in secret. In fact, it’s very open and well-run.”

Rosansky and Alkire were more relaxed throughout the forum, with the incumbent praising the city’s work on the recent rehab homes ordinance — which he called “the most cutting-edge” in California — while his opponent argued that the agreement with Sober Living by the Sea benefited the group homes’ owners more than residents.

Otherwise, Alkire spent more time talking about her desire to give voters a choice than attacking specific actions by the current council. Rosansky, in his question to her, recited a list of recent projects in Newport Beach and asked which ones, if any, Alkire opposed. She replied that she couldn’t argue any of them.

“I hope you all come out and vote, because that’s important no matter who you choose,” she said in her closing statement.

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.