NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL: Council stays the same

Incumbent Councilmen Keith Curry and Steve Rosansky both had substantial leads over challengers Dolores Otting and Gloria Alkire in early election returns Tuesday night.

“I’m feeling pretty good right now, said Curry, who was in positioned to win his reelection bid for District 7 against Otting late Tuesday.

“We’re pleased to be where we are. It’s not over, but I’m optimistic and Newport voters seem to be saying, ‘We can’t be bought,’” Curry said. The councilman hosted an election night party at the Newport Sports Museum.

Former Behr paint manufacturer Chairman Jack Croul pumped $90,500 into the independent expenditure committee Taxpayers for Safer Neighborhoods to support Otting’s campaign as of Oct. 18, according to the latest campaign disclosure statements available from the Newport Beach City Clerk’s office.

Efforts to reach Otting for comment late Tuesday night were unsuccessful. She told the Daily Pilot last month that she was pleased to have Croul’s support in her election bid, but had no connection to the Taxpayers committee.

Taxpayers for Safer Neighborhoods spent more than $61,000 in the final week of the council race alone in support of Otting’s campaign, according to campaign disclosure statements. The independent expenditure committee put several thousand dollars into direct mail, phone calls and polling over the past week, according to disclosure statements.

Curry accused Otting on Tuesday of conducting an illegal raffle to raise money for her campaign. The raffle gave campaign donors the chance to win one of three vacation getaways to Cancun, Mexico, San Diego or Honolulu. Otting has taken down the details of the raffle from her website and her campaign treasurer said last week she will probably cancel the fundraiser after two complaints questioned the source and value of donated vacations.

Curry claims the political campaigns are not eligible under state law to conduct a raffle. It was not immediately clear late Tuesday whether a complaint would be filed against Otting. Otting earlier Tuesday declined to comment on the raffle.

Rosansky spent election night with a close group of supporters at his sister’s house. The councilman was leading by a wide margin in early returns, despite a negative mail campaign launched by the group Newporters for Ethical Government and several news stories critical of a house Rosansky owns in West Newport that has fallen into disrepair and has garnered several code violations from the city.

“I certainly was in it to win,” Rosansky said of his reelection. “Barring any changes, it shows Newport Beach residents were a little smarter than Newporters for Ethical Government gave them credit for.”

Alkire, Rosansky’s challenger for the District 2 council seat, spent election night at a watch party for Otting. Although early returns showed Rosansky ahead at the polls, Alkire remained optimistic late Tuesday night as numbers continued to pour in.

“I fought a good race — whatever happens, happens,” Alkire said.

Alkire pointed out that the absentee ballots were among the first to be counted, and later returns might shift in her favor.

“I’ll be disappointed in our voters if I lose, because I think people should follow the law when they’re in an elected position,” Alkire said, referring to news stories about Rosansky’s unkempt house in West Newport.

A newcomer to city politics, Alkire struggled to raise money — she poured $25,000 of her own money into her council bid. Altogether, Alkire raised a little more than $30,000 for her campaign, according to the latest campaign disclosure statements. Alkire also had a hard time picking up endorsements, garnering only the formal support of the Corona del Mar Republican Assembly.

The independent expenditure group Newporters for Ethical Government waged a negative direct mail campaign against Rosansky, referring to the councilman by the unflattering moniker “Steve ‘Halfway House’ Rosansky” in several pieces of campaign literature mailed to Newport Beach homes. The mailers accused Rosansky of profiting from drug and alcohol rehabilitation homes in his district and not paying his taxes — charges Rosansky denies.

The group is primarily funded by rehabilitation home over-concentration activist Bob Rush, through his company U.S. Realty Group. Newporters for Ethical Government also has two other donors, Newport Coast attorney Jeffrey Walsworth and the Anaheim-based business Hot Rods, run by Concerned Citizens of Newport Beach member Daniel Welden.

The group plunked down about $44,000 for campaign literature in the past week alone, according to campaign disclosure statements. Altogether, Newporters for Ethical Government raised almost $90,000, according to the latest campaign disclosure statements.

Rosansky got a boost from the Republican Party of Orange County, which put up almost $17,000 to support Rosansky last week, according to campaign disclosure statements. The councilman raised a little more than $36,000 on his own.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.