Mailbag: Where is the discussion about the elected-mayor proposal in Newport Beach?

In Newport Beach there has been very limited public discussion on the charter amendment for electing the mayor which will be voted upon in the not so distant future. Where is the “give and take” so valuable when looking into such a major change?

Most of the discussion items have not been bantered back and forth orally but in writing. Some of that written discussion has been in the newspapers as well as communication which has been put on the Public Portal of Newport Beach. People can submit comments on council agenda items before a meeting, and the city clerk posts them there. The following remarks made in opposition to the Charter Amendment set before the people on Oct. 26 and passed that evening by council members, were displayed on the portal under “Correspondence - Oppose.”

“We are extremely opposed to this proposal and the strong-arming and overreaching it reveals.”

“I oppose using taxpayer money for a special election for mayor.”

“... when we have City Council members that ‘team up’ together to represent special interests — the last thing we need is a Mayor who is bought and sold to serve those interests.”

“... the language the Council is being asked to consider adding to a future ballot is very unlikely to be that which would result from a more thoroughly and openly debated consideration of the matter.”

“... this particular proposal of calling an election for a proposed charter amendment contains many quite arbitrary and poorly thought out provisions. One of the most arbitrary and disruptive of those is the mandate it would create to reduce the number of council districts from seven to six ...”

“I am against an elected Mayor ... for a lot of reasons, but most of all to … preserve the history and small town feel of the Newport Beach community.”

“What a waste of time and city resources to use this process with a special election.”

“It would mean that any newcomer to Newport Beach could simply arrive for the purpose of running for and possibly becoming Mayor, without any prior experience or knowledge of our city.”

“I urge you to please not give way to such a blatant attempt to seize the City Council’s power and monopolize it in a purely self-serving move.”

“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”

“I’m for waiting until our scheduled election in 2022 for voting on the election mayor issue. I believe the money could be spent more wisely like helping the homeless.”

“Such a serious alteration to our political system should be well considered and be a movement by the citizens, not a movement of the politically connected.”

There are approximately 320 pages of letters from writers who are speaking in support of and in opposition to the election of the mayor. First of all, the large number of letters shows what an important issue this is to the city of Newport Beach. If you go to that public website, ecms.newportbeachca.gov, you will find letters for and against the proposal.

Lynn Lorenz
Newport Beach

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