Jeff Arthur, chairman of Costa Mesa Pension Oversight Committee, dies at 58
Jeff Arthur, a Costa Mesa resident and volunteer on city financial committees, died Saturday of a rare blood disease. He was 58.
Arthur, a retired financial professional and an administrator with the Coast Community College District, served as chairman of Costa Mesa’s Pension Oversight Committee and a member of its Finance Advisory Committee. He also was active with the Newport-Mesa Tea Party Patriots.
Arthur chaired the pension committee since its inception in 2013. He was among several Costa Mesa activists who warned about the city’s looming unfunded pension liability — which, he said in October, could amount to $255 million by June.
“I’m a PERS [Public Employees’ Retirement System] retiree ... and I’m interested in preserving PERS, but at the same time know that it’s a tough nut,” Arthur said in 2013.
In a statement, Mayor Steve Mensinger called Arthur “an exceptional man who ... never took credit and shunned authorship for many of the great efforts and projects he completed.”
“Many considered Jeff a mentor. I considered him my brother, for whom I had great love,” Mensinger said.
Tom Pollitt, founder of the Newport-Mesa Tea Party, called Arthur “the kind of person who was always there to help. ... Jeff loved the Lord and was salt and light to those around him. Jeff always had a smile on his face and will be a loss to all who knew him.”
Arthur is survived by his wife, Kristin, two sisters, a brother and his mother.
Services are planned for January.
Twitter: @BradleyZint
