Plenty of surprises in this campaign

As the dust settles, and we close the book on campaign season 2016 in Newport and Costa Mesa, we owe everyone who ran a debt of gratitude, as they all put their hearts and souls into their campaigns.

Making a decision to have your life filleted in public is not an easy one, considering how ugly campaigning in these cities has become. The 2016 council races, in my opinion, were among the worst I’ve covered, and I wonder if this will further discourage good people from running next time.

As with all races, there are those who prevail, and those who for some reason don’t resonate with voters. Though the outcome wasn’t what they expected, that doesn’t mean they’re discouraged from the process.

For instance, chatting with Newport candidate Fred Ameri Tuesday afternoon, he told me he would certainly consider running for a county or state office.

Quite frankly, I was surprised by his answer since he faced such ugly racism, starting with the lawsuit challenging the use of his nickname on the ballot (which he won) to someone placing a sign, with his name written in Farsi,in front of his own English-language sign.

Though Ameri ultimately lost to Will O’Neill, in my book he made a formidable effort. It’s just unfortunate that this race had to be the one to show us what dark places some will go to discredit a candidate in this town.

Election night is party time, as candidates watch results with family and friends.

I stopped into at the Back Bay Bistro in Newport Dunes, where Newport candidate Phil Greer was gathering with supporters, Councilman Keith Curry and his wife, Pam, among them.

As early numbers were coming in, Greer was running second to O’Neill out of the blocks.

But Greer and his wife, Arlene, were upbeat and proud of the campaign they’d run. Without hesitation, Greer said he would run again and enjoyed the process, adding that he met some great people.

Guests there speculated that if Ameri had stepped out of the race, as some felt he should have after his showing at the Feet to the Fire Forum in April, Greer might have prevailed on election night.

Another party I hit Tuesday night was at Aurora Mediterranean restaurant on the Balboa Peninsula. Newport Candidate Mike Glenn was surrounded by supporters. Glenn ran an interesting campaign and bought all slate mailers available to him. Ultimately that wasn’t enough to garner him a win.

------------

FOR THE RECORD

A previous version of this post stated that Newport council candidate Mike Glenn bought a few slate mailers. Glenn says, in fact, he bought all slate mailers available to him. In addition, the previous version of this post stated Glenn ran a majority of his campaign online. In fact, Glenn and his supporters walked precincts and participated in election forums.

------------

At the party, Glenn reflected on losing the Line in the Sand political action committee endorsement to Jeff Herdman, who won the in this race.

Glenn told me he felt he put on a good campaign, though he’d be hard pressed to run again, only because he felt he couldn’t raise enough money to compete.

Line in the Sand endorsed Herdman and Greer, but only brought home one win. The PAC will now start a referendum to stop the Museum House project (more on that in coming weeks).

Herdman spent election night with his family, and says he’ll plan a victory party for his supporters. He called his campaign experience “outstanding.”

Another party stop was Al Forna Café in Costa Mesa, where Costa Mesa Councilwoman Sandy Genis and candidates John Stephens and Jay Humphrey were watching the election results with a packed house of supporters.

Among the guests was Councilwoman Katrina Foley, who was confident of wins for Genis and Stephens.

Genis had a neighbor and friend pass away earlier in the day, and so the celebration was bittersweet, she said.

Stephens told me he’s looking forward to continuing the momentum of volunteerism he’s seen during his campaign and hopes to get those folks further involved in the city.

My last stop of the night was the Republican headquarters party above Skosh Monahan’s restaurant. The place was packed, as Republicans chanted Donald Trump’s name.

When I didn’t run into Costa Mesa Mayor Steve Mensinger or candidate Allan Mansoor, I left. But I had spoken to both earlier in the day.

With Mensinger, I sensed a weariness in his voice, as we discussed his campaign highs and lows.

I asked if he’d ever considering running again. He said no because of how ugly things had gotten.

His probable defeat — the results haven’t been finalized at this writing — later in the evening was surprising, as unseating an incumbent mayor, and someone who has served on council since 2011, is tough to pull off.

Another surprise was Mansoor’s win.

The voters have now spoken in both cities. It’s time to get to work putting this election season in our rearview mirrors and move these cities forward.

BARBARA VENEZIA lives in Newport Beach. She can be reached at bvontv1@gmail.com.