Local Elections : Development Hotly Argued in Newport Council Race

Quality growth and slow growth are the buzzwords as Newport Beach voters face two elections in the next three weeks. Both revolve around heated debates regarding development in the affluent coastal city.

The first election is Tuesday, when voters will choose four of the seven City Council members. On Nov. 25, voters will decide the fate of Measure A, a proposal to allow a $300-million expansion of Newport Center.

In Tuesday’s election, only two incumbents are among the 12 candidates for seats in four council districts. Jackie Heather and Bill Agee are not seeking reelection.

The Irvine Co., which usually keeps a low profile in city elections, has been unusually visible in the campaigning. Irvine Co. Vice Chairman Thomas Nielsen participated in a press conference Monday at which Newport Beach Mayor Philip Maurer, who is not up for reelection, said the defeat of Measure A could delay construction of a major thoroughfare, Pelican Hills Road, for eight to 10 years.

Although they are not formally slated as a team, four self-styled slow-growth proponents are allies in the council election: Councilman Donald A. Strauss, Allan Beek, David Shores and Philip Sansone.

The candidates must live in the districts they hope to represent, but all are elected by citywide vote. Council members are paid $441.15 a month.

Here are the candidates:

District 1

Donald A. Strauss, a two-term incumbent, is a retired vice president of Beckman Instruments Inc. and has frequently voted against proposed development in the city. Strauss, 70, said at a League of Women Voters forum Tuesday night: “I am for handling development in a sensible way. . . . We must balance the needs of the community.”

He said in an interview that he sometimes abstains on proposals, rather than voting no, when it is a foregone conclusion that the proposal will lose. “When I’ve abstained, I’ve allowed the majority to win without agreeing with it,” he said. “It’s a graceful way of losing. I would certainly vote if the vote would be decisive.”

Strauss said he will vote against Measure A just as he voted against the expansion plan when it came before the City Council.

James (Buzz) Person, a member of the city Planning Commission, is a lawyer in his first campaign for elective office. Person, 40, said in an interview: “I think effectiveness is the most important issue. My opponent (Strauss) has abstained on 35 votes in the last four years. An abstention is a refusal to take a position.”

Person said he favors the Newport Center expansion plan, and thus Measure A, because it would have many benefits for the city, including the Irvine Co. commitment to build Pelican Hills Road within the next two years to relieve Coast Highway traffic congestion. “Pelican Hills Road would be a bypass road that would take a lot of traffic off the back of Corona del Mar,” he said.

Person said that the unincorporated territory south of Newport Beach will be the site of major resort and residential development in the near future and that Measure A would ensure that Newport Beach has a hand in controlling that development.

District 3

Evelyn R. Hart has been on the council eight years. Hart, 55, said her voting record reflects a commitment to “moderate slow growth,” although her opponent accuses her of mainly favoring developers.

“I’ve voted against many development proposals,” Hart said, noting that one of those votes was against the Newport Center expansion.

Hart, who is a state director of the League of California Cities, said one of her strengths has been in persuading other cities to cooperate with Newport Beach in solving such problems as airport noise.

In her speech at the League of Women Voters forum, Hart said she has been active and effective in environmental matters.

Allan Beek, the driving force behind the Measure A referendum Nov. 25, is making his second bid to unseat Hart. Beek, 59, a computer designer, first ran for the council in 1982.

In an interview, he said Newport Beach residents this year are in a mood to elect slow-growth proponents. “Working to get Measure A on the ballot was a dream. People were welcoming me and glad to have a chance to vote on the Newport Center question,” he said.

Beek said Newport Beach is already overdeveloped, and he predicted that Pelican Hills Road will be built regardless of the fate of Measure A. He also said he is not sure that the new road would be a blessing. He said it would quickly generate more traffic, thus adding to congestion in Newport Beach.

District 4

Ronald W. Winship, 44, a businessman, said he thinks a major issue in the race is what will happen to the area just south of Newport Beach. “Right now, the Cities of Newport Beach and Irvine are battling it out for that area,” he said. “Newport Beach needs to get control of the downcoast.”

Winship said he opposes Measure A because the proposal would involve building hundreds of residential units in places he believes are already too crowded. He said he favors “better pay for police officers, with a residential subsidy for Newport Beach police officers that reside within the city.”

Clarence J. Turner, 52, a businessman, is chairman of the city’s Planning Commission. He said at the League of Women Voters forum that Newport Beach is certain to keep growing “because other cities are on a growth spiral, and that is going to affect us. . . . We have to channel that to our advantage.”

In an interview, Turner said: “I think the most important issue in the councilmanic election is the general plan amendment (Measure A) for Fashion Island. I am in favor of that. I voted for it on the Planning Commission, and I will continue to work for it.” He added: “People have got to realize that this is a 10 to 15 year buildup program. . . . This is the first opportunity we have had for controlling the growth” in the area.

David Shores, 41, owner of a publishing company, said in an interview: “Obviously the people have made Measure A the major issue. I am critical of the high-rise development in Measure A.” Shores said he likes other aspects of the proposed Newport Center development but will oppose Measure A because of the high-rise development.

“I believe that we should phase in roads before we have high-rise development,” he said. “We must have the roads first.” Shores said he wants to “force the county to seek an alternative airport site rather than expand John Wayne.”

District 6

Michael L. Lapin, 47, a businessman and lawyer, said at the League of Women Voters forum that Newport Beach residents must work together to solve problems facing the city. “I want the city to come together,” he said.

Lapin said in an interview that he favors Measure A “with reservations.” “My reservations are that the improvements such as the roads must come first before the development,” he said. He said that his position on the Newport Center expansion is “not cast in stone” and that he would be guided by community sentiment, notably the outcome of the Nov. 25 election.

Pat Michaels, 61, is a former radio newsman who owns radio stations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

He said: “I hope to bring a reporter’s training for uncovering facts into government and use my businessman’s skills to resolve problems. I love Newport Beach and will conscientiously serve it and its citizens.”

Michaels said Measure A “is desirable because of the improvements, such as the roads, it will bring.”

Betty Grimes Tesman, 63, is a former professional tennis player who is now arts administrator at UC Irvine.

“I am a very strong advocate of completing Newport Center,” she said. “We need the tax money that Newport Center brings in. The question is whether we are to become a ghost city or a city of promise. Growth is going to occur in Orange County, and we’re very foolish if we’re not a part of it.”

Tesman said one of her major concerns is having more affordable housing for young people in Newport Beach.

Philip Sansone, 67, is a retired marketing executive and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel.

“I think the main issue is to restore the voice of the people to the Newport Beach City Council,” he said. “The council has become dominated by special-interest groups.”

Sansone said he opposes “urbanization” in Newport Beach and wants “growth consistent with the residential and recreational character of the community. . . . I want more emphasis placed on reducing the impact that airport-area development is having in increasing our traffic problems.”

Harmon Weston, 65, is a retired elementary school teacher. He opposes the Newport Center expansion.

“I’m opposed to the expansion because of the high-rise density it proposes,” he said.

Weston said other issues that concern him are pollution of Newport Bay and the possibility that the city might lose the sheriff’s Harbor Patrol.

“We must keep our vigil on fighting pollution in the bay,” he said. He also said he would fight to keep the harbor patrol because of the need for law enforcement “for things like theft and vandalism and drug traffic” in the harbor area.