NEWPORT BEACH : Watt Faces 2 Foes; 2 Seek Plummer’s Seat

Councilwoman Jean H. Watt will face two challengers as she runs for a second term in November, while 12-year Councilman John C. Cox Jr. will run unopposed for his fourth term.

Meanwhile, two people will vie for the seat Councilwoman Ruthelyn Plummer is vacating after 12 years.

Challenging Watt to represent District 5 are Robert C. Lewis, a certified management consultant who lives on Balboa Island, and Diane Coltrane, a real estate broker who lives in Bayridge.

Lewis, a three-year resident of Newport Beach, said he has been unhappy with some of the council’s policy decisions, including a nearly $20,000 pay raise for former City Manager Robert Wynn six months before his retirement. Lewis also blamed the council for the theft of $1.8 million from city coffers by former Utilities Director Robert Dixon, who was sentenced to four years in prison earlier this year.

“The council sets policy and they should be setting the tone for the whole city,” said Lewis, who was also a vocal opponent of the original design proposed for the new Balboa Island fire station. He and several residents were instrumental in getting the Fire Department to change the station design.

Coltrane, a 12-year resident, said her main reason for running is to further her civic involvement, which has so far included membership in the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce and South Coast Community Church. Five years ago, Coltrane became the first woman Rotarian in Newport Beach, and while living in Long Beach, she served as vice chair of that city’s Economic Development Commission.

“I’m not coming in as an enemy; I’m coming in as a friend,” she said. “I haven’t established a platform, except I’ll be pro-Newport Beach. I’ll look at all sides and try to do what’s best for the city.”

Watt’s election to the council four years ago was considered a victory for local environmentalists since much of her time before her election had been devoted to Stop Polluting Our Newport, an influential environmental group she helped found. She has continued to be a vocal representative of environmental concerns as a councilwoman.

Cox, who represents District 7, has been on the council since 1980 and served as mayor in 1986. A businessman, Cox has most recently been involved with the effort to construct the San Joaquin Hills tollway.

Planning Commissioner Jan Debay and businessman Richard Banks will vie for Plummer’s District 2 seat.

Debay, a businesswoman who has served on the Planning Commission five years, said she is particularly concerned about the continued problems of overcrowding and crime in West Newport.

“That’s what got me interested in civic work in the first place--just wanting to make West Newport more of a neighborhood,” said Debay, a 13-year resident of the city.

Banks is a 12-year resident of the city who said he feels West Newport residents have not been adequately represented.

“Rather than just complaining about it, I thought I’d get involved myself,” he said. “I really want to represent the voters. I’m preparing questionnaires to send out to voters as we speak.”

Also on the city’s Nov. 3 ballot are four measures that would limit council members to two consecutive four-year terms, increase the number of members on the city Arts Commission, allow the city to lease city-owned land and allow the city to sell property at 4210 River Ave. that has been dubbed “People’s Park” by neighboring residents.