Chief’s Reinstatement Bid Leads Officers to Vote of No Confidence : Newport Beach: Arb Campbell is on paid leave pending the outcome of a sexual harassment lawsuit. Influential backers want him reinstated.

A group of prominent and wealthy citizens here is trying to mobilize political support for the reinstatement of Police Chief Arb Campbell--a move that has prompted an overwhelming vote of no confidence in him from the officers he used to command.

The no-confidence vote was taken Thursday afternoon during a meeting of the Newport Beach Police Officers Assn., said Detective Tom Tolman, association president. The group represents the department’s 148 sworn personnel.

Officers in attendance said the balloting was 127 to 13, a sign of strong support for acting Chief Jim Jacobs and City Manager Kevin J. Murphy, who put Campbell on paid leave pending the outcome of a lawsuit accusing him of rape and sexual discrimination.

Department sources, who requested anonymity, said the vote was a reaction to fears that their former boss is making a bid to get his job back. They point to a meeting Campbell had Tuesday with members of the 10-4 Club, a loose-knit organization of about 30 Newport Beach citizens who support the Police Department and are influential in city politics.

Campbell went before the group to defend himself and discuss the situation. The membership includes builder William Lusk, restaurateur Dan Marcheano, Balboa Bay Club President Thomas G. Deemer and sporting goods heir Willard S. Voit. Voit, a longtime friend of Campbell, sold the chief one of his homes on the Balboa Peninsula in 1987.

Marcheano, who owns the landmark Arches Restaurant, said 10-4 members are unhappy with the way Campbell was relieved of command and are considering steps to help the chief, including the possibility of replacing Murphy, who became city manager about six months ago.

On Oct. 15, Murphy put Campbell on paid administrative leave, hours after a rape allegation was leveled against the chief and one of his top assistants, Capt. Anthony R. Villa. Their accuser, dispatcher Peri Ropke, made the charge during a news conference to announce that she was joining a sexual harassment suit filed against Campbell and Villa by four current and former female employees of the department.

Marcheano said the decision to relieve Campbell might develop into a major political issue in town and that he is preparing to lobby City Council members about the situation.

“If you are going to destroy a man’s reputation, his name, and upset his family,” Marcheano said, “some people have to stand up behind him and say, ‘This is not right.’ ”

Murphy, who is overseeing a city investigation into the sexual harassment allegations, declined to comment Friday.

Bruce Praet, the attorney for Villa and Campbell, said the chief believes the no-confidence vote “was orchestrated through intimidation and a conspiracy” by Murphy, insiders vying for other jobs, and the legal representatives of the women suing the chief and Villa.