TIMES ORANGE COUNTY POLL : 53% in Newport Believe Charges of Misconduct

More than half of the residents of Newport Beach tend to believe the allegations of sexual misconduct filed by 10 female employees of the Police Department against the city’s former chief and a captain, a Times Orange County Poll has found.

Overall, 53% of the survey respondents said they believe the allegations contained in a lawsuit the employees filed in September. Only 17% sided with former Chief Arb Campbell and Capt. Anthony J. Villa, the targets of the allegations.

The perception was most one-sided among women, who said they believed the charges by a margin of more than 5 to 1. Among men, more than 2 to 1 said they believed the allegations.

The employees’ lawsuit charges that Villa sexually harassed the women by making suggestive remarks and inappropriate physical contact. The women said that Campbell condoned the behavior. One female dispatcher also charged that Campbell and Villa raped her after a police party in 1981.

After a city investigation found evidence of the harassment, Campbell was fired in December. The city has relieved Villa from duty and moved to fire him.

The Times Orange County Poll, conducted by Mark Baldassare & Associates, was completed Saturday. It contacted 600 adult residents from Newport Beach over a three-day period. The margin of error is plus or minus 4%.

The Police Department problems were part of an embarrassing spate of scandals in the city during the past year.

In the fall, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District was racked by an embezzlement scheme in which the finance chief pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $4 million from the schools. And in City Hall, the utility director was convicted of embezzling $1.8 million from the city.

Baldassare said the scandals have caused many city residents to be critical of their government. Asked to name the biggest problems facing the Newport Beach, more respondents cited city government than any other issue except traffic. Both were named by 22% of those surveyed.

“It’s very unusual to see city government rise to the top of the list of problems facing Newport Beach,” Baldassare said. “It’s a combination of traffic and growth problems but also the functioning of city officials in the past year.”

But despite the scandals, most people gave passing grades to their government leaders.

More than 6 in 10 residents said they had “a lot” or “some” confidence in the mayor, the City Council and the city manager. Fewer than 2 in 10 said they had “little” or “no” confidence in those offices.

For police, the negatives were a bit higher. While 65% said they had at least “some” confidence in the department’s leadership, about one-third of the respondents had “little” or “no” confidence.

Although they expressed some misgivings about police officials, residents seemed happy with the performance of rank-and-file officers. Almost 60% said they were “very satisfied” with their police protection, while another 34% said they were “somewhat satisfied.”

The lowest scores were given to the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

More than a third of the respondents said they have little or no confidence in local school officials. Fewer than half said they had some or a lot of confidence in the officials.

Residents were also not happy with their school system. Just 23% said they were “very satisfied” and 32% were “somewhat satisfied.”

The poll’s findings illustrate the dichotomy of Newport Beach residents’ feelings toward their city, Baldassare said. On one hand, they are highly satisfied with their favored lifestyle, and they appreciate living among such privilege.

At the same time, however, many residents are critical of their public institutions.

Doug Rodebeck, a poll respondent who owns a marketing company and lives on Balboa Island, was one of those who said city government is the biggest problem facing Newport Beach.

“It’s obvious to me that (city leaders) want to protect what they have,” said Rodebeck, 48, who has lived in the city for five years. “Outsiders are not particularly welcome, and even insiders who want to change anything that disrupts the status quo are not welcome.”

Many of those concerned about the scandals that have rocked Newport Beach said they believe the “lavish lifestyle” of the community was a temptation that contributed to the problem.

Nearly 2 in 5 residents said the two officials involved in embezzlement scandals were at least partly driven by the temptation of the opulent lifestyle they saw around them. Those with annual incomes under $100,000 were more likely to blame the lifestyle for the problems.

Nearly three-quarters of those questioned said the scandals have caused them no embarrassment about living in Newport Beach.

But to some like Jane Elliott, a retired college counselor who has lived in Cannery Village for two decades, the three 1992 scandals have tarnished the image of her city and makes her embarrassed to call Newport Beach home.

“People say, ‘Oh, you live in Newport, that’s where the scandal was.’ It’s hard to be put on the defensive,” said Elliott, 62. “I’ve always been pleased with the city that I live in, happy to be here. I love the neighborhood, I love my neighbors. But now I feel like we have something to explain, and there’s no explanation.”

Credible Claims

A majority of Newport Beach residents believe female employees’ charges of harassment and rape against two police officials. Nevertheless, the department leadership gets a bigger vote of confidence than do other municipal officials.

“As far as what you’ve heard about the Newport Beach Police Department scandal, do you tend to believe the employees’ claims of sexual harassment and rape, or the police chief’s and captain’s claims that they are the target of false charges by disgruntled employees?”

Chief/ Don’t Employees captain know Total 53% 17% 30% Men 47 20 33 Women 61 12 27 18-34 years old 57 12 31 35-54 years old 59 17 24 55 and older 43 21 36

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Confidence in Newport Beach government leaders

Little/ Don’t A lot Some none know Newport Beach police officials 28 37 26 9 The mayor and City Council 19 49 18 14 The city manager 17 43 17 23 Newport-Mesa school officials 11% 33% 34% 22%

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Government as a Problem

About one respondent in five says the biggest problem facing Newport Beach is the city government. More respondents complained about the government than any other problem except traffic. Still, a solid majority expressed satisfaction with the government’s performance.

Biggest problem facing Newport Beach City government: 22% Traffic: 22% Growth: 14% Jobs/economy: 9% Other problems: 21% Don’t know: 12% *

Satisfaction with performance of city government Very satisfied: 10% Somewhat satisfied: 55% Not satisfied: 27% Don’t know: 8% Source: Times Orange County Poll by Mark Baldassare & Associates

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Orange County Poll was conducted by Mark Baldassare & Associates. The telephone survey of 600 Newport Beach adult residents was conducted Jan. 27 through 30 on weekday nights and weekend days. A computer-generated random sample of telephone numbers was used. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish as needed. The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 4% at the 95% confidence level. That means it is 95% certain the results are within 4 percentage points of what they would be if every Newport Beach resident were interviewed. For subgroups, such as upper-income Newport Beach residents, the margin of error would be larger.