COSTA MESA : Water District Board Chief Cleared by State

Tom Nelson, president of the Mesa Consolidated Water District’s board of directors, has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the California secretary of state, the board announced, but some residents said they are not satisfied with the finding.

“I have sent this material to the [Orange County] district attorney,” said resident Mike Healy, referring to a copy of the letter from the secretary of state.

The issue of Nelson’s residence was raised last year when he was a candidate for a board seat. He has a home in Seal Beach, which lies outside the district served by Mesa Consolidated, but says his primary residence is a converted office in Costa Mesa.

Robert Anslow, attorney for the water district, said Thursday that Secretary of State Bill Jones, in his letter to the board, indicates that Nelson was, indeed, “a valid candidate for office.”

But resident Heather Somers, president of the Eastside Homeowners Assn., said she has forwarded to the county district attorney the findings of an investigation by the city of Costa Mesa into Nelson’s residence.

Somers said the city’s investigation revealed that, if Nelson lives in the converted office on East 18th Street, he is in violation of the city’s zoning ordinance.

Despite criticism from residents in the audience at Thursday’s water district session, Nelson was unruffled.

“I was voted into office legally,” he said, “and I am just trying to do the best job I can.”