Huntington Beach Activist Bill Mello Dies at 64 : Obituary: He founded the Committees of Correspondence, was an advocate of government reform and vigorously opposed Measure R.

Bill Mello, the founder of the Committees of Correspondence who spent his retirement years vigorously fighting for government reform and against new taxes, died Thursday. He was 64.

Mello, a native of Cleveland, died at USC-University Hospital in Los Angeles from complications following open-heart surgery last month, his wife, Grace, said Friday.

Though he was quick to challenge politicians and government bureaucrats, Mello was remembered for his soft-spoken manner and conciliatory style.

“I’ll always recall how tough he was and how he would stand up to the government and never give up,” said Carole Walters, another officer in the citizens’ group. “But when things got bad, he could always make us laugh and get us in a good mood. He was a wonderful leader.”

The Committees of Correspondence, an association of community activists from across the county, was formed last summer in Mello’s living room. When the county plunged into bankruptcy in December, the organization emerged as a potent political force. Mello and other group members are credited with helping defeat Measure R, a half-cent sales tax increase designed to help the county out of bankruptcy.

Mello’s interest in civic affairs began only two years ago when a pension-spiking controversy in Huntington Beach drew him to his first City Council meeting. He had recently retired from his job as an engineer for Unitech Equipment in Monrovia and was outraged that some retiring city workers were inflating their final year’s salaries to boost their pensions.

Mello and other Huntington Beach activists soon formed the Citizens Bureau of Investigation and began pressing officials about employee salaries, government spending and other issues. Mello was sued by two Huntington Beach police officers over his outspoken views, but a judge dismissed the case.

“He placed a focus on issues and brought them to the attention of the council,” said Councilman David Sullivan. “His motivations were genuine. He provided us with valuable information.”

Mello became most prominent in the hectic months after the county’s bankruptcy filing Dec. 6. The Committees of Correspondence demanded that county supervisors cut their pay and perks as well as embark on a “radical downsizing” of government.

At first, the activists received a mixed reception. But their persistence eventually earned them the respect of many elected officials. Most supervisors have turned to Mello and others for advice and have attended one of the group’s monthly forums.

According to friends, Mello considered his greatest triumph to be the Measure R fight. The Committees of Correspondence led the battle against the tax proposal, which was overwhelmingly rejected by voters in June.

During the campaign, Mello frequently worked 15-hour days answering phones and sending faxes from a war room-like office in his home. The office included a wall map with pins marking all the cities that Committees of Correspondence members represented.

“At one point, I said to him, ‘You have to slow down. You have a bad heart,’ ” said John Boag, a Huntington Beach activist. “But he loved it. When he won Measure R, he was ecstatic. He looked like a young man. He was having so much fun.”

Despite his passion for activism, Mello often expressed the desire to slow down and take long vacations around the country with his wife in their recreational vehicle.

In addition to his wife, Mello is survived by his mother, Ann Tamburello of Huntington Beach; four sons, David of La Canada-Flintridge and Mark, Thomas and Scott, all of Huntington Beach; and three grandchildren.

Plans for a memorial service are pending.