Activist Is Leaving City Panel

Longtime community activist Marcia Adler is stepping down from her post as a community services commissioner, creating an opening on what is one of the city’s most influential commissions.

Adler, a founder and volunteer for numerous community service organizations, said she is leaving the Community Services Commission to spend more time with her family. Councilman Greg Smith, who appointed Adler to the commission in 1993, said she will be hard to replace.

“She not only has a heart for the community, but a history of so much involvement,” Smith said. “I’m really sorry to see her go.”

Adler is a founder of Court Appointed Special Advocates, a 13-year-old support group for juveniles who are going through the court system because of abuse or neglect. She also helped create Red Ribbon 100 in the early 1980s, a fund-raising group for the county chapter of the American Red Cross.

The Community Services Commission is planning for a Civic Center park, in addition to tackling issues that range from program development for senior citizens and at-risk youths to transportation and public safety concerns. The commission typically meets once or twice a month and makes recommendations to the City Council.

“This commission has gone beyond the traditional arts classes and park considerations that we would have seen 20 to 25 years ago,” Smith said. “It plays a pivotal role in many of our community’s most important issues.”

Adler’s resignation from the commission is effective Aug. 30. Smith is encouraging community members to apply for the vacancy by contacting him at City Hall.

“One of the main issues the commission is dealing with is the safety of our community,” Smith said. “I’m looking for somebody who has a vision for the future of Irvine in the next five to 10 years.”