Group to Monitor Newport Councilman

A Newport Beach businessman said Tuesday he would shelve a campaign to recall Councilman Richard Nichols but still urged Nichols to resign because of his remarks about Mexicans at Corona del Mar State Beach.

In lieu of a recall effort, a watchdog group will monitor Nichols’ public comments, said Lloyd Ikerd, 65, an industrial and commercial real estate broker.

“We thought to do a recall would do more damage than Nichols has done so far,” Ikerd said. “We hope he realizes he’s done a lot of damage in the community” and steps down.

Nichols said his remarks were taken out of context and were being used by political rivals to drive him from office. “I’m pleased that I’m given a respite,” he said Tuesday. “I’m not going to give them the pleasure of resigning.”

The 63-year-old councilman stirred a furor in June when he said he was against expanding grassy areas at the state beach as part of a package of proposed improvements, because “with grass we usually get Mexicans coming in there early in the morning and they claim it as theirs and it becomes their personal, private grounds all day.”

The City Council censured Nichols last week for that and other controversial public remarks he has made during his first term. Council members said they hoped the episode would pass so the city could move beyond the unflattering media attention.

Ikerd agreed, saying Tuesday that even though he believes a recall effort would succeed, the process would cast more unwanted attention on the city.

“I don’t want Newport to become the epicenter of a divisive debate on immigration and intolerance,” Ikerd said in a prepared statement. “The proper forum for the immigration debate is in Congress.”

He said a watchdog group of about 20 Newport Beach residents eager to recall Nichols was being organized to monitor the councilman. And, he said, if Nichols continues to stir controversy, the recall effort will be revived.

“I think Dick Nichols is his own worst enemy,” Ikerd said, “and there’s no question that his tirades will continue.”

But the threat of a recall might cause him to think before speaking, Ikerd said.

Mayor Steve Bromberg, who has called for Nichols to resign, said he supported Ikerd’s decision, noting a recall drive could last as long as a year and, even though he believes it would be successful, “it would be disruptive to city business, and I just don’t think that’s in the best interest of the city.”