Newport Beach incumbents kick off fundraising ahead of 2020 council race

Newport Beach City Council incumbents Jeff Herdman and Will O’Neill added about $85,000 combined to their 2020 reelection war chests in the first half of this year.

The first fundraising period of 2019 covered Jan. 1 to June 30. So far, no other candidates have filed to challenge Herdman, O’Neill or fellow incumbent Brad Avery, who represent council districts 5, 7 and 2, respectively.

Campaign contribution forms were submitted to the city clerk’s office. Figures are rounded to the nearest dollar.

District 2
Brad Avery

• Contributions received: None
• Expenditures made: $827
• Beginning cash balance: $14,225
• Ending cash balance: $13,398

Avery had little activity this period, raising no money and spending only for campaign services. His district includes the Newport Heights and West Newport neighborhoods.

District 5
Jeff Herdman

• Contributions received: $33,749
• Expenditures made: $7,365
• Beginning cash balance: $2,828
• Ending cash balance: $29,212

Herdman grew his cash on hand by more than 900%. Several significant donors helped the cause, with former mayors Mike Henn and Keith Curry and real estate investor Manouch Moshayedi among those giving the maximum $1,100 allowed under local regulations. His largest expense was $2,500 for campaign consulting.

Herdman’s district includes Balboa Island, Newport Center and Big Canyon.

District 7
Will O’Neill

• Contributions received: $51,576
• Expenditures made: $3,409
• Beginning cash balance: $48,408
• Ending cash balance: $96,575

O’Neill roughly doubled what was already a healthy account by local standards. He also benefited from $1,100 maximum donations from financial advisor David Bahnsen, local real estate investment firm Curci Asset Management, and council colleague Marshall “Duffy” Duffield, acting as a private individual, among others.

O’Neill’s largest expense, $948, was credit card processing fees.

His district includes the Newport Coast and Spyglass Hill neighborhoods.