Al Melone plans a third run for Costa Mesa City Council

When it comes to winning a seat on the Costa Mesa City Council, Al Melone is hoping the third time is the charm.

Melone, who lives in the State Streets neighborhood and sits on the city’s Pension Oversight Committee, is planning to run for a council seat in November, he told the Daily Pilot in an interview Monday.

A retired certified public accountant who’s known as an activist for the Bark Park, Melone described himself as “resistant to growth” in Costa Mesa, saying he wants to maintain the city’s “quiet, small-town feel” and keep the roads from being choked with traffic.

“You don’t need more construction,” he said, “to add to the traffic, the congestion and the noise.”

This will be the third straight time Melone, 70, has run for council, following unsuccessful bids in 2012 and 2014.

In 2012, he garnered 3,658 votes, finishing seventh in the field of eight candidates. In 2014, he was sixth among the eight candidates, with 1,470 votes.

Melone said the biggest thing he’s gained from those previous runs is confidence.

During his first attempt, Melone said he had “a lot of stage fright” when talking during candidate forums, which made it more difficult to get his message across.

Now, he said, “Sitting there and talking to 200, 300 people is no big deal.”

He said he supports a proposed growth-control initiative that would require some larger development proposals to get voter approval. That measure, sponsored by Costa Mesa First, a political action committee, will also be on November’s ballot.

Though he’s conservative on some issues, Melone said he has an independent streak and is not registered with any political party.

“In some senses, from a fiscal standpoint, I’m extremely conservative,” he said. “But on the other hand, I don’t agree with the conservative council majority that wants to do all these high-density projects. Their priorities are just a little bit out of whack.”

City Hall, Melone said, should focus on rebuilding its budget reserves and putting more money into public safety rather than funding expensive new projects.

He’s “very much opposed” to building a new central library in Lions Park, for instance, “on the grounds that we can’t afford it.”

“There’s just not enough money to do everything that everybody wants,” he said of the estimated $34.5-million project, which also includes renovating the Donald Dungan branch into a community center. “There just never is.”

Melone is the fourth to declare a council bid. Mesa Verde residents Jay Humphrey and John Stephens, as well as Eastside resident Lee Ramos, are also running.

Three seats on the five-member council are open this year. Mayor Steve Mensinger and Councilwoman Sandy Genis are up for reelection while Councilman Gary Monahan is termed out.