Environmentalist enters Newport Beach council race

A new candidate has entered the race for the Newport Beach City Council’s 4th District.

Mark Tabbert, an environmental activist and financial advisor, challenged incumbent Leslie Daigle when he filed the requisite paperwork Monday to run in the November election.

“I’ve been bothered for a long time about what we say and do on environmental issues,” said Tabbert, who has lived in Newport since 1998.

A Santa Ana Heights resident, Tabbert says he is looking for a local platform to bring attention to climate change, species extinction and resource depletion, among other problems. He’s a member of the Banning Ranch Conservancy and said the City Council’s obligation is to keep the ranchland as open space, but may not have the leadership to carry it through.

“There’s only one voice on the City Council now and that’s the voice of development, of the status quo,” he said.

Mike Reicher