Costa Mesa council field of candidates grows by two

The final tally of candidates running for the Costa Mesa City Council is nine, with two new candidates tossing their hats into the ring, the city announced Friday afternoon.

Tom Hopkins and James Rader joined the seven other candidates running for the three open seats in the November election.

Other candidates include former Mayor Sandy Genis, attorney John Stephens and businessman Harold Weitzberg, each of whom is endorsed by the grass-roots group, Costa Mesans for Responsible Government.

Also running for a council seat are the so-called “3Ms”: Councilmen Gary Monahan and Steve Mensinger, and Planning Commission Chairman Colin McCarthy. The Responsible Government group is running as an opposition slate to the 3Ms, who are not technically a slate but are ideologically aligned.

Another candidate, Al Melone, a retired certified public accountant, is also in the running.

Medical marijuana advocate Sue Lester and business consultant Marshall Krupp dropped out. Lester backed the Responsible Government candidates; Krupp declined to endorse.

— Lauren Williams

Twitter: @lawilliams30