Diane Dixon explores Newport council race

A longtime Southern California businesswoman is weighing a run for a Newport Beach City Council seat, according to a document filed with the city Thursday.

Diane Dixon, who recently moved to Newport Beach from Pasadena, said earlier this week that she was mulling a run for the District 1 council seat, which will be vacated by Mike Henn when he is termed out next year. She had said she planned to make a decision before the holiday season.

A city website showed that her statement of intent to run was filed Thursday morning.

Dixon, the sister of Costa Mesa Councilwoman Wendy Leece, joins Newport Beach Harbor Commissioner Joe Stapleton and businessman Michael Glenn in the race for District 1.

On Wednesday, Dixon said she’s been meeting with community members to talk over their concerns and hopes for their city.

With a notebook spread out in front of her at a table in Woody’s Diner, Dixon, 62, said that after spending more than three decades in the corporate world — most of that in communications — the time was right for her to enter the political realm.

“If not now, when?” she said. “If not me, who?”

If she were to run and be elected, Dixon said, her major concerns would include addressing the needs of the city’s seniors, returning “value to shareholders.”

The former Irvine Co. executive said she considers herself a moderate Republican who leans toward fiscal conservatism.

Like Henn, she said she would prioritize the revitalization of the Lido Village area.

Above all, though, Dixon said she values openness and transparency in government.

“I’ve been around a long time,” she said. “People just want to know that they’re listened to — that goes a long way towards progress.”