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One of the reasons that I decided to run for Newport Beach City Council in District 4 was because I was very concerned with the actions of the current City Council and particularly my opponent in District 4, Kevin Muldoon. I am afraid that Kevin, along with incumbents Scott...

As the November election approaches, it is worthwhile to consider whose money supports the incumbents. The largest donor by far is Howard Ahmanson Jr., who has spent over $200,000 since 2014, most of it to install Scott Peotter in office. Just a few days ago, Ahmanson contributed...

Newport Beach has bipartisan elections for the City Council and yet Scott Peotter brought party politics into the race by saying he was a better Republican than Joy Brenner. Do party politics have any relevance in our local elections? In Newport Beach we normally do not see the...

As the public learns more about candidate Clyda “Joy” Brenner’s donations to Democrat candidates, I feel the need to remind voters that political philosophy matters in local government. In an attempt to rationalize her 43 donations to Democrats over the past two years,  Brenner...

Regarding the front page article “Good News and Bad News at Economic Forecast” in the issue of Oct. 19: The participants at the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce Annual Economic Forecast hinted that a recession could be near. Of course a recession is on the way. My...

How did our common understanding of what is right and wrong in terms of the conduct of public officials change so drastically in the last four years? Before 2014, a council member would have been shamed by accepting a donation from a known felon and compelled to return it. Now,...

As a former Newport Beach mayor and Citizen of the Year, and a 50-plus-year resident of Newport Beach, I urge my fellow Newporters to re-elect Councilwoman Diane Dixon. I know Diane to be a hard worker, an excellent listener, smart and caring, and a natural leader. She has...

Balboa Island and Balboa Peninsula owe deep gratitude to this City Council for fighting the Federal Government the past two years. The Federal Emergency Management Agency changed its flood maps to include all of Balboa Island and much more of the Peninsula. This would have...

When it takes the Mayor of Newport Beach almost two months to answer a simple yes or no question, something’s terribly wrong. At the August 29th West Newport Candidate Forum, I asked my opponent, Mayor Marshall Duffield, if he’d ever employed Councilman Scott Peotter during their...

During this election season there has been a lot of talk about replacing Team Newport—a group of candidates who ran as a slate during the Newport Beach City Council election in 2014. While some of those “team” members usually vote together, Diane Dixon studies the issues; she has...

This November I urge fellow Newporters to vote for candidates who respect the views of residents, who have strong community ties, and are independent thinkers. Four years ago, many of us were misled into voting in a slate of ideologues (Team Newport) whose actions have favored...

Incumbent Newport Beach City Councilperson Scott Peotter stated his number one concern for the City’s future is the unfunded pension liabilities the previous City Council encumbered us with. I cannot disagree with him on that matter. However, he currently draws paychecks from the...

Seven Orange County cities have sales tax increases on their ballots this year.  Without question, these are all pension taxes. Pensions are crowding out basic services across the County. But not here in Newport Beach. In 2014, a wave of new candidates ran on a platform of...

I recently read Joy Brenner’s letter to the editor attempting to rationalize her 43 donations to Democrat candidates and liberal political action committees through ActBlue, a SuperPAC formed to promote Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. Federal Elections Commission records...

As a fiscally responsible 43-year resident and property owner of Newport Beach, I can appreciate Roy Englebrecht’s concern about the fiscal health of Newport Beach. As a longstanding resident himself, he has the history necessary to make wise decisions that will help keep...

Since Scott Peotter and friends have brought up the issue of comparability with the candidate who is running against him for Newport Beach City Council, Joy Brenner (claiming that he is “more Republican” than she), I thought it would be an opportune time to name some of the other...

It’s been a long time since I’ve written to a newspaper, but now I believe I must voice an opinion about what a local election should and should not be. First, local is truly that. Local. Does a candidate express views about the city, in this case Newport Beach, that I believe...

Taking a stroll yesterday in Newport Heights, I noticed a few “Duffy” signs around my neighborhood and I couldn’t help but think to myself that some residents just might be voting for their friend and naively for a “Duffy” boat and not for the future of Newport Beach. Ironically,...

I am an unapologetic conservative that believes in electing Republicans to city councils. I have walked precincts and donated to Republicans my entire adult life because they believe in free enterprise and limited government. As the Newport Beach city council campaigns approach...

Once again we have seen partisanship rear its ugly head both in D.C. and in Newport. And who has suffered? Both the citizens and our system of government. Nothing gets accomplished and no problems get solved when we are arguing like politicians. And that’s what they want,...