Mathis Winkler
NEWPORT BEACH -- While 63.4% of the city's voters gave the slow-growth
Greenlight initiative a clear go-ahead in Tuesday's election, only one of
three City Council candidates endorsed by the measure's supporters will
be sworn into office Dec. 12.
In District 7, John Heffernan garnered 39.4% of the votes and will
replace incumbent Tom Thomson. A Greenlight supporter, the 55-year-old
businessman and attorney financed his campaign exclusively with his own
money.
In District 5, 56-year-old mediator Steve Bromberg secured 44.4% of
the ballots and will replace Mayor John Noyes as that district's
representative on the council. Noyes did not seek reelection.
Gary L. Proctor, 55, a businessman and attorney, soundly defeated his
opponents in the District 2 race by collecting 64.3% of the votes. He'll
replace Councilwoman Jan Debay, who leaves office because of term limits.
Neither Bromberg nor Proctor had supported Greenlight, which will put
before a citywide vote any development that allows an increase of more
than 100 peak-hour car trips or dwelling units or 40,000 square feet over
the general plan allowance.
Bromberg, who said he had stayed up all night to find out if he'd won
the election, said Proctor and his victory showed that residents had not
chosen candidates based on their stand on Greenlight.
"I think they went with the best candidate," he said, adding that
votes between his opponents Patricia M. Beek and Robert Schoonmaker were
not split evenly enough to say that the two District 5 candidates
supporting Greenlight had canceled each other out.
Beek, 52, a retired retail manager, received support from 41.8% of
voters. Schoonmaker, 69, a retired engineer, collected 13.4%.
But former City Manager Bob Wynn, 69, who came in second behind
Heffernan with 34.5% of the votes, said that Greenlight probably played a
big role in the outcome of the race in District 7. Wynn supported Measure
T, and Thomson, who collected 25.6% of the votes, opposed both measures
on the ballot.
"It was well known that I endorsed T and helped write the thing," Wynn
said, adding that he congratulated Heffernan and wished him the best as
the district's next elected representative. "And I think that hurt my
chances. Measure S was very popular. That definitely helped [Heffernan]
in the election process."
Thomson declined to comment on the election results Wednesday.
Heffernan, who described his election as a "victory for the underdog,"
cited his experience as a Hoag Hospital board member as well as his
