Advisor quits due to attacks

Former Newport Beach City Attorney Bob Burnham has severed his consulting contract with the city of Newport Beach, after repeated allegations by a resident that he is responsible for an over-concentration of drug- and alcohol-recovery homes in the city.

Burnham was city attorney for more than 20 years and retired in 2004. He has since worked for the city as an advisor on airport issues, according to city officials.

He terminated his contract with the city Thursday in a letter to City Manager Homer Bludau, commenting that “a few individuals have, for an extended period, publicly and personally attacked me for what they allege was a conflict of interest stemming from my wife’s work with the Orange County Drug Court while I was involved with efforts to strengthen our ordinances related to recovery homes more than three years ago.”

Those attacks, he wrote, have created “a climate of fear, anger and distrust,” and he said he feared that climate would spread to and damage the work he and others have done to control the growth of John Wayne Airport.

Efforts to reach Burnham were unsuccessful, but City Attorney Robin Clauson, who worked under Burnham for years and took over the post when he left, said she hasn’t seen any evidence of a conflict of interest.

Three residents have raised the issue, but chief among them is Bob Rush, who has actively pressed the city to beef up regulations regarding recovery homes. Some residents say the over-concentration of homes ruin their neighborhoods with noise, litter and other problems.

In 2004, the City Council changed the requirements to operate a group home, at Burnham’s advice. Rush told the City Council in April he believed Burnham had a conflict of interest at the time because he also was involved with a drug court foundation that raised money to help recovering addicts in various ways, including finding them beds in recovery homes.

At a Sept. 25 council meeting, Rush demanded the city get Burnham to file economic disclosure forms or he would take legal action.

“I believe he was the main cause of over-concentration,” Rush said Friday. “I want him to file the conflict of interest forms. He is obligated by law to file those — and if he doesn’t, I want his superiors [Bludau and Clauson] held accountable. They should lose their jobs.”