Final Results

A close race all Tuesday night finally yielded a winner early Wednesday as nearly 53% of Newport Beach voters said they want their new city hall next to the central library on Avocado Avenue.

The mood at the City Hall in the Park watch party Tuesday evening at a Newport gated community clubhouse was one of reserve and cautious optimism as early returns were too close to call.

But with all precincts reporting, Measure B won 13,905 to 12,446, or 52.8% to 47.2%, according to unofficial returns.

About 35 supporters gathered to watch returns arrive on a big-screen television with a “Yes on Measure B” campaign sign propped on top. Most partygoers drifted away before 11 p.m. as it became apparent that despite a slight early lead, returns would continue to trickle in slowly through out the night and into the morning.

“We’re in the lead now, and I hope it will last through the night,” said Councilman Steve Rosansky, a vocal supporter of Measure B.

Lead Measure B proponent Bill Ficker appeared calm and collected Tuesday night. Ficker, who fought last year to get the measure on the ballot with a massive signature drive, said he’d wait until morning for the final election results and planned to be in bed by 11 p.m.

“I’m not a very emotional person. I don’t speculate on these things,” Ficker said. “It’s really too early to be optimistic or pessimistic. I don’t know a lot about elections.”

The group’s main benefactor, Jack Croul, who donated about $670,000 to the City Hall in the Park campaign, was nowhere to be found Tuesday night. He was either in Florida or the Caribbean, City Hall in the Park supporter Ron Hendrickson said.

Critics have accused Croul, a retired businessman, of having designs on the old city hall site on Balboa Peninsula, an accusation City Hall in the Park supporters shrugged off Tuesday night.

“He can do it, so he does,” Hendrickson said. “He personally believes this is the best thing for city hall.”

About 30 Newporters Vote No on B campaign met Tuesday night at a supporter’s Corona del Mar home overlooking the Bay and watched presidential primary returns on local television while live results on Measure B from the Orange County Registrar of Voters website were projected onto a large screen at the front of the room.

The mood was cheerful, although early reports showed No on B slightly down in the polls.