The liberal, anti-development activist sparred constantly with his fellow council members and often found himself alone on the issues. He was elected at age 29 in 1984 — the youngest councilman in city history — to serve alongside four older, more conservative members whose nerves he continually frayed.
“He was a pretty freewheeling, outspoken, young, rebellious individual. He kind of fashioned himself a bit of a revolutionary. He used to talk a lot about his philosophy in college of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll and that was a little different philosophical approach than Costa Mesa had been used to prior to his election,” said City Manager Allan Roeder, who was just starting out in the position as a young man himself when Wheeler was on the council.
An avid fisherman and outdoorsman, Wheeler moved toward the mountains after leaving Costa Mesa. The career lawyer died in his home in Moreno Valley at the age of 53.
Former Mayor Mary Hornbuckle described herself as his closest alley on the council. Both she and Wheeler campaigned on a platform of stopping the rapid development of Costa Mesa at the time, but beyond that the two disagreed on many other issues.
Hornbuckle said that Wheeler’s charisma and willingness to fly in the face of the status quo won him a seat on the council even in a climate where most of the city politicians were conservative Republicans.
“I think there were a lot of people in the community that liked to see him tweak the nose of the establishment. We all have a little rebel in us. He was not afraid to speak up and speak out and that’s attractive to some people too,” Hornbuckle said.
Of all the council members Wheeler worked with, Hall was the one he fought with the most.
