At the public meeting of the Newport Beach City Arts Commission on Feb. 10, City Councilman Rush Hill spoke eloquently about his close personal relationship with the Reagan family. He and Councilman Keith Curry obviously are devoted to President Reagan and grateful for the opportunity to have worked for him. Although it seemed to us that these sentiments were not particularly pertinent to the point of the meeting, we can understand why they might like a statue of their hero in a public area of Newport Beach, to express their gratitude and devotion to him.
However, our City Council should be doing what is best for Newport Beach and all its citizens, not using public space either to further individual members' personal wishes or to make a political statement according to their personal inclinations.
The question is not what we think of Reagan, the question is, is it appropriate for Newport Beach that a statue of any president or other political figure be erected on city land? Are the citizens of Newport Beach well served by politicizing city government?
