Gary Adams

June Casagrande In a campaign in which maintaining Newport Beach's quality of life has been a rallying call for challengers, incumbent Gary Adams' prescription is simple: Re-elect the people who helped make the city's quality of life what it is today. "I think a key issue in this campaign is whether or not a change in leadership is in order," said Adams, who can rattle off a long list of reasons Newport Beach is an extraordinary town: outstanding libraries, tight limits on development, top-notch staffers fighting for improved water quality and limits on John Wayne flights and expansion.

CITY OF COSTA MESA Costa Mesa City Hall, 77 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, (714) 754-5223 Mayor: Karen Robinson Council: Libby Cowan, Allan Mansoor, Gary Monahan and Chris Steel CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH Newport Beach City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach, CA 92663, (949) 644-3309 Mayor: Steve Bromberg Council: Gary Adams, John Heffernan, Dick Nichols, Gary Proctor, Tod Ridgeway and Don Webb COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT District Office: 1370 Adams Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, (714)

NEWPORT BEACH City star struck by cast and crew of 'The OC' Mayor Tod Ridgeway handed out golden keys to the city to cast members and producers of "The OC," which many believe has given the city newfound recognition and notoriety. Ridgeway also read a proclamation from the City Council declaring "OC Thursdays" recognizing the show's move from Tuesday to Thursday nights on Fox network. The City Council whittled the list of Planning Commission hopefuls seeking to replace Leslie Daigle down to three names.

Richard Dunn NEWPORT BEACH - A team of seniors from Newport Beach Tennis Club will play in the eighth annual Palm Desert Senior Cup March 26-29 at the Marriott Desert Springs. Teams from throughout California are playing in the tournament. Gene Nalbandian of Peninsula Point will lead the Newport Beach team that has won the prestigious Phoenix Challenge National and World Championships. Peter Finch and Leo Fracalosy will play No. 1 doubles for NBTC, while Gene Rhodes, Bruce Malloy, Gary Adams, Chris Bowen, Ron Hextell, Jerry Robinson and Nalbandian, the captain, will also play.

CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH Newport Beach City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach, CA 92663, (949) 644-3309 Mayor: Steve Bromberg Council: Gary Adams, John Heffernan, Dick Nichols, Gary Proctor, Tod Ridgeway and Don Webb COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT District Office: 1370 Adams Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, (714) 432-5898 Chancellor: William M. Vega Board: President Paul Berger, Vice President Armando Ruiz, George Brown, Jerry Patterson and Walter G. Howald; student trustee Madeline Levy NEWPORT-MESA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT District Office: 2985-A Bear St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, (714)

Noaki Schwartz NEWPORT BEACH -- The council really did make Noyes for mayor Monday night. On a unanimous vote, an apparently united council chose John Noyes to succeed Dennis O'Neil and made councilman Gary Adams vice mayor. Both Noyes and Adams were the only members nominated for the two positions. The council's union came after weeks of insider wrangling between Noyes and Councilman Tom Thomson for the city's top -- though largely ceremonial -- seat.

SENIOR HOUSING Newport Beach's affordable housing task force has concluded that senior citizens have the most pressing need for assistance with housing. The task force, which includes council members Jan Debay, Gary Adams and Tod Ridgeway, also says it's time for The Irvine Co. to develop affordable housing required by the general plan's housing element in connection with the construction of 850 homes. The task force chose Lower Bayview Landing as the site where an affordable housing project could be developed without significant delay.

NEWPORT BEACH City star struck by cast and crew of 'The OC' Mayor Tod Ridgeway handed out golden keys to the city to cast members and producers of "The OC," which many believe has given the city newfound recognition and notoriety. Ridgeway also read a proclamation from the City Council declaring "OC Thursdays" recognizing the show's move from Tuesday to Thursday nights on Fox network. The City Council whittled the list of Planning Commission hopefuls seeking to replace Leslie Daigle down to three names.

CITY OF COSTA MESA Costa Mesa City Hall, 77 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, (714) 754-5223 Mayor: Gary Monahan Council: Libby Cowan, Allan Mansoor, Mike Scheafer and Chris Steel CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH Newport Beach City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach, CA 92663, (949) 644-3309 Mayor: Tod Ridgeway Council: Gary Adams, Steve Bromberg, John Heffernan, Dick Nichols, Steven Rosansky and Don Webb GOVERNOR Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

Deirdre Newman City Councilmen's determination to have a woman among their ranks to help them better serve the community is right on, according to a local political observer. Research at the local, state and federal level has found that women excel at listening to and acting on the desires of those they represent, UC Irvine political science professor Mark Petracca said. "Kudos to them," Petracca said in praise of the council for choosing Leslie Daigle, who had served on the Newport Beach Planning Commission for about three months.

Residents of West Newport now know who their new City Councilman is: Steve Rosansky, who ran for the seat in 2000 and most recently has been a Parks, Recreation and Beaches Commissioner. By most accounts, Rosansky was the best person for the job, the one most knowledgeable on city issues: He is a graduate of Leadership Tomorrow, has a real estate and business background and, obviously, has been working within City Hall as a commissioner. During the interview process at Tuesday's special council meeting, he showed the best command of what needs to be done, not just tomorrow but years into the future.

CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH Newport Beach City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach, CA 92663, (949) 644-3309 Mayor: Steve Bromberg Council: Gary Adams, John Heffernan, Dick Nichols, Gary Proctor, Tod Ridgeway and Don Webb COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT District Office: 1370 Adams Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, (714) 432-5898 Chancellor: William M. Vega Board: President Paul Berger, Vice President Armando Ruiz, George Brown, Jerry Patterson and Walter G. Howald; student trustee Madeline Levy NEWPORT-MESA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT District Office: 2985-A Bear St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, (714)

Election problems exist and have existed since elections began. But every little thing officials can do to prevent them can go a long way toward perfecting the system. Newport Beach Councilmen John Heffernan and Gary Adams have, oddly to some, teamed up to ensure that either misleading or phony phone messages are prevented or that those creating them are punished. The former would be preferable: those who spend as much time and money as is needed on a Newport Beach City Council election should at least be allowed to enjoy a clean campaign -- as far as those really go. At the local level, especially, clean campaigns should not only be waged, but be guaranteed as much as possible by city governments.

Adams is no saint when it comes to Ellis Gary Adams must be feeling awfully guilty. What a classic move: Hire a consultant known to use deceptive tactics, benefit from the deceptive tactics, get exposed, decry the action, and try to look like a hero. I am not buying it. If Adams had given explicit instructions to Ellis to run a clean campaign, one wonders why Ellis, a businessman, would use his own money to prepare a phony phone message, reserve a telemarketing phoneline and pay for same in advance if there was no chance that Adams would use it. It is one thing that Adams won the election despite the deception, but it's quite another for Adams to try to look like a saint after he has benefited from the wrongdoing.