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Muldoon touts fiscally conservative approach

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Before the Newport Beach City Council election kicks into gear, candidate Kevin Muldoon wants to clear something up.

That beloved pub of the same name in Newport Center? Not his.

True, he is the general counsel for a company called 5 Bars Inside, but the firm deals in phone and Internet services rather than whiskey or beer.

It’s an understandable mix-up in a city that prizes its longtime establishments. Muldoon’s opened in 1974, and although the candidate’s grandfather was in attendance, that’s as far as the family ties to the establishment go.

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The District 4 council candidate moved to Newport Beach about three years ago. He had joined Our Lady Queen of Angels Church years before and wanted to be closer to his church and his friends, he said.

Now an Eastbluff resident, Muldoon is running for a council seat because he believes the community needs an attorney and an advocate for property rights on the municipal body.

He is both. A 2006 graduate of the Chapman University School of Law, Muldoon has held legal positions with the Orange County district attorney’s office and the Irvine-based Westport Law Group and Baric & Associates.

Since 2004, he has also worked with the conservative Claremont Institute for Constitutional Jurisprudence and Chapman professor John Eastman on projects that included analysis of Newport Beach’s dock fees, which political consultant David Ellis praised as “fantastic legal work” in an email introducing Muldoon’s candidacy.

“Kevin brings a thoughtful legal mind, national political experience and fiscally conservative positions to the campaign,” wrote Ellis, who

is not a consultant for Muldoon’s campaign.

Muldoon, who considers himself fiscally conservative, said his main priorities are reducing spending and protecting property rights in the city. He said Newport Beach is operated well but could be run more efficiently without incurring debt.

“I think the city has a lot of wealth,” he said. “Just because you have wealth doesn’t mean you should spend it.”

Muldoon will face Planning Commissioner Tim Brown and fight promoter Roy Englebrecht in the election. Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, who currently holds the seat, will be termed out.

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