Newport council candidates forum focuses on seniors, fire rings, traffic

Senior citizens headed for the gym and a shuttle stopped to pick up passengers Friday morning at the Oasis Senior Center, where Newport Beach City Council candidates gathered for their second major campaign forum.

Answering questions based on queries from the audience of 125 people, all eight candidates, some with graying hair and grandchildren themselves, promised to keep the senior center adequately funded. They also agreed that traffic flow in Corona del Mar, the area of Newport where the senior center is located, should be improved.

District 4 candidate Roy Englebrecht was the only one to say he plans to vote against Measure Y, a proposed amendment to the city’s land development plan that city voters will address in the Nov. 4 election.

Half the candidates said they support a return to allowing wood burning in local beach fire rings.

Mayor Rush Hill (District 3), the only incumbent candidate, praised the recent construction of the senior center as the result of a city process fueled by community involvement. He said he considers it an exhibit of the forward momentum he helped create during his time on the council.

The center is important to residents’ quality of life, he said, “and that’s what Newport Beach is all about.”

Involvement from seniors is vital to the health of a city, particularly since they are holders of tradition, history and wisdom, said Tim Brown (District 4).

“Without you, the city couldn’t carry the whole thing,” added Scott Peotter (District 6).

Diane Dixon, the only candidate for District 1, praised Oasis as an example of a need being met.

Kevin Muldoon (District 4) complimented the involvement of private entities as well.

The center ought to be duplicated on the west side of town, said Michael Toerge, a District 6 candidate who served on the Oasis Building Fund Committee.

Still, Marshall “Duffy” Duffield — who is opposing Hill in District 3 — and Englebrecht said they wish money had not been wasted on the new City Hall so more could be used on the senior facility.

“We trusted them to have wisdom,” Englebrecht said of the past council, which he believes has grossly misspent. “This campaign is about trust. Who can you trust?”

Englebrecht, Muldoon, Duffield and Peotter called for a return to burning wood, which has been banned since March because of air-quality concerns, in beach fire rings. Ancestors survived just fine burning wood, the candidates said, and fire from logs makes for better s’mores than the sizzle from charcoal.

Brown, Dixon and Hill said that although the process hasn’t been perfect, the charcoal-only rule is working. Toerge said the solution should depend on the circumstances. In Corona del Mar, that means spreading the rings out and keeping people from burning furniture and stray objects, he said.

Ideas for easing traffic were shared. Muldoon and Toerge suggested diverting cars through Newport Coast. Hill’s idea was to lobby for eliminating the toll on State Route 73 in Newport Beach, and Brown wants to urge developers to help manage traffic.

Candidates also discussed the Balboa Island sea wall, largely agreeing it should be repaired and built up incrementally.

The event was presented by Friends of Oasis, which supports the center.

Speak Up Newport plans to host an hourlong forum at 6 p.m. Wednesday, following a reception at 5:30 p.m., at the Newport Beach Civic Center Community Room, 100 Civic Center Drive.