New councilmen get a helping hand

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- County supervisors have them. State and federal

legislators have many more. In Irvine, City Council members have had them

for years.

Now, two of Newport Beach’s newly elected city leaders are following

other officials’ leads by hiring assistants, albeit with their own money.

And Councilman-elect Gary Proctor said he might propose city-funded aides

for all council members after he takes office Tuesday.

“I think that the city should pay for [aides] for everybody,” Proctor

said. The position of City Council member “was designed as a part-time

job, and it is difficult to do the part-time job without the assistant.”

Proctor’s proposal, however, is unlikely to become reality because

several council members said they oppose city-funded assistants.

“I prefer to read all my documents and all my packets without an

executive summary” provided by an assistant, said Councilman Tod

Ridgeway, adding that he spends about 50% to 70% of his time on

council-related issues.

Ridgeway pointed out that he’s lucky enough to be able to make the

time because he owns his own business, but even then he has to plan his

hours wisely.

“I just don’t fool around,” he said. “I don’t let anything sit.”

Councilwoman Norma Glover, who has made city government her full-time

job, said she would like things to continue as before.

“We like to think of [Newport Beach] as a small town,” she said,

adding that she kept a listed telephone number to make it easier for

residents to get in touch with her. “I wouldn’t want somebody between me

and constituents. We’re an old city, we have traditions, and it’s kind of

nice to keep those traditions.”

Proctor and Councilmen-elect John Heffernan and Steve Bromberg will be

sworn in at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Proctor, 55, a businessman and attorney, owns a Santa Ana-based legal

services firm that specializes in helping families reunite with their

children in Juvenile Court. While his wife, Sandra, and the couple’s two

children recently moved to Santa Clara County in Northern California to

take care of ailing family members, Proctor took up residence in Newport

Beach a little more than a year ago.

He stressed that his constituents should not see his decision to hire

an assistant as evidence that he didn’t want to live up to the job.

Quite to the contrary, Proctor said he hopes that help with research

and preparation for council meetings will free him up to deal with

constituents’ concerns more efficiently.

“As busy as I am, the only way I could effectively do it is to

approach it the way I do when I’m trying a major lawsuit,” he said. “I

have assistants that do particular aspects of the work for me.”

Even before his overwhelming election victory, Proctor said he’d made

two decisions about being a councilman. First, he committed himself to

resign as a member of the county’s airport commission after 17 years on

that board, which he has since done. Second, he planned to hire an

assistant.

Proctor declined to reveal how much money he will pay Lara Davies, a

Newport Beach resident who holds a master’s degree in media arts. But, he

said he’d start her out at 20 hours a week at a salary “equivalent to

what someone with a master’s degree deserves.”

Davies said she hopes to ensure that her boss stays on top of things.

“I just want to support him and help his constituents so that nothing

slips through the cracks,” she said.

Councilwoman Jan Debay, whom Proctor will replace as the District 2

representative, said she could see how the council job could be more

difficult for working people.

“I had the freedom to make the council my priority,” she said, adding

that her husband, Terry, had provided the couple’s income during her

eight years on the council. “It’s hard for somebody that’s a principal

wage-earner in the family.”

Debay added that she appreciated Proctor’s decision to pay for the

assistant out of his own pocket.

“Newport Beach’s City Hall is so small,” she said. “Council people

don’t even have offices. Financially speaking, we don’t need to spend the

money [on assistants] right now.”

In Irvine, which has a population of about 130,000 people compared to

Newport Beach’s 75,000, all five council members receive $25,000 annually

to use for personal aides. City officials said every council member can

decide whether to spend the money on a single assistant or hire several

aides with fewer qualifications.

Employed by the city on a temporary basis, the assistants serve “at

the will of the particular council member,” said Heather Morris,

spokeswoman for the city of Irvine. Should money remain at the end of the

year, council members may decide on the city program that should receive

the funds.

Irvine Councilman Mike Ward said inheriting his predecessor’s aide was

one of his conditions for running for office eight years ago.

“If I can’t attend a meeting, I’ll send her,” said Ward, who runs a

family business in South Gate. “If I have questions, she’ll get it for

me.”

In Newport Beach, Heffernan said he doesn’t know if he’d support

city-funded aides. But he does plan to rely on administrative support.

“I think it’s a good idea,” said Heffernan, who will take Councilman

Tom Thomson’s place as the representative for District 7. “It gives you a

way to respond to people’s concerns in an organized way.”

Heffernan, 50, a businessman and attorney, said he will keep an

election campaign intern to work as his assistant and use his council

stipend of about $900 a month to cover the costs.

“I’m hoping it’s a break-even deal,” Heffernan said.

He added that his assistant -- a recent UCI graduate -- has already

put together a list of upcoming committee appointments and highlighted

issues Heffernan should focus on right away.

Bromberg, who will replace Mayor John Noyes as the District 5

representative, said he thinks council interns are an “excellent idea.”

Bromberg added that he wanted to try a volunteer approach first.

“I’m going to be putting a committee together -- eight or 10 people

who will have involvement in the city in different areas,” he said,

describing the group as a “mini-kitchen cabinet.”

“I’d like to try it my way first,” Bromberg said, adding that a paid

assistant might be an option he’ll pursue at a later time. “Having people

work with a council person to deal with correspondence frees up the

council person to deal with issues better.”

QUESTION

PAID AID?

Should Newport Beach pay for City Council members to have assistants?

Call our Readers Hotline at (949) 642-6086 or send e-mail to

[email protected]. Please spell your name and include your hometown

and phone number, for verification purposes only.