What’s new is old hat in Newport

It will be a familiar scene Tuesday night at Newport Beach City Hall as the City Council, once again, adds to its ranks by appointing a new member to fill the open seat vacated last month by John Heffernan.

No need to go into the details about how this is the fourth time the council is having to appoint a new member because of a resignation, or how there is a vocal group of residents complaining about all the appointments. (A valid enough point, although appointing political replacements isn’t a Newport-exclusive happening. Just this week, the newest member of the Senate, Robert Menendez, voted on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito -- and Menendez was appointed by New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine to fill an empty seat. That seat just so happened to be Corzine’s before he took over as governor.)

The five people who have applied, for those who missed yesterday’s Pilot, are Keith Curry, Nancy Jones, Dolores Otting, Scott Peotter and Daniel Wampole.

We’ll be running the responses we received asking readers who they want to be the replacement in Friday’s Forum page, but I can say that the initial stream is heavy for Curry -- and his name is on a lot of lips at this point. That certainly doesn’t mean he’ll get the seat, but he’s a strong early favorite and there is more focus on him at this point than in the last two appointments, when the council appointed Councilwoman Leslie Daigle and Councilman Ed Selich. Those times seemed much more up in the air, but, really, who knows what the council members will decide when the spotlight is on them.

On Tuesday, the Pilot will run the quintet’s responses to a few questions so readers will have an opportunity before the meeting to get a sense of the council hopefuls. (Note to the five: Now you’re committed to responding.) We have done similar pieces during the earlier appointments, and I think they are a moment when the Daily Pilot is at its most valuable. I don’t ever want it to be said that residents of Newport-Mesa can’t be informed about local happenings if they want to be.

So keep your eyes out for those responses Tuesday.

I’d also encourage everyone to check out the city’s website, www.city.newport-beach.ca.us, and click on the link to “Council Appointment Dist 7 ... 02/02� for other information on the applicants. The city’s providing their applications online is a fine example of open government (or “transparency,� if you want to use one of my least favorite political buzzwords). The city deserves kudos for it.

If work allows, I plan to be at the meeting. Although, as I said at the top, the novelty of these appointments has really worn off.

* S.J. CAHN is the editor. He may be reached at (714) 966-4607 or by e-mail at [email protected].

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