Nine former Newport Beach mayors published a joint letter Wednesday, Oct. 28, endorsing city council challengers Walter Stahr and Dr. Andy Gerken, calling the current council majority's direction a break from decades of shared values.

The letter, published in Newport Beach News, lands less than a week before the Nov. 3 election. The signatories claim more than 68 years of combined council experience.

"Our city is on the wrong track," the former mayors wrote. "The current city council majority has significantly abandoned the shared values and common consensus that have guided Newport Beach for decades."

The nine signatories are Brad Avery, Keith Curry, Marshall "Duffy" Duffield, Thomas C. Edwards, Nancy Gardner, Rush Hill, John Heffernan, Clarence J. Turner and Don Webb.

What the letter says

The former mayors organized their complaints into several categories.

On public input, they wrote that "Ad Hoc" committees have been used to "decide important matters behind closed doors without public notice or participation." They pointed to the decision to place a police station and jail in Civic Center Park as one result. They also said the council majority has worked to eliminate the City Charter's longstanding recognition of residents' right to vote on major development projects and the General Plan.

On spending, the letter states the council majority increased city spending by more than $139 million over four years, which the former mayors called a 36% increase. They wrote that general fund spending last year grew at twice the rate of inflation.

On development, the group wrote that a consensus against high-rise, high-density building has held since the 1970s. The council majority, they said, "has not only supported high-rise development but has proposed making the city a partner in such development, using valuable city property."

The former mayors also accused the current majority of showing "disrespect for fellow council members as well as residents with different viewpoints" and using social media to "censor community members who disagree with them."

The candidates

Stahr is challenging incumbent Councilmember Erik Weigand in District 3. Gerken, a retired orthopedic surgeon, is challenging Mayor Lauren Kleiman in District 6.

The police station issue has been a flashpoint in the race. At a September forum hosted by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, Stahr said he had spoken with residents at concerts on the Civic Center green. "Not a single person to whom I've spoken at one of those concerts has turned around and said 'Oh yeah, that's a great place for the jail and the police station and the parking structure,'" Stahr said, according to Daily Pilot coverage of the event.

A council majority approved $1.5 million for study, design and outreach contracts related to the Civic Center Park plan, the Daily Pilot reported Oct. 23.

Big outside spending

The endorsement arrives amid heavy independent expenditure activity. More than $2 million had flowed into independent expenditure committees focused on Newport Beach council races and ballot measures as of late October, according to Daily Pilot reporting.

The Republican Party of Orange County spent roughly $130,500 opposing Stahr, Gerken and Measure H, a housing initiative. The Newport Beach Police Association PAC spent more than $67,000 supporting three incumbents, including about $26,000 backing Kleiman and a similar amount for Weigand. The Newport Beach Firefighters Association PAC more than doubled that, spending $59,000 for Kleiman, roughly $53,000 for Weigand and about $42,000 for Councilmember Joe Stapleton.

Newport Beach voters citywide can vote in the Nov. 3 contests for council seats representing Districts 1, 3, 4 and 6.