School board seats sought by incumbents only

DANETTE GOULET

NEWPORT-MESA - With three seats on the Newport-Mesa Unified School

District’s Board of Education up for grabs this November, no one has yet

to express an interest in the positions except the trustees who hold

them.

Monday marks the first day Newport-Mesa residents can file for

candidacy with the Orange County Registrar of Voters.

To be eligible to run, residents must live in one of the three areas

where seats are open. Those areas are the Mesa Verde section of Costa

Mesa, East Side Costa Mesa and the Dover Shores community of Newport

Beach. Residents have until Aug. 11 to file papers with the county.

If no challengers emerge, incumbents Dana Black, David Brooks and

Martha Fluor would cruise to reelection. Brooks and Black are running for

second terms; Fluor is running for her third.

In the last school board election, two of the four incumbent trustees

ran unopposed.

For Dave Brooks, who represents residents in Mesa Verde, running again

was a given.

“For me, there was no question,” he said. “I truly enjoyed myself. I

feel good that we accomplished so much. A lot of the things that brought

me to the board, we are fixing.”

Having passed a school bond that will bring the district $163 million

was just one of many school board accomplishments Brooks listed.

Like Brooks, Fluor said it never entered her mind not to run for a

third term.

“I had all along wanted to run and complete three terms of service,

watching to see changes from one whole group of kids graduating,” Fluor

said. “I still think that I have something to contribute.”

The decision to run for a second term was not so clear-cut for Black,

however, who said she is now about 110% sure she will file.

“I’ve been wavering only because my youngest has graduated now and my

real estate is really busy,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s been four

years, but we’re on a fantastic roll. I decided last Tuesday. I think

it’s a good thing.”

While no one seems to know of any potential competition, the three

incumbents say they wouldn’t mind the opposition.

“I’m not one of those to be frightened of individuals running against

me,” Fluor said. “The last time I ran I was unopposed, too. They must

think I do a pretty good job -- is that the reason?”