Former council members ready to re-rumble

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- Tis’ the season for celebration, shopping and

preliminary campaign planning.

Although the next City Council election is still nearly a year away,

possible candidates have started to crop up around the city. The most

recent additions are familiar names: former council members Heather

Somers and Jay Humphrey.

Somers, who was on the council from 1996 to 2000, confirmed Monday she

will try to regain the seat she lost to Karen Robinson last year by a

scant 32 votes.

“I am very interested in getting back into it again. I will definitely

be running,” said Somers, 45.

Humphrey, on the other hand, was not as sure about his decision to run

but said he is definitely “leaning toward it.”

In next November’s election, both council members Linda Dixon and Gary

Monahan will be up for reelection. Monahan, however, has announced he

will not seek another term, leaving his seat open for any takers.

Somers, noted in the past as being an effective community watchdog,

has been uncharacteristically quiet in the past months but made an

appearance in council chambers Nov. 19 to speak out against small-lot

developments on the Eastside.

It is an issue that is near to the Eastside resident’s hearts and what

won her a seat on the dais in the first place, said Somers, who is a

consultant for pro-El Toro groups.

“The council continues to set a precedent to allow [the lots] to be

developed into lesser and lesser standards,” she said Monday. “The

Eastside is getting more of a condominium-like feel and it’s not fair to

the community.”

While Somers’ attendance at meetings has been a rarity, Humphrey has

been a regular speaker. The 54-year-old also led the charge against the

Home Ranch project.

Controlling development of the Segerstrom bean fields just north of

the San Diego freeway has been a concern of Humphrey’s for some 19 years,

ever since the first design for the land was proposed.

“There was excessive development and I was very concerned that issues

weren’t being addressed responsibly,” said Humphrey, who is western

regional manager for a pharmaceutical company.

His involvement in the anti-Home Ranch movement in the late 1980s was

one of the things that inspired Humphrey to run for City Council in 1990.

He won and served one term, opting not to run again after learning of

increased travel requirements at his workplace.

When Monahan announced he would not run again, he cited an increase in

cynicism and said serving on the City Council “just wasn’t fun anymore.”

When asked if the political landscape had changed since their terms,

Somers and Humphrey had distinct answers.

Somers said the change has been noticeable and unfortunate in the year

that has passed since her tenure.

“[The council] keeps going back over past issues that were resolved

months -- even years -- ago. They continue to bring up things, old things

and rehash them,” she said.

In contrast, Humphrey said he hasn’t noticed much of a transformation

in the eight years he’s been off the council. If anything, more people

are willing to speak up and question authority, he said, which is a good

thing.

“I’m not sure if I ever thought the job of being on the council was

fun but I certainly found it rewarding. There’s a big difference between

the two,” Humphrey said.

-- Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .