More trustees to step down

The Newport-Mesa education community is set to have at least three new leaders this year, as another pair of trustees have announced that they will not seek re-election in November.

George Brown, who presides over Seal Beach and Westminster for the Coast Community College District board, and Tom Egan, who oversees the Westside for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, both plan to retire from their posts at the end of this year. Linda Sneen, another Newport-Mesa trustee, has previously said that she will not run again in November.

With the positions available, three residents have opted to run for Brown’s spot, while the race for Egan’s trustee area remains open. A pair of prospective candidates, Torrence Sullivan and Kimberly Clark, are competing for Sneen’s post.

Brown, a former mayor of Seal Beach, resigned from his political office when he was elected to the college board in 1998. Since then, he has served two trustee terms, supported the sale of KOCE-TV and pushed for higher salaries for the district’s faculty. Now 82 years old, he plans to end his career in public office.

“I’m going to take life easy,” he said.

By Monday afternoon, the Orange County Registrar of Voters listed three candidates for Brown’s spot: retired teacher Carl Hendon, former Huntington Beach budget adviser Jim Moreno and law librarian Lu Tuan Nguyen. Moreno ran unsuccessfully for the Huntington Beach City Council in 2002 and 2004.

Brown said he knew little about Moreno or Nguyen, but supported Hendon, a personal friend, in his run for the board. He cited Hendon’s experience as a teacher in both public and higher education.

“I personally think Carl would be a superior candidate,” Brown said. “With an educator’s background, a teacher’s background and the right kind of personality, he’d be a good man [for the job].”

Egan, who defeated Newport-Mesa trustee Wendy Leece in a tight election in 2002, said he had opted not to run again because he wanted to be closer to his family. He expressed regret, however, at stepping down during a heady time in the district’s history. In the last two years, Newport-Mesa has adopted a new strategic plan, passed its largest-ever bond measure and welcomed a new superintendent.

“It’s been an incredibly fascinating job, and I envy anyone who’s in there the next four years because it will be a very fascinating four years,” Egan said. “We’re right at the point where we’re going to be redesigning our curriculum and what we’re teaching our kids. It’s going to be a new world out there.”