FAIR GAME:Conflicted in Debra Allen Park

When I last left you, I was sitting in Debra Allen Park — a passive park I remind you — high on the hill overlooking MacArthur Boulevard, watching cars go by.

Little did I know at the time that Debra Allen, a Newport Beach city parks commissioner, lived just a stone’s throw away. Three hundred and seventy-five feet, according to City Atty. Robin Clauson.

Now, I know what you’re saying, “Johnson, you could never throw a stone 375 feet!”

Whether I could or couldn’t is not what today’s discussion is about.

The question at hand is why did our city parks commissioner continually involve herself in discussion and decisions regarding a piece of property within 500 feet of her own property. A piece of property, in fact, that she calls home.

According to the State Fair Political Practices Commission rules, that could have been a conflict of interest.

Allen has responded that she feels the city’s measurement is wrong and that she believes she’s at least 100 feet farther away. So let’s say that she is indeed right and is another 100 feet away. I’ll be the first to say that I’m no math genius, but 375 feet plus 100 feet equals 475 feet. That’s still against the rules — 500 feet, remember?

OK, so Allen adds that “every member of the City Council, many past members of the City Council and many members of [the Newport Beach city] staff” have also been to her house.

Well, OK then, now I feel a whole lot more comfortable. But let’s see — they potentially want to build something across the street from Allen’s house, and she doesn’t want it. So what does she do?

I know, she decides to fight it with a park.

But how?

She joins the parks commission and gets a park put in there. Then she invites every member or person that has ever wanted to be on the City Council and all city staffers over so they’ll be on her side. No conflict there.

But then, much to her chagrin, a guy named Bill Ficker comes out of the woodwork and proposes to put city hall in her park.

And this Ficker is not just any Ficker.

No, he’s a world class yachtsman and America’s Cup champion, and if that weren’t enough, he’s also an architect. But unfortunately for Ficker, his plan makes too much sense. Having city hall next to a passive park would make it, well, passive.

And four members from the City Council muster the courage to stand on their integrity and the will of the people and the previous commitments — yada, yada, yada.

Never once do they say during their integrity speech that the person leading their charge might be in violation of state fair political practices. Remember, they’ve all been to her house. They had to notice the potential park and city hall site just 375 feet away.

When Allen argued that city hall wouldn’t work there and that the traffic would be too bad, Ficker should have retorted, “Well it worked 375 feet across the street when you had everyone over. Why not here?”

Now, Ficker is not that kind of a guy, but you get my point.

So now what?

The City Council will review its previous decision to not build a new city hall in Debra Allen Park at their meeting next Tuesday.

Let’s forget the integrity banter and do what’s right and get city hall where it belongs. Smack dab in the middle of Debra Allen Park in the center of Newport Beach.

Look at it this way: At least one person in town will have a short walk to council meetings. And with gas at three bucks a gallon, that might be the best news yet.