Mailbag: Here are some desirable qualities for our Newport council members

Desirable qualities for Newport council members

We will be electing three new City Council members soon in Newport Beach and, without looking at any candidates specifically, I think we as residents should be thinking about what kind of qualities we want in those who serve us at the city level.

I can think of some very basic qualities that I think would make for a good council member:

• Ethics: We certainly should be looking for this as the No. 1 character quality.

• Humility: We do elect them and they do serve us, so let’s not forget that important quality.

• Good people skills: Don’t we want representatives who will listen to us and try to help us solve reasonable problems?

• Impartiality: We certainly should want people who treat all residents the same, within their district and within the city as a whole.

• Leadership: Council members need to listen to their staff, but in the end because they are responsible, they should be making the big decisions at City Hall. And their staff members should possess the same positive qualities as the council members.

• Experience: While this is definitely a variable, it would be nice if the candidate had some leadership experience, not necessarily at the city level.

• Being independent: We should want our candidates to be independent and original thinkers, not obligated to other ties that may bind them. I would think that we would want them making their own decisions based on objective data and an ethical premises.

We might all benefit from the community’s input on this and benefit from looking for these qualities in our city leaders.

Lynn Lorenz
Newport Beach

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Too much development in Newport-Mesa

Newport-Mesa keeps building, building, building. And why, when we don’t get to water what we have?

With all the extra space currently at the Fairview Developmental Center, which is proposed to close in a few years, it could be a good place to help some of our homeless veterans with housing.

Melody Perry
Newport Beach

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Illegal fireworks a nuisance in the neighborhood

Thank you to previous readers who wrote about the abuse of fireworks in Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach.

I also called the Costa Mesa fireworks hotline twice due to continuing use of mortar fireworks being shot off around our Westside Costa Mesa neighborhood. This may be fun and exciting for some, but it can also be very frightening to pets, children and veterans returning from deployment.

The Fourth of July used to be a celebration for family and friends to get together and celebrate the birth of our nation. I have fond memories from childhood of lighting legal fireworks in the street, but am sad that I cannot share that experience with my grandchildren due to the constant sound of mortar rounds, firecrackers and M-80s in my area. I would love to know how many so-called “zero tolerance” citations were issued this Fourth of July.

Karen Lund
Costa Mesa