Meeting the Mayor

This week I received a note from Tara Finnegan at the City of Newport Beach to post on www.balboa-island.com . Our new mayor, Keith Curry, was going to be across the street at the Beek Center to meet and greet the Citizens of Balboa Island and Newport Beach today.

Last year when I was involved in the Underground Utilities issue I wrote to all the City Councilmen and Keith was the only one who responded to me and to several other residents of Balboa Island. It was noted at the time and I wanted to tell him that we appreciate his attitude as a 'public servant' rather than one of being elected and then ignoring the constituents as so often happens.

His wife, Pam, greeted everyone at the door and was a down- to- earth really nice person who seemed interested in what we had to say. Keith listened to my problems and asked me to send him an e-mail outlining what I had going on with the City and he would direct me to the proper personnel. That is all I could expect. Just the fact that he took time from his Saturday morning to listen to the citizens was a positive thing. Especially since he probably didn't get as many "atta-boys" as gripes and concerns.

While searching the internet for a picture to post with this blog my opinion of Keith took another step up. There was an article in the Register April 2. 2010 (where I got Keith's picture) that talked about "gifts" that Keith had received - about $5,000 - in the last year. Keith was the only one to list his gifts except for long time City Councilman Don Webb and I believe he was exact and honorable in his listing.

It was too bad the headline was "Mayor reports receiving $5,422 in gifts". It should have been - "Mayor Reports Actual Gifts - What a Refreshing Change." Especially since the "gifts" were well within the limits set by law. I wish our Federal Politicians were as honest.

I think Keith will be a good person to represent our city for the next year. I wish him luck and if you ever get a chance to meet him - do so.