Newport Beach councilman bids a reluctant farewell

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- It’s not as if outgoing Councilman Tom Thomson won’t

have things to do.

There’s a half-acre, ocean-view lot in Corona del Mar offered at

nearly $1.9 million and a four-bedroom, $800,000 home in Harbor Cove

Promenade that the real estate agent is trying to sell. And soon he will

take on a $3.7-million property, but said it is too early to reveal any

details.

But while Thomson will have more time to focus on his business when he

leaves office Tuesday, his feelings about the departure from city

government seem as two-sided as many of his decisions during his

four-year tenure.

In a hotly contested race, Thomson lost to businessman John Heffernan,

who will be sworn into office Tuesday, and also was opposed by Bob Wynn,

a former supporter and city manager.

Thomson, sitting in his office and wearing a casual, plaid shirt

instead of his usual dress shirt and tie, said he is glad to have more

time to spend with his wife, Carol, and son, Scott, 14.

“I can’t do much more skiing,” the avid snow fan said.

“I’m not at all unhappy that John Heffernan won, as long as he holds

the iron to the fire and does what he believes in,” Thomson said, looking

out to the other side of Coast Highway, where the councilman-elect has an

office almost directly across the street.

And yet, as Thomson begins talking about future city projects, it

becomes clear that he’s somewhat disappointed about missing out on making

decisions.

“I’m glad to see that the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission

voted again to keep Newport Village open,” he said, referring to a

proposed arts and education center on the open land behind the Newport

Beach Central Library.

“Let’s improve [the site] to a passive park,” Thomson said. “My one

frustration is that I didn’t get support from council and got that tied

up.”

The lack of a clear-cut agreement with the Irvine Water Ranch District

to ban waste water from flowing into the bay is another frustration, he

said.

Viewing an aerial photograph of Newport Beach that hangs on his office

wall, Thomson’s eyes fall on Balboa Peninsula’s Marinapark.

The city recently entered an exclusive negotiating agreement with a

developer for construction of a $30-million, 156-room luxury hotel on the

city-owned site.

The property, which includes a public beach and tennis courts, is now

home to a mobile home park, American Legion Post 291 and a Girl Scout

facility.

“It’s time for the [mobile home] people to move on,” Thomson said,

adding that the Girl Scout and American Legion buildings, as well as the

tennis courts, should be enhanced and left alone.

The site “should remain open because it’s an asset to the community,”

he said. “I think it’s an injustice to put a great hotel in there.”

But then, true to his insistence on finding a balance, Thomson said

the developers should get a crack at his proposal.

“You’ve got to give them a chance to present their program,” he said.

Thomson said a first-class senior center -- “not a warehouse” -- is

another project he hopes the new council will pursue.

“At 55 -- maybe not according to Edwards [theaters] -- I am a senior,”

he said.

While stating that he’s “absolutely not” going to stay involved in

city government in any way, Thomson said he will remain a voice in the

community in his own, personal way.

“My concept of government is that it’s a great, big ship that’s moving

slowly and steadily,” he said.

“There’s very little an individual can do to change its course. But

you can change the tone [of the ship]. People fall off and get on, and

the ship keeps moving.”

Thomson, who at times faced criticism for taking a middle position

between developers’ interests and residents’ concerns, said as a

non-politician, he always tried to stay true to his beliefs.

“I believe in what I say,” he said. “Sometimes, I say too honestly

what I believe. I’m probably not the most articulate person in the world.

I’m just a real person.”

Thomson has a few words of advice for his successors on the council.

“Listen more than you talk for a while,” he said. “And spend lots of

time with individual staff members.

“We have the finest senior staff that we could have assembled. . . .

Listen to the city manager and staff; they are the professionals. But you

don’t have to agree with them.”