EDITORIAL

The main headline in Wednesday’s Daily Pilot surely raised cheers from

56th Street to One Ford Road: “Silva takes over Newport Beach.’

With this week’s switch of county supervisors, Newport Beach now falls

under the influence of 2nd District Supervisor Jim Silva, a decidedly

pro-El Toro politician. Gone is the 5th District’s Tom Wilson, who to a

great extent served his Newport Beach constituents well, save when it

came to the biggest issue hanging over the city’s skies.

But while Newport Beach residents can celebrate, their neighbors in

Newport Coast aren’t so lucky. Thanks to governmental red tape, that

unincorporated county land still falls within Wilson’s district. And

residents there aren’t happy.

They shouldn’t be.

Both Newport Beach and Newport Coast -- set to be annexed by the city

as soon as January -- would be ill-served by having two supervisors. It

would divide the city’s focus on county issues. It would force city

leaders to go to one supervisor for certain issues, another for others.

It is also useful to remember that Newport Coast leaders are anxious to

avoid being split between two council members, let alone two supervisors.

And then there’s El Toro.

Little more needs to be said about how Newport Beach and Newport Coast

feel about plans at the closed Marine base or how frustrated city leaders

have been with having their supervisor be one of the two against the

proposal. With a redrawing of a line, these concerns can be alleviated.

Newport Coast residents have been vocal in their desire to be included

in the district with the city they are destined to join. Newport Beach

Mayor Gary Adams reiterated the same in a letter to board Chairwoman

Cynthia Coad.

The supervisors should listen to them, and do whatever they can to

bring Newport Coast in line with Newport Beach.