Bromberg doesn’t have to run to win

Deirdre Newman

Incumbent City Councilman Steve Bromberg doesn’t have to worry about

any competition in his reelection bid.

Instead, he can focus on the goals he wants to achieve in his next

term. And the biggest one is spherical.

The sphere issues are the incentive for Bromberg to seek another

term, he said. They evolved from the city’s desire to expand its role

in several areas, including John Wayne Airport, redevelopment of

Santa Ana Heights, administration of tidelands in the city and

environmental protections at the closed Coyote Canyon landfill.

“Last year, I said, this is an awful lot of work; my [law]

practice is taking a hit,” he said. “Then, when I saw we were getting

involved in the sphere issues, it was easy. It’s the future of the

city.”

All his experience as an attorney and a city councilman, plus

being attuned to residents’ feelings will be a wellspring for him to

draw on, he said.

“The mediation experience and training will probably be more

significant,” he said. “It will require the cooperation, not just of

Newport Beach, organized groups in Newport Beach, county board of

supervisors, neighboring cities like Costa Mesa and corridor cities

like Tustin. It will be a Herculean effort, no doubt about it.”

Bromberg grew up in the South Bronx and moved to Santa Monica

before coming to Balboa Island 18 years ago with wife Ronnie.

Bromberg has honed his mediation skills through his work in

employment litigation for the past 25 years. He represents labor in

employment litigation cases, and he works with employers on

compliance with labor laws. One-third of his time is spent as a

mediator, he said.

And it has already come in handy, he added.

“There are so many diverse issues people are passionate about, you

have to form a compromise,” he said. “If you can’t form consensus,

you can’t lead, and if you can’t lead, you can’t accomplish your

goals.”

His district includes Balboa Island, Irvine Terrace and Fashion

Island.

One of the achievements he is most proud of in his first term was

adopting a Marine battalion from Camp Pendleton as one of his last

acts as mayor. He serves as the chair of the committee that was set

up to liaison with the battalion. The committee is made up of eight

former Marines plus City Manager Homer Bludau.

He said he was also proud to be appointed to Gov. Arnold

Schwarzenegger’s Water Policy Advisory Task Force, which develops

water policy for the state. He is one of three Southern California

members out of 38 and the only elected city official on the force, he

said.

“I’ve been involved in water-quality issues since I hit the City

Council,” Bromberg said. “We are truly leaders here in Newport Beach

in the county.”

The task force put together a thorough action plan and submitted

it to the governor.

He thinks he doesn’t have any opponents because of the job he has

done in his first term, he said.

“I think I’ve done a good job,” he said. “I know all the political

players. When you do a good job, people will let you know, and when

you do a bad job, people will let you know.”

Bromberg has also been very active in the American Cancer

Society’s Relay for Life, which takes place every year at Newport

Harbor High School. This year, he was recognized by the society as

one of two Portrait of Hope honorees. The society highlights

prominent cancer survivors and what they are doing now as

encouragement for those battling cancer.

In 1994, he was given four months to live after being diagnosed

with bladder cancer. He conquered it, but it came back in 1999, and

he beat it again. He enjoys being an inspiration to others who are

battling cancer, he said.

“I’m a litigator, a mediator, I run my own law practice, and I’m

on the City Council,” he said. “If I can do all that, you can get

through it. I wish I heard something like that [when I was

diagnosed].”

When he’s not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife.