Newport names its next mayor

Don Webb will have a spot on the city’s Rose Parade float. After that, the ride could get bumpy.The Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday unanimously chose Don Webb to be mayor for the next 12 months, but the most exciting part for Webb happens in about two weeks.

The highlight of his year will likely be riding on the city’s Rose Parade float, which celebrates Newport Beach’s 100th birthday.

Webb took the gavel from John Heffernan, who took over an unexpired mayor’s term in May. Councilman Steve Rosansky replaced Webb as mayor pro tem.

Webb, 66, worked for the city for years and retired in 2001 as the public works director. He was elected to the council in 2002. This is his first turn as mayor.

“When I came to work for the city in 1968, I never had any idea that I would have the opportunity to be the mayor some 37 years later,” Webb said Wednesday.

Heffernan had a full plate for his short tenure as mayor, and Webb will be dealing with many of the same issues. The council will be shepherding the city’s general plan update toward a possible public vote in November 2006, and officials are trying to complete a state-required local coastal plan. In addition, two residents groups are gathering signatures for ballot issues that would shift power over development and spending from the council to the voters.

Although Webb is personally excited about the city’s centennial, he said the council’s top priority in the next year will likely be a new city hall.

“We definitely need a new city hall, so it’s a matter now of will it be at this present location or will we find a location that will be better for it elsewhere,” he said.

There are so many major projects still unfinished, in fact, that Webb said that for now he’s not setting any new goals.

In Heffernan’s experience, the surfeit of city business means it’s hard to get results.

As mayor, “you don’t have any meaningful staff, so you’re really doing this all on your own,” Heffernan said.

“I haven’t even gotten a speed bump in my neighborhood, and I’ve been on the council for five years.”

He said he’ll continue to urge the council to switch to letting voters elect the mayor every two years from among the council candidates.

Right now in Newport, the mayor’s is a big job -- and it requires a consensus builder, Councilman Tod Ridgeway said. He’s been on the council since 1998 and has served as mayor twice.

“It’s very, very difficult because the issues are so complex and so comprehensive and so needing of a thorough understanding,” Ridgeway said. “Council needs to look like they’re together up there, and that’s part of the position of the mayor.”