Homeowners group’s leader plans run for school board

Mike Brumbaugh, a parent of a Killybrooke Elementary School student and a member of an award-winning homeowners association, has announced plans to run for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District board of trustees this year.

Brumbaugh, whose daughter is in the third grade at Killybrooke, recently filed a statement with the Orange County Registrar of Voters declaring plans to run for the office. If elected, he will replace current trustee Linda Sneen, who oversees central Costa Mesa and is not seeking another term.

“I just feel that rather than go down the path of council or something else in the city, I can help out in schools because I have a desire to be closer to some of the issues and see if I can lend a hand,” Brumbaugh, 48, said. “I’m not a big politician, but I do have some ideas.”

Brumbaugh, a technical writer for Orthodyne Electronics in Irvine, won acclaim recently from the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce as a leading member of the Halecrest & Hall of Fame Homeowners Assn. The chamber presented the group with its Community Spirit Award in May, citing its neighborhood watch program, holiday events for children and efforts to assist elderly residents.

Four of Newport-Mesa’s seven school board members have terms ending in November: Sneen, Serene Stokes, Judy Franco and Tom Egan. Sneen announced earlier this year that she would not run again, but the other three have not yet declared their plans.

Brumbaugh said his top three priorities as a school board member would be improving safety on campuses, reconfiguring grade levels in Costa Mesa schools and providing more athletic fields for students. Through the homeowners association, he helped to set up a communication system for residents to alert each other about dangerous situations.

“I believe strongly in school safety,” he said. “One thing I see is that communication is key. The police can’t be everywhere. It’s up to citizens as well as teachers and parents to watch out and communicate with each other.”

Ed Fawcett, president of the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce, said Brumbaugh has shown solid leadership qualities through his work in Halecrest, a community located a few blocks north of Orange Coast College.

“There’s a number of homeowners associations in town,” Fawcett said. “I’m not sure there are any that reach out to the community the way they have.”

Brumbaugh stands a chance of winning the trustee post unopposed, as no other candidates have filed with the registrar. Sneen also ran unopposed for the school board in 2002.

The window to submit official candidate statements lasts from July 17 to Aug. 11, although Christina Avila, a campaign disclosure filing officer with the Registrar of Voters, said more office-seekers often appear during mid-summer.