Three pull council papers

All three of the incumbent Costa Mesa City Council members are officially vying to keep their seats.

Mayor Eric Bever and Councilwoman Linda Dixon pulled papers from the city clerk’s office to run alongside Councilwoman Katrina Foley and former Mayor Gary Monahan, bringing the total up to four contenders.

Dixon is running for her third four-year term, having served from 1998 to 2002 and again from 2004 to 2008, including a two-year stint as mayor. Although Costa Mesa council members are not allowed to serve more than two consecutive terms, Dixon did not win the seat she ran for in 2002, making her eligible for reelection.

Bever, a former graphic designer who now deals in art and antiques, is going for his second term on the council. Of the three incumbents, he got the lowest vote total in the 2004 election, with 12% of the electorate.

Dixon came in second with 15% and Foley finished first with 15.8%.

In Newport Beach election news, another resident has plans to run for Steve Rosansky’s seat representing District 2 on the council — albeit without much discontent for the incumbent.

Jorge Lopez, 35, a resident of Balboa Peninsula for more than 10 years, picked up nomination papers Friday and is considering a run for city council. But Lopez’s run isn’t a done deal yet. The potential candidate is scouting out possible sources to help pay for advertising, signs and to help run the campaign. If those things work out, he could take a shot at it.

“Rosansky has done a great job — it is nothing geared toward him,” Lopez said.

Lopez is keeping his possibility at running low key for the moment, but his key issue is how the city, local business, lifeguards and surfers can find a way to co-exist better. Lopez, an avid surfer himself, moved to the area when he was young because of his passion for the sport.

As it stands now, no candidate for any district has officially turned in their papers, but with Lopez there could potentially be three people running for District 2’s seat — incumbent Rosansky, Lopez and Ivan Moad.

DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at [email protected].