Costa Mesa voters’ decisions in Tuesday’s election will determine whether incumbents return to the mayor’s office and council seats in districts 3 and 5, or whether challengers take those seats.
With Measure K also on the ballot, the results will guide the near-term future of development in the city.
Appointed Mayor John Stephens – who was picked to take over the post after Katrina Foley won a special election to the OC Board of Supervisors last year – faces a challenge from former state and county elected official John Moorlach in his bid to win election to a full two-year term.
In District 3, Councilwoman Andrea Marr is seeking a second term, and patient care advocate Jorge Miron and financial adviser John Thomas Patton are hoping to unseat her.
It’s a two-way race for the District 5 seat, with Councilwoman Arlis Reynolds hoping to fend off a challenge from senior paralegal Robert Dickson.
District 4 Councilman Manuel Chavez appears on the ballot, but has no opponents and so is guaranteed a second term.
Measure K would loosen some of the very strict development limits city voters put in place in 2016.
Backers say the initiative would continue to protect residential neighborhoods from community-changing development while lifting the requirement for a public vote on comprehensive plans and denser or more intense developments in specified commercial corridors.
Opponents of Measure K argue that residents should get a say on how their city is developed, and that the measure doesn’t actually require construction of affordable housing or other purported benefits its supporters say it would bring.
Source: Orange County Register
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