Recently the Newport Beach City Council approved increases in the sewer fees paid by many Newport Beach residents.
In approving this increase, Council Member Scott Peotter said: “This is an overdue task that previous politicians refused to face, so I’m happy to support this.”
Really?
While the prior council deferred action on this during the height of the recession, Peotter himself voted on four separate occasions against raising sewer fees.
On September 30, 2015, he voted against sending out the required legal notices and setting a hearing on raising the fee.
On January 26, 2016, he voted against the fee increase.
On second reading on February 9, 2016, he voted no.
When the matter was brought back for reconsideration on March 22, 2016 ,he again voted no and is quoted in the Daily Pilot saying: “I would rather have the general fund write the check.”
The result of this Peotter vote was to create a structural deficit in the sewer fund and require sewer costs to be subsidized by many residents who do not receive sewer services from the city, such as residents of Newport Coast and Santa Ana Heights.
It is the height of hypocrisy to now blame others and say he is “happy to support this.”
Of course, flip flopping has become a frequent activity of late for Peotter. After authoring two essays strongly supporting the rejection of our gas tax funds “on principle,” he flipped and tried to make it look like accepting the money was his idea.
He flip flopped on the Corona del Mar library and fire station in the face of strong neighborhood opposition. He even flipped on funding art in the park.
There is no doubt that the recall is forcing Peotter to temporarily abandon some of his more extremist positions, but only removal from office now can give us a representative who will vote in the interests of the residents the first time.
Go to recallscottpeotter.com for more information.
William Macdonald
Newport Beach
