In 2014, I supported someone who is now my opponent, Diane Dixon.
She promised a lot of things, but has done the opposite on nearly everything.
She affirmed the Dock Tax which she pledged to stop.
She not only raised existing taxes, but also added more of– she recently voted to approve Newport’s first Mello-Roos tax.
She increased spending by over $55 million annually since she took office– she didn’t lower it.
She promised to protect property rights, but her “Lights Out at 11 p.m.” sought to steal property rights from building owners, and now there are proposals to expand a section of Mariner’s Mile which would require several land seizures through Imminent Domain.
She promised to stop cronyism, but the Balboa Theater was sold to her friends for $1.1 million when there were offers for $1.6 million and $1.7 million on the table. She then purchased the abandoned McDonalds building for over $4 million of taxpayer dollars when the then-current owners had purchased it for less than $2 million just 18 months prior.
She promised to enhance Safety, but she is moving the fire station from Lido Peninsula to that same McDonalds building—the opposite direction of where 80 percent of the calls for that station are coming from. This crony deal with not only cost taxpayers money, but it will cost them response time when residents need them the most (78 percent of all responses for Fire are actually health emergencies).
She promised integrity, and she ran with Councilman Scott Peotter, endorsing him in 2014—but during the recall, when she also endorsed him, she was actively mingling with the recall proponents. During this election, she endorsed him yet again—while actively mingling with his opponent.
She promised to help pay down our unfunded pension liability, but under her watch, our unfunded pension debt has increased an eye-popping $70 million– perhaps that was due to her approving city-wide raises, having positions like Dog Catcher bringing home over $180,000 in total compensation—and that position alone will retire with 90 percent of their base pay for the rest of their lives as a pension—also almost entirely unfunded, and adding to our $1.3 billion pension debt, when the city only makes $250 million/year.
She has not only failed to deliver on her campaign promises—she has actively voted the opposite of how she promised she would vote.
Dixon—who moved here just six months before filing to run for office—is not a fit for Newport Beach.
I have been active in our local community for nearly 15 years, and I am embarrassed that I supported her original campaign, and I am happy to step up to the plate to stop these types of things from continuing in our small beach town.
My commentary had to be edited for size, but you can find more of her votes — no personal attacks — at DumpDixon.com If you like these votes and want more of them, feel free to vote for her. If you don’t want this in our beach community, I ask for your vote in District 1.
Mike Glenn
City Council Candidate
