Who should elect our Mayor?
That’s the question Speak Up Newport proposes to answer at its next meeting on Wednesday, May 11.
Measure B on the June 7 ballot proposes changing the present system of the City Council electing the Mayor to a one-year term annually to one that the general electorate elects the Mayor for a four-year term.
Mayor Pro Tem Noah Blom will present the case for supporting Measure B. Lawyer and author Walter Stahr will present the case for opposing Measure B.
SUN ZOOM Webinars have been so successful during COVID that they will be
simulcasting the live program via ZOOM for those that cannot attend in person.
If you have a question you would like to ask the speakers, please send it to:
question@speakupnewport.com. Attendees will also have the opportunity to submit questions during the program.
The event takes place in the Civic Center Community Room, 100 Civic Center Drive on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. Reception at 5:15 p.m. Program 6 to 7 p.m.
To participate in the free webinar, visit www.speakupnewport.com.
Noah Blom
Newport Beach native and Mayor Pro Tem Noah Blom has a deep and impassioned love for the City. As a second-generation Newporter, Noah learned hard work and dedication from his parents, who owned a photography studio in Corona del Mar. His mother, Chloe, had a contagious spirit and enthusiasm that inspired Noah to treat the world with optimism and graciousness. His father, John, has been involved with preserving and beautifying the City for all of Noah’s life, and is a continuing source of knowledge and insight. This strong foundation and empowered resolve inspired Noah, with the support of his wife, Marin, and teenage son, Kai, to serve the town that has given them such a beautiful history.
Noah left Newport Beach after high school to travel the country, first for school in San Francisco, New York and Europe, and later for business in Vermont, New York, Washington, D.C., Miami, Dallas, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. A chef-turned-restaurateur, his ventures and dealings gave him an opportunity to work with many diverse people and municipalities, learning the intricacies of government relations as he worked to open restaurants in vastly different markets.
After being away for many years, Noah returned home to Newport Beach, where he met his wife, Marin. The two continued to open restaurants, this time focusing on the towns and cities of Orange County.
Noah and Marin Blom give back to the community through many philanthropic organizations and causes. In recent years they have focused on youth sports in Newport Beach, and in particular, aquatic activities in the ocean and harbor. Their work includes helping provide opportunities for children who do not otherwise have the means to participate in ocean and harbor activities.
Throughout his entire life, Noah has had a deep love and passion for the political process as a vehicle to achieve change and evolution in the world. He believes that the sidelines are for spectators, and wishes to fight for the history and progress of Newport Beach.
Walter Stahr
Walter was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1957, grew up in Arcadia, California, and went away for high school, to the Phillips Exeter Academy. Then it was back west, to Stanford University, then back east, to Harvard, where Walter studied law and public policy.
After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1982, Walter joined the Washington office of an international law firm, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. In 1986, the firm posted him to Hong Kong, where he lived and worked for three exciting years, mainly on international litigations. In 1990, he joined the Securities & Exchange Commission, working for several years in the chairman’s office, writing speeches and congressional testimony, advising on enforcement cases.
In 1995, he was hired by Fidelity Investments to be their first internal lawyer based in Hong Kong; his work and travels took him throughout Asia, especially to Japan and Taiwan.
Walter returned to Washington in 1999, joining Emerging Markets Partnership as an internal lawyer, focused on Asia, eventually rising to be the general counsel of EMP Global, as the firm was known.
In the summer of 2008, his family moved to Exeter, New Hampshire, where they lived for six school years while his wife taught mathematics, he worked on his books and coached the Exeter mock trial team, and his children attended and graduated from the Phillips Exeter Academy. In the summer of 2014 they moved to southern California, to be closer to his parents and their children.
His first book, on John Jay, was published in 2005; his second book, on Seward, in 2012; his third book, on Stanton, in 2017. He is now working on a fourth book, a biography of Salmon Chase.
