Did you ever think about what it would be like to be on the City Council?
To me, in most instances, it’s a pretty thankless job.
Lots of hours, even more reading and very little pay.
And, to get elected you have to run for office, which includes at first the attempt to raise a small campaign war chest with money from your friends and families.
At the same time, you open yourself up to all the community for the examination of yourself and sometimes, unfortunately, your family. If you’ve done something wrong, you can bet someone will find out.
Does anyone remember John Noyes? I rest my case.
But today, it’s not about getting elected to the office, it’s about saying goodbye to someone for their years of service.
You see, Councilman Don Webb’s second and final term in office is coming to a conclusion in December and, personally, I believe this community owes him a debt of gratitude.
Don wasn’t a stranger to City Hall when he was first elected in 2002.
For 33 years before that Don worked in the Newport Beach Public Works Department, first as a civil engineer, then becoming City Engineer in 1984 and finally Public Works Director in 1994.
Following retirement he decided public office was his next calling.
His time on council included a year as mayor in 2006 during the city’s year-long centennial celebration and as Mayor Pro Tem the year prior.
His committee work included Finance, City Hall Building, Coastal/Bay Water Quality, Facilities Long Range Financing, Marina Park and the Mariners Joint-Use Library, to name a few.
For those of you who may only know Don from a distance, or not at all for that matter, let me fill you in on a couple of Don-isms.
First of all, with Don comes a hat and it’s not because he has a hair problem or, better said, a follicle insubordination. Quite the opposite. He’s just one of those guys that looks right in a hat, in any setting.
Secondly, Don has a nickname. He’s commonly referred to as Walkn’ Don Webb.
You see, Don likes to walk around town. Go figure.
The fact is, he’s walked every street in town on more than one occasion. That’s what you call being with your people.
Tomorrow Don finishes a commitment he made to himself to walk every street in the City of Newport Beach during his final year in office. He and his wife, Jan, started this quest last Dec. 9 and tomorrow, after 153 days and 504.6 miles of walking, they’ll finish.
