Measure B failed at the polls: What the opposing campaigns think they did right and wrong

Newport Beach voters asked to weigh the merits of a measure that would have led to the direct election of the city’s mayor appear to have turned down the idea at the polls, according to preliminary election returns announced by the Orange County Registrar of Voters office.

Nearly 58.9% of those who participated in Tuesday’s election opposed Measure B, while 41.1% supported it, the results showed Wednesday. If those percentages do not significantly change when remaining ballots are counted, the position of Newport Beach mayor will continue to rotate annually among members of the City Council, as has been the longstanding tradition.

The campaign trail was contentious, with neighbors writing multiple competing letters to the editor debating the merits of the measure in area publications.

The argument turned ugly last weekend, when a video that circulated on social media showing an actor, whom Councilman Will O’Neill believed was depicting him as he championed the measure, being shot multiple times in the chest.

Members of the Stop the Power Grab — No on B Committee took down the video and issued a formal apology but stressed they did not commission it and were not involved in its making. On Wednesday, the committee said it denounces violence and would never wish harm on O’Neill or his family.

“We take responsibility for the fact that it did get posted. All of us felt the violent ending was inappropriate,” said Susan Skinner, a member of the No on B Committee.

Skinner said Wednesday the committee made a point to keep discourse civil but acknowledged there were individuals who felt passionately about Measure B outside of the campaign that may have posted uncivil comments on social media.

The video, she said, was the biggest misstep in what she felt was otherwise a cleanly run campaign.

“Very quickly, we realized there were inappropriate images in the video, and we took it down and an apology was issued,” said Skinner. “[The video] did create some angst for people, and our intent was to bring education to people. The intent of that video and other videos were to be satirical, not to frighten them.”

“This was not a video we commissioned,” said Skinner.

The committee did pay Good Morning Newport $1,500 to produce one video episode. The campaign said that amount paid for a different video posted to YouTube on May 9.

That video and the video taken down over the weekend were part of a three-part fictional “Godfather” series against Measure B.

“The intent of all the Good Morning Newport videos were to educate people in a satirical way that would allow us to reach out to a younger audience,” said Skinner.

Skinner believes the election came down to trust. She said the “no” campaign gained credibility from the support of former and current elected Newport Beach city officials — including sitting members of the City Council Brad Avery and Diane Dixon — as did bipartisan support from the Lincoln Club of Orange County and Newport Beach Women’s Democratic Club.

“We have had for many years elections where one side says disparaging things about the other. What has happened is that social media amplifies that,” said Skinner. “For as long as I can remember, candidates have tried to tear down other candidates.

“What I personally particularly appreciated about this campaign is to be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with people who don’t have my political view and share a common goal, which is what’s right for our city.”

In a statement issued Wednesday, the Yes on B Committee said the race was too soon to call but acknowledged that it would be difficult to overcome the deficit announced after the polls closed Tuesday night and thanked those who worked, advocated and voted in favor of Measure B.

“We are disappointed for the thousands of people who have voted for their mayor who will continue to see a system where the mayor is a step removed from them,” reads the statement.

Along Mariners Drive, signs in support and against Measure B line the street a day before Election Day.

(Courtesy of Nancy Skinner)

The Yes on B Committee statement called on each of the members of the “no” campaign to denounce the video and commit to running cleaner campaigns in the future. Additionally, it said that its own efforts has been about making sure people’s voices are heard and that its committee members would abide by the decision rendered at the polls.

“We ... appreciate the chance to make our case directly to the good people of Newport Beach,” the statement said.

The No on B committee also issued a statement thanking volunteers and advocates for their efforts.

“We appreciate that Newport Beach voters took the time to understand the complexities of Measure B and have defeated this flawed proposal. Measure B would have undermined term limits and created the most powerful mayor in California,” the statement reads. “Residents recognized that it is never a good idea to give that much power to one person ... Together we were able to defeat the elected mayor proposal.

“Our sincere thanks to everyone who worked to protect our city. We are pleased that the voters have made the right choice.”

Jon Fleischman, a member of the Yes on B Committee, said Wednesday he felt the measure’s supporters had done everything right on their campaign, adding there would be a difference of opinion between the two camps as to whether or not there was misinformation spread about the measure.

“The burden is always to get someone to vote ‘yes.’ People’s natural predisposition is to say ‘no,’” said Fleischman, who added he felt the committee would have allocated its resources differently if it could have predicted the primary election’s low voter turnout.

“I thought we had just done everything right. Unfortunately, we had a historically low voter turnout and we spent a lot of money talking to people who didn’t end up voting,” he said.

Fleischman said he felt the committee could have spent more time dispelling what he felt were falsehoods about the measure. He further noted the electorate just didn’t show up to vote for anything this year — “not for governor, not for Congress and not for Measure B.”

Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.