Voters opt for the familiar in school board race

Newport Beach and Costa Mesa voters cast their ballots Tuesday in favor of familiar candidates for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District board of education.

Incumbents Walt Davenport and Vicki Snell reclaimed their seats on the board, earning 56.6% and 68.8% of the vote in their respective districts, according to Wednesday’s returns.

Snell beat out school board critic Steve Smith, who earned 31.2% of the vote to represent the Estancia High School zone. It was one of the more controversial matchups in the election for the seven member board.

Trustees appointed Snell, a longtime community volunteer, in March to fill the seat vacated by David Brooks, who sat on the board for nearly 16 years before retiring.

“It was really an honor to be appointed, of course, but being elected by my community shows that they think I’m doing a good job and that they have confidence that I’m going to continue to advocate for our children,” Snell said.

Snell ran for the school board on a platform of student retention, hoping to improve the public perception of Costa Mesa’s Adams, California and Victoria elementary schools, as well as TeWinkle Middle and Estancia High schools. Students fleeing local schools in favor of neighboring districts has been a problem for the Newport-Mesa for more than a decade.

School board newcomer Charlene Metoyer is also well known among parents and officials in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. Metoyer served as a principal and district administrator in Newport-Mesa before she retired.

Metoyer earned 68.4% of the vote, beating out former district trustee Michael Collier by a wide margin. Collier, who first lost his seat to Trustee Katrina Foley in 2010, earned 31.6% of the vote.

The former principal campaigned on improving the perception of schools in the Costa Mesa High School zone and installing air conditioning across the district.

“I’ve learned so much on this journey. I’m looking forward to serving our Newport-Mesa Unified students, staff and community as a board member,” Metoyer said. “I’m going to learn a lot more and ask really good questions.”

Like Metoyer and Snell, Davenport took an early lead in the polls, eventually earning 56.6% of the votes and beating out parents Lisa Manfredi and Fidel Mora. Manfredi and Mora earned 23.3% and 20.1%, respectively.

Davenport has spent the past eight years on the board representing Area 7, which includes several elementary schools on Costa Mesa’s Westside. This is the first time his seat has been contested in an election.

He points to his incumbency as a factor in his win, as well as his dedication to making sound financial decisions for the district.

“It was a brand new experience,” he said of running opposed. “It all turned out well.”