Venezia: Election Day surprises sweep through Newport-Mesa

Whew! Elections are finally over, and there are some important lessons to be learned.

At the top of the list: Every vote really does make a difference.

We saw this clearly in the Newport Beach City Council race between Mike Toerge and Scott Peotter, and again between Costa Mesa Mayor Jim Righeimer and Jay Humphrey.

These races were so close it was like splitting hairs. Voters sent some strong messages this season.

In Costa Mesa, the proposed charter amendment went down in flames for a second time, and we learned that Righeimer is highly unpopular. More votes were cast for other candidates combined than for the incumbent.

In Newport, voters opted for big changes.

They didn’t buy the city’s proposed Measure Y, which sought to increase development in Newport Center in exchange for surrendering approvals to build in Newport Coast.

The anti-Y campaign, led by longtime activist Jean Watt, proved she’s still a powerhouse when it comes to grass-roots campaigning — and a force to be reckoned with.

Voters threw out Mayor Rush Hill in favor of newcomer Marshall Duffield of Duffy boat fame.

This didn’t surprise me since I never felt Hill got out there with a strong campaign message. His mailers seemed a rehash of his 2010 bid with images of former President Reagan on them. It was tired.

This round, he also had to defend the cost of the civic center and how dock-fee increases were implemented.

And Hill knew he’d be outspent by Duffield.

It surprised me he didn’t self-finance his campaign, but then again, I just never got the feeling he had the fire in the belly for this whole thing in the first place.

Hill said at the get-go that he wasn’t really running against Duffield but against “Stop-the-Dock-Tax” Bob McCaffrey and his hired gun, campaign consultant Dave Ellis.

Those guys beat Hill hands down, proving once again that alienating and angering residents with big bucks can be political suicide.

This should also serve as a lesson to all of Ellis’ candidates — Duffield, Peotter, Kevin Muldoon and Diane Dixon — as they take their new council seats (the vote count hasn’t been certified and the outcome of Peotter’s race could change). The pendulum swings both ways.

And what about the Orange County Republican Party’s support in the Newport race?

It’ll be interesting to see where these new council members’ allegiances lie as their terms unfold.

And I wonder how city staff will take to this new regime?

During the campaign, some speculated that if the Ellis’ slate of candidates prevailed, Newport could be in for the same style of combative politics as in Righeimer’s Costa Mesa.

With that scenario on the table, will some staffers bail?

The month before Righeimer was elected in November 2010, longtime City Manager Allan Roeder had announced his retirement. I still don’t believe that was a coincidence. I think Roeder was smart enough to know what was coming down the pike and wanted no part of it, though he never said so.

Will Newport’s Dave Kiff consider the same?

And then there was the 74th Assembly race outcome.

Though well-financed, Newport Councilman Keith Curry got clobbered by Huntington Beach Mayor Matt Harper.

From the start, I wondered how Curry’s demeanor and personality would play outside Newport.

Harper is popular in Huntington Beach and has that “regular guy” vibe going for him.

Curry, on the other hand, looked and sounded like a seasoned politician and was far more reserved.

He also had the baggage of being from “rich” Newport Beach — a stigma that has hurt others from this town who have vied for higher office, particularly state office.

Though the dialogue between these candidates was nasty at times, Harper ran a far-scrappier campaign than Curry, who I feel wasn’t comfortable with a fight at this level.

And then there’s Newport Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, who lost her bid for Orange County Water District, Division 5, to the incumbent.

Daigle pulled no punches disparaging Steve Sheldon. This race got pretty nasty, but Sheldon prevailed.

Daigle’s another example of a Newport politician who couldn’t amp up to the next level. In 2012, she lost her bid for the same Assembly seat that Curry lost this week.

And though Ellis successfully placed his slate on Newport’s council, he wasn’t able to snag a seat for himself on the Municipal Water District of Orange County.

Maybe he needed a better campaign consultant?

They say people get the government they deserve. It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out in time.

[For the record, 9:25 a.m.: An earlier version of this column incorrectly stated that Orange County Republican Party money went to the Newport Beach race. Orange County GOP support was evident in the council race.]

BARBARA VENEZIA, whose column appears Fridays, lives in Newport Beach. She can be reached at bvontv1@gmail.com.