After taste of council, he wants a full course

Deirdre Newman

Councilman Steve Rosansky says West Newport -- the area he represents

-- is finally getting some respect, and he wants to get it even more.

Rosansky, who was appointed last October to replace Gary Proctor,

is running for another term. He faces competition on Nov. 2 from

residents John Buttolph and Catherine Emmons.

He touts himself as an aggressive advocate for a part of the city

that he says has not always been a top priority.

“I’m ... proud I managed to raise the profile of West Newport in

the city -- people’s image of it -- and make people realize we’re not

going to settle for secondhand treatment,” he said.

Rosansky was born in Brooklyn and moved to Newport Beach in 1985,

where he has lived on and off, most recently from 1993 on.

He owns a real estate brokerage company in West Newport, and he

and his wife own a restaurant in Orange.

He was on the Parks, Recreation and Beaches Commission for a few

months before he was appointed. He made an unsuccessful run for the

City Council in 2000.

He says his responsiveness to residents and success in fighting on

their behalf were vividly illustrated when he played a lead role in

getting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to explore other options for

replenishing the sand on the beach of West Newport. Project officials

now plan to pump the dredged material into the water offshore, an

option residents said they prefer.

“To stop a project already underway and get the corps and county

to move so quickly on a new plan -- I’m proud of that,” Rosansky

said.

He said other proud accomplishments from the dais include helping

change the city’s adopt-a-beach program to make it more accessible to

individuals; pushing for a no-smoking ban on the beach, which went

into effect Oct. 14; and focusing on the development of Sunset Ridge

Park, which he said wasn’t getting much attention.

“A lot of people thought it was a done deal, and the city owned

it, but when I got on the council, I realized nothing had happened,”

he said.

He got $60,000 for preliminary plans to develop the park and start

community outreach meetings so residents can decide themselves on

what kind of park they want. The meetings are anticipated to start

this spring, he said.

He also got $80,000 added to the city’s budget to study

improvements for Coast Highway.

He is running for a full term because there’s a lot more he wants

to accomplish, he said.

“I like getting involved with issues and making a difference and

think I have,” he said. “I think I’m effective and have managed to

meet certain goals. Certainly, I think there’s more I can do in the

next four years. I think the problem sometimes is people bring their

own agenda. I don’t’ have one per se. I want to do the best for

people in my district and the city, although sometimes they don’t

coincide, unfortunately.”

He distinguishes himself from his competitors by highlighting that

he has been involved with the city and community for 10 years.

If elected, some of his goals include improving traffic in West

Newport -- and the rest of the city -- and fostering more leadership

in his district.

“I think an important duty of a City Council member is to motivate

people to get involved,” he said. “I want to encourage residents to

get more involved, so we’re not second-class any more. You get what

you give, so you expect you have to give a little to get a little.”

His outdoor hobbies include hiking, camping and snorkeling.