Save Newport Real News in Newport Beach
BREAKING– We are the first news outlet to write about this: Quietly on Monday, September 21, Fred Ameri announced his intent to run for council. He is seeking the seat that will be vacated by termed-out Councilman Keith Curry, in District 7.
So who is Fred Ameri? Well, he’s been schmoozing around political circles for years, and at one point was on the Newport Beach Planning Commission. He has the rare distinction of being one of the very few planning commissioners who– while sitting on the planning commission– sought re-appointment and was denied.
Why wasn’t he re-appointed? Well, I don’t know. Maybe it was because he COMPLETELY MISSED nearly 20% of his regularly-scheduled meetings, and was significantly late (like a half-hour) to countless others? How long would you get away with that at your job?
Or perhaps it was due to his conflict of interest investigation while he was sitting on the Santa Ana Regional Water Control Board? He is the first new council candidate in my memory who decided to run who was already investigated by the California Fair Political Practices Committee.
Now, I need to be clear: Ameri was never convicted of the crimes of which he went under investigation by the State of California, so please do not think that simply because he was a senior vice president at Irvine-based RBF Consulting– a large civil engineering consulting firm that has made hundreds of thousands of dollars from businesses that benefited from Ameri’s votes– and an organization where Ameri also had an abrupt and timely retirement from– that Ameri is in any way corrupt or corruptable. Nor do I want to construe that he sold votes for cash. I want to be clear that I not am saying either of those things are true.
Ameri has a long, long history in Orange County and in Newport Beach. While he is indisputably a “nice guy”– and a popular guy– his record as a civil servant has… well… not even begun to be unfurled. If he desires to put his life on display for the world to dissect, then this upcoming election year will truly be entertainment-filled, indeed.
There are already rumors of two other people who are knocking around in that district. Frankly, a random selection would produce a better candidate than Ameri. As an advocate for good government, transparency, and reasonable decisions… I hope someone else files soon.
DISCLAIMER: Back in 2013 before I knew who he was, Fred Ameri shook my hand and told me he’d do what he could to get me elected, and described his fundraising abilities and gave me his info. Days later, he endorsed my opponent. While I probably wouldn’t have taken his endorsement before researching who he was to begin with, that has been my first (and lasting) impression of the type of person he is.
