Incumbents Joe Stapleton, Erik Weigand and Lauren Kleiman jumped to leads early Tuesday night after polls closed for three seats on the Newport Beach City Council.
The three incumbents were being challenged for their district seats on the dais, while Robyn Grant already secured her return with no challenger in District 4.
Tina Babajanians jumped into the District 1 race, attempting to unseat incumbent Joe Stapleton.
In District 3, incumbent Erik Weigand faced challenges from Walter Stahr and Tim Stoaks.
Andrew Gerken challenged incumbent Lauren Kleiman in District 6.
Stapleton, who had a significant lead in District 1 after the early returns were released, said he is very confident the results will hold. He continues to lead with nearly 70% of the vote over his challenger.
“I’m honored and humbled that the voters of Newport Beach have given me the chance to continue serving,” he said, attributing his success to him showing up and communicating actively with residents. “We broke the record in fundraising and knocked on a lot of doors and talked to the people. I think people enjoyed that.”
He also thanked his family, volunteers, and everyone who believed in the promise to keep Newport, Newport.
He said he will now focus on finishing Fire Station 1, delivering a passive park at Lower Castaways, continuing to pay down the city’s pension liability, protecting the airport settlement agreement, and restoring the city’s beaches.
“I’m grateful for the trust the community has placed in me,” he said.
Weigand said he is also honored by the response he got from voters, and by late Tuesday he was comfortably leading his two opponents in District 3 with 59% of the votes.
“I’m honored that Newport Beach voters looked past the noise to recognize the hard work that me and my colleagues have delivered over the past four years,” he said. “I’m committed to ensuring Newport Beach remains safe and free from overreaching state policies that threaten our local control.”
Weigand acknowledged challenges ahead but promised to work hard for the community while delivering results.
Kleiman also led early in her District 6 race and remains ahead, with almost 56% of the vote. She credited her success with running on her record.
“I have worked tirelessly to protect the safety and quality of life we covet in Newport Beach,” she said. “I am grateful for the confidence of the voters and the support of residents, business owners, police and firefighters.”
Mostly, she said, she is looking forward to putting the “needless division of negativity of this election cycle behind us so we can focus on coming together to prepare and protect the community from continued El Niño impacts.”
Among the biggest topics in town this year are how to deal with the impacts of visitors on the coastal neighborhoods, especially during spring break and the summer holidays, whether the police headquarters should move to the Civic Center area, and what the impacts of the state-mandated housing are on the community and residents’ quality of life.
Newport Beach councilmembers represent seven geographic districts, but all voters elect them. All three incumbents first joined the council in 2022.
The OC Registrar of Voters will update results daily, except weekends, at 5 p.m. until the counting is complete.