Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle

Council Member Leslie Daigle was elected to the Newport Beach City Council in 2006.  She was appointed to the Council in 2004.   Councilwoman Daigle was part of the General Plan Update Committee that helped oversee the planning of the city’s first comprehensive revision of the city’s Plan in more than thirty years.  The plan presents a vision and framework for enhancing the community’s character as a beautiful, unique residential coastal community with distinct neighborhoods and villages.  It preserves its ocean, bay, and estuaries and seeks to improve water quality.

The Councilwoman now serves on the General Plan Implementation Committee, which is preparing revisions to the Zoning Code and other documents that will carry out the Plan.  She previously served on the Newport Beach Planning Commission and is a member of the Urban Land Institute.

Council Member Daigle is an advocate of restoring the Upper Newport Back Bay, a 752-acre ecological reserve.   Among the major projects is the 55-acre restoration of Big Canyon Creek that includes a public education component.  Councilwoman Daigle worked with her colleagues to plan and fund the Back Bay Science Center that provides for improved water quality testing and education for schoolchildren. 

As a member of the Bay Issues Committee, she is working with federal representatives to continue the dredging of the Bay and Back Bay to enhance water quality and provide safe and navigable waterways.

Council Member Daigle  is currently working with the Newport Mesa Unified School District and Newport Beach Police Department on a forum entitled Keep Your Teen Safe.  Topics include Internet security, teenage driver, teenage drug use, and suicide/depression.    She is a member of the Corona Del Mar Aquatics Foundation Steering Committee, which raised more than one million dollars to fund improvements at the Marion Bergeson Aquatics Center.  

She spearheaded the first annual Orange County Conference for Women (www.ocwomen.org). Sponsors include Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.  Attendees learned more about women’s health and other issues.  Councilwoman Daigle is currently working on modifications to housing policies that will better accommodate the needs of Newport Beach seniors.

As chair of the Media Communications Committee, Councilwoman Daigle introduced the addition of video streaming to the city’s web site to expand public access and enhance digital democracy.  Councilwoman Daigle has worked in the mobile telephone industry during the last twelve years.   She applied her knowledge of wireless technologies to help plan the City’s traffic signal synchronization system.  The city will utilize wireless technologies to improve traffic flow at key intersections. 
 
Councilwoman Daigle now chairs the Finance Committee, which is working on a host of initiatives to deliver city services in a cost efficient manner while maintaining the same level of quality.