Leslie Daigle

Leslie Daigle is a Republican city councilwoman in Newport Beach, California in the United States. She is a candidate in the 2012 election for the newly redistricted California's 74th State Assembly district.

Background and education
Daigle attended the University of Denver from which she received a Bachelor of Arts in Geography. She also graduated from the University of Copenhagen's international study program and completed the "Woman & Power: Leadership for a New Generation" program at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Working for sixteen years as a government relations consultant for businesses, Daigle later decided to transition into an active role in government citing a desire to "represent people."

Career
Daigle is serving her second term on the council, where she has served as a leading member of the council’s Finance Committee. From 2002 to 2006, Daigle also served on the Newport Beach Planning Commission.

In 2010, Daigle called for an independent review of the $130 million Newport Beach Civic Center project in a response to persistent criticism of the project's management. In a letter to the other members of the council, Daigle expressed concerns over stewardship of taxpayer's money, "Large-scale construction projects require a determined focus on schedule and budgets, or the owner — in our case, the city and our taxpayers — can be taken to the cleaners," Daigle wrote in the letter. In a media interview with the Newport Beach Independent, Daigle asserted that while the project should retain a level of oversight in order to ensure the sound use of taxpayer funding, her support for the project's intent remains intact: "It’s a very significant, costly project. But a case can be made that this is a good time to take advantage of a slow construction economy and relatively cheap financing to accomplish it. In the end, I believe it will be a source of pride and improved access to municipal services for our community, on par with the rebuilt OASIS Senior Center that opened last week. The real threat to our budget is if we lose control of the project’s schedule and incur cost overruns."

In 2011, Daigle proposed a transparency measure modeled after a similar policy in Anaheim, California, that would require city consultant contracts to be published online. As it stood, the Newport Beach City Council must approve all consultant contracts valued at $120,000 or more, while the city manager has authority to approve any valued at less than that amount. The administrative procedure that Daigle introduced would require all of the city-approved contracts and details about those contracts to be posted online for 30 days after the contract has been awarded.

Recognition
In 2010, Daigle placed sixth on the Daily Pilot newspaper’s list of the 103 most influential people in the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa area. In the Pilot's 2011 list Daigle placed ninth.

A result of the fiscal policies implemented during Daigle’s two terms as councilwomen, the City of Newport Beach was awarded an AAA rating from Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch.