NBSTRA’s Lobbyist & Advocate Making Outreach to City Leaders

NBSTRA’s advocate, Todd Priest & Associates (TP&A), recently met with Mayor Joe Stapleton to continue building a cooperative relationship between the City of Newport Beach and the Alliance. Mayor Stapleton represents District 1, which includes the Balboa Peninsula, Lido Island, and surrounding communities. During the discussion, we highlighted the Alliance’s shared priorities—ensuring that short-term rentals (STRs) are recognized as valued community assets, responsible neighbors, and contributors to the city’s vibrancy. The Mayor and TP&A also explored future opportunities for collaboration to further advance these goals.

This meeting with Mayor Stapleton comes on the heels of previous meetings with most of the members of the Newport Beach City Council, and with incoming City Manager Seimone Jurjis.

In addition, TP&A met with staff from the City’s Code Enforcement Division. The meeting served as an introduction to the Alliance and its mission and provided an opportunity to address key issues such as trash collection and parking citations. Together, we agreed to identify solutions that support both STR owners and the broader community. Alliance staff is now working to develop collaborative strategies in these areas, along with other matters critical to the STR industry. The Alliance Board will review and evaluate these approaches in upcoming meetings to ensure progress and alignment with our long-term goals.

Members who were able to attend our first in-person members meeting were able to meet Todd Priest and his colleague, Melinda Andrade, and hear about their plans to represent the Alliance at City Hall. We’re pleased of the progress Todd, Melinda, and the whole NBSTRA team are making in advocating for our members and industry at City Hall and invite you to send us questions or comments.