Candidate for
United States Representative; District 48

Reducing crime, improving traffic congestion, increasing the number of youth sports fields and after-school programs and supporting senior citizens are on Wendy's "2012 To Do List." With recent budget reductions, Wendy is always assessing how these cuts will impact services to residents, especially police, fire, and paramedic response times.

Wendy Leece came to Costa Mesa from Tucson, Arizona in 1972 and never left. Always a resident of the Westside, Wendy's early years in the City were spent raising her five children who attended local schools and played in many sports leagues. She was elected to the City Council on November 7, 2006 and appointed Mayor Pro Tem on December 2, 2008. Wendy was re-elected to the City Council for a second four-year term in November 2010. She currently serves as the City Council appointee to the County Library Advisory Board, the City Council liaison to the Costa Mesa Historical Preservation Committee, and the Airport Advisory Committee. Wendy was also the Presidential appointee to the League of Cities State Environmental Committee.

Wendy's first foray into local politics occurred when she and another Costa Mesa mom realized children could easily obtain adult reading material from sidewalk vending machines in the City. The moms - Citizens Involved for Costa Mesa (CICM) - presented petitions to City officials and an ordinance was enacted to require machine owners to block the adult material from public view and keep the machines in good working order. Wendy continues to monitor the few remaining stands on public sidewalks in Costa Mesa.

In the early 1990s Wendy served as a committee member and later chair of the Cable Television Committee, which reviewed and approved grant applications for the public access channel. In 1994, Wendy was elected to the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Trustees and served two terms representing Trustee Zone 7. Wendy was appointed to the Parks and Recreation Commission in 2003 and served as chair of the Commission in 2006. She has also served on her homeowners' association's Architectural Review Committee, and is a past president of the Costa Mesa Republican Assembly.

Wendy is very proud of her children: Bret (Blithe) and grandchildren Kennedy and Hamilton; Megan (Rick); Stephen; Amy (Derek); and Emily, Private 1st Class, USMC.

Wendy keeps very busy as a substitute teacher in the Juvenile Hall schools and in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. When she is not working in her capacity as a City council member or involved with family activities, she enjoys swimming and walking her dog, Tucker, in Canyon Park. She is currently writing a fiction book for teenagers about life in Juvenile Hall. Wendy is also supportive of after-school programs, including SOY, MIKA, THINK Together, and Soup Kitchen. She is always interested in recruiting volunteers and donors for these programs. Also, she is involved in a volunteer program called Lives Worth Saving Gang Intervention.