200 Rally in Santa Ana to Support Initiative Changes

The day after a majority of Santa Ana City Council members reneged on an agreement to consider demands from a coalition of citizens’ groups, about 200 residents gathered in support of the movement to restructure the city’s government.

The large turnout Saturday morning at a meeting held by SAMSON (Santa Ana Merged Society of Neighbors) members at the Saddleback Inn indicates that they will be successful in their fight against City Hall, spokesmen for the group said.

“The voice of the people of Santa Ana is going to be heard,” spokesman Jim Lowman told the crowd.

Pete Major, a representative of Save Our Stadium, said: “It is a positive sign in the city when this number of people can get together on different issues and talk. We deserve an opportunity to speak out.

“They (the City Council) know that we can’t touch them; by changing the system, we can make them more responsive.”

The coalition consists of several groups protesting city policies ranging from redevelopment projects to Fire Department personnel issues.

SAMSON is trying to place four initiatives on the June ballot that would radically change the structure of the city government and force a new City Council election.

The initiatives call for replacing the city manager with a full-time elected mayor, electing the Planning Commission by district, appointing a separate Redevelopment Agency and electing the City Council by districts.

Groups attending the meeting included Save Our Stadium, which opposes demolishing Santa Ana Stadium to construct the proposed Westdome sports arena; opponents of the North Central Santa Ana Traffic Plan, designed to reduce commuter traffic in that area, and residents of the Centennial Park area who oppose a plan to build an $11-million stadium there.

Other citizens’ groups, such as the Hermandad Mexicana Nacional , are expected to join the coalition, SAMSON spokesman Sal Mendoza said.

Members of the Latino group will vote today on whether to become involved in the petition drive, according to Nativo Lopez, a spokesman for the group.

Addressing the audience in Spanish, Lopez said, “We need to work together with the groups that are here today as Latinos because our destiny is tied to their destiny.”

SAMSON representatives said reform is necessary to make the city government more responsive to the community.

“We need a separate debate between one body and another,” Major said. “We prefer to have the Planning Commission more responsive to the community. The issues are too large to be kept secret in the Planning Commission.”

Laurie Cottrell, a spokeswoman from City Manager Robert C. Bobb’s office, said that Saturday’s turnout was not that significant. “Considering the number of registered voters in Santa Ana, it is just a tiny drop in the bucket and doesn’t concern us,” she said. “If they want to meet, they can go ahead.”

SAMSON asked the audience for its help in gathering the required 6,372 signatures to place the initiatives on the June ballot by the Feb. 5 deadline. If approved, the initiatives would require an election for all seven members of the City Council in November.

Last week, Mayor Daniel E. Griset, Vice Mayor P. Lee Johnson and Councilman Robert Luxembourger met with the coalition to discuss the group’s grievances and had agreed to put the initiatives to a vote.

But on Friday, Johnson and Luxembourger, who had earlier voiced support for the proposals, said they could not now support the demands. Luxembourger, however said he will propose at Monday’s council meeting that a citizens committee be appointed to rework the proposals. Council members Wilson Hart, Patricia McGuigan and Dan Young all said they have problems with the SAMSON plan, and Councilman John Acosta said he opposes an “executive mayor” form of government. Griset, who last week gave support to SAMSON’s initiatives, has been on vacation and unavailable for comment.

Heritage Money Cut Off

Among SAMSON’s goals are replacing Deputy City Manager Rex Swanson, lowering the business license tax, halting construction of the planned 20,000-seat Westdome arena, creating more affordable housing, improving the Centennial Park area and restoring city financing for Heritage Orange County, according to Sam Romero of the Logan Neighborhood Assn.

The heritage group’s money was cut off when it joined in a lawsuit against the city seeking to prevent construction of 194 condominiums on the downtown site of the former Pacific Electric (Red Car) train depot.

The crowd that packed a banquet room at the Saddleback Inn listened to proposals from SAMSON representatives, frequently breaking into applause and laughter at speakers’ barbs aimed at the “boys downtown.”

‘Not Against Progress’

Ron Heike said: “Our proposals are constructive, not destructive. We are not against progress, we’re against planned disasters.”

Mendoza, ousted last month from his Redevelopment Agency position by the City Council because of his recall efforts, said: “This (SAMSON) is the result of poor planning and poor communication by our leadership and our city staff. It reflects the kind of leadership we have.”