SAMSON Proposal Put on Ballot for June 3

With the filing deadline just three days away, the City Council voted Tuesday to put a proposition before voters on June 3 that, if approved, would change the way Santa Ana elects its council members and mayor.

A citizens’ group, Santa Ana Merged Society of Neighbors, collected 7,119 signatures in support of the proposition, according to City Clerk Janice Guy. An evaluation conducted for the city by the county registrar of voters showed that 735 of those signatures were not registered Santa Ana voters and another 38 were people who had signed the petitions twice, Guy said.

58 More Than Needed

The final tally certified by the registrar Tuesday afternoon produced 6,346 valid signatures, just 58 more than the minimum required by state law to put a proposition to a citywide vote.

Mayor Dan Griset said a citizen’s commission set up to study the city’s charter for possible changes wouldn’t be disbanded as a result of Tuesday’s council vote but instead would assist in conducting public hearings on the proposal. The commission, he stressed, will not alter the proposition in any way before the Friday deadline to call the election.

Under the existing system in Santa Ana, the seven council members represent districts but are elected by citywide vote. The council selects one of its members for a two-year term as mayor.

If the proposition passes in June,, all seven council members would have to run for reelection in November. Council members Dan Young, Robert Luxembourger and P. Lee Johnson, if re-elected, would serve until 1988, while the other four would serve until 1990. Thereafter, council members would serve four-year terms.

The proposition calls for council members to be elected by district. The mayor would be chosen by a citywide vote. The city manager’s position would not be affected.

Members of the citizen’s group argue that the proposed changes will help end what they say is the “unresponsive” nature of the city’s government.

Guidelines for Election

If approved, the proposition would mandate City Council elections under the new guidelines.

SAMSON member Pete Major said passage of the proposition in June would begin to give citizens more control over their elected officials. “All cities, not just Santa Ana, have a built-in lack of responsiveness,” he said. “This is the first step (toward ending that situation).”

After hearing that the registrar’s office had certified the signatures, SAMSON spokesman Jim Lowman thanked the council for reacting to what he called the “will of the voters.” He also argued that critics who call the group a small but vocal minority are wrong. “We’re much more than that,” he said.

Lowman added that the group has a lot of work ahead in the campaign for the June elections. The proposal for ward elections was on the ballot once before, in 1983, but was defeated by a 2-1 margin.

Another Group Opposed

The group faces opposition not only from some council members but also from another citizen’s group whose chairman spoke to the council Monday night.

Victor Alleman, who heads the Santa Ana Good Government Committee, an organization composed largely of Santa Ana businessmen, said in a statement:

“The highly visible development which has occurred in the downtown area alone is ample evidence of the sound thinking and fundamentally effective government structure which has been in place for some 30 years.”