Santa Ana Measure: No on C

Some proposed changes on the June 3 ballot in Santa Ana could help local representative government. Others could hurt it.

Unfortunately, the good and the bad all are lumped into the same ballot proposal--Measure C. Because of that flaw, Measure C should be rejected.

The measure, which among other things would establish ward elections and the direct election of the mayor, was brought to voters by the Santa Ana Merged Society of Neighbors (SAMSON), a coalition of community groups unhappy with city government and seeking a way to make it more responsive. The approach, however, is a classic example of the phrase “throwing the baby out with the bath water.”

We like the idea of electing the seven city council members by ward, instead of the present system that requires candidates to live in specified districts (wards) but be elected at large. Election by ward could substantially reduce the cost of campaigning. More important, it could help end the imbalance of minority representation on the city council and stimulate more minority participation in city government.

Although about six of every ten city residents are non-Anglo, very few minority members (never a black) have been elected to the council. Some have carried their wards but have lost in citywide balloting.

The direct election of the mayor by voters, instead of the present process of selection by the city council, would also give residents more voice.

But Measure C breaks down on other critical points. It allows the mayor to vote only in the case of a tie, but gives the mayor a veto power on council voting that would be subject to a two-thirds override, which is five votes. That would make the mayor too powerful in a council too small for a smoothly working veto system. He could veto something that a majority of the council wanted and make it stick as long as he had the support of three of the seven members.

It’s too bad that SAMSON decided to offer voters political hash, with everything mixed in on the same plate. Santa Ana residents should turn their noses up at Measure C. It gives voters, some of whom may want one proposed change but not another, an all-or-nothing choice. Under the circumstances, nothing would be in their best interest.