Candidate Urged to Drop Out, He Claims : Council Aspirant Says He Was Offered Appointment to Panel

Costa Mesa City Council candidate Brian Theriot alleged Tuesday that a member of a local political action committee pressured him to withdraw from the November race in return for a future appointment to the city Planning Commission.

Theriot said Mesa Action founder John Gardner came to his house last month to tell him that although he showed “a lot of promise,” he had not won the group’s endorsement. Theriot said Gardner suggested he get out of the race.

“He promised me that if I would withdraw my candidacy, Mesa Action would appoint me to the Planning Commission of Costa Mesa,” said Theriot, 29, a political newcomer.

Gardner acknowledged that he had met with Theriot and had urged him to withdraw from the fall election. But Gardner denied offering him any appointments.

“That’s ridiculous,” said Gardner. “What I said was that he ought to apply for a Planning or Traffic commission seat so that he could learn about the city and its problems and that if he worked with us he will see how the city is run. I felt he was going to lose the election and that he would spare himself $25,000 of wasted money.”

A spokesman for the secretary of state said he was uncertain whether such an offer of an appointment would be illegal.

Calling the alleged overture “offensive and maddening,” Theriot said: “It may not be illegal, but it sure stinks.”

Earlier this year, representatives of Mesa Action, which is the fund-raising and campaign arm of a group of presidents of homeowner associations, known as the Citizens’ Coalition, held forums to interview 11 candidates.

The coalition endorsed the candidacies of Planning Commissioner Joe Erickson and businessman Doug Yates. Theriot placed fifth.

“John (Gardner) went and talked to a lot of different people to tell them how they fared in the endorsements and tried to get their cooperation, certainly,” said Jim Aynes, Mesa Action’s director.

“It was more (a case) of letting them know what the situation was, that there were going to be Planning Commission seats probably available if Mesa Action wins. Indeed, there could be the situation of appointments in the future and in the long run.”

No Promises

However, Aynes added, “I’m sure John made no promises. He’s too smart a lawyer for that.”

According to the state Elections Code, “a person shall not directly or through any other person advance, pay, solicit or receive or cause to be advanced, paid, solicited, or received any money or other valuable consideration to or for the use of any person in order to induce a person not to become or to withdraw as a candidate for public office.”

Richard Nishite, staff counsel for the elections division of the secretary of state, said Tuesday that if it was determined that Gardner made the appointment offer, “it could be an issue, depending on whether an appointment is a valuable consideration or not.”

Nishite added that it would be up to the Orange County district attorney’s office to decide on possible criminal charges. Violation of the code section is punishable by up to three years in state prison.

“We were not trying to manipulate the other candidates,” Aynes said. “We just wanted to let them know that if they are going out and splitting the vote, they are hurting the conservative growth chances and there would be less possibility of anyone getting elected and getting any of the other positions, like Planning Commission.”

The fall election is expected to be a spirited contest between homeowners who want to put a lid on development and foster Costa Mesa’s small town feel and real estate developers, including C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, who are promoting the city’s growth.

Mesa Action, which was successful in 1984 in electing slow-growth candidates Dave Wheeler and Mary Hornbuckle, hopes to capture two more seats in the fall.

“You try to be constructive in these conversations,” said Gardner, referring to discussions he had with the candidates who did not win the group’s endorsement.

“We are trying to be helpful,” he said. “We like to encourage people to get involved and learn about the city and run when we think they have a chance of winning.”

Theriot said he plans to stay in the race and run “harder than ever.”